The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Thermostat,no thermostat, that is the question

Instead of drilling a hole in the thermostat flange, just open it by hand and wedge a plain old aspirin in the gap. It will allow the air to escape during coolant filling preventing airlocks. By the time the engine is warmed up the aspirin will be dissolved and the thermostat will function normally. Learned this from an old timer a long time ago. John