I just took the thermostat housing off my 02Z to powdercoat and to make a long story short my car just blead do death (good time to flush radiator, wait...it's all over my garage floor) How do I get the thermostat off the housing???????

 

You don't as far as I know. I did the Powerstat 160, and it was the housing and all......

 

Go here for instructions on lowering the operating temp of your stock thermostat for free.

For the lower temp stat to function at it's fullest, you also need the fans to come on sooner. Otherwise your engine will only run cooler when you are at highway speeds and air is constantly flowing over your radiator. This can be done with an aftermarket fan switch from places like SLP. The switch is very expensive, manually operated, and requires running wires into the cabin. This can be accomplished cheaper by building your own switch and harness.
The best way though, IMO, is to get a thermostatic fan switch. No wiring into the cabin, automatic function so you don't have to worry about it, and only about $20. I have the free stat and thermostatic fan switch, they operate beautifully as a team and my car runs around 175* constant. I have lost my preignition/KR now that my combustion chambers run cooler. This allows more timing and the result is noticable IMO.
Go here for switch info.
Good luck
Dave

 

To answer your question ... the housing and thermostat are a a single unit.

However, there *may* be a way to take them apart. My stocker is laying in my workshop, so I'll look when I get home.