I was looking again at the description of the function of an original MGA
thermostat using the URL provided by Bob M. I am aware of the purpose of the
sleeve on the thermostat to block
off the bypass port, but I wonder how many know of the reason for that bypass.
I think many owners don't realize that the bypass is to provide circulation of
the coolant so the whole engine warms up at the same rate: i.e. no hot spots.
AND, the bypass also insures that the thermostat is able to sense coolant at the
CURRENT temperature. Without the coolant flowing, the thermostat cannot tell
what the temperature is in other areas of the engine. It's akin to stiring a
pot of jam so it doesn't burn on the bottom when cooking it.
Blake
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