So when I bought my car in December a few years ago. The guy that I bought it from handed me a thermostat and told me it was the summer one. So, is this a 160 degree stat or a 180 degree. Should I change? If I change will I need the gasket?

 

180 degree stats are usually for colder weather, but only if you really have to worry about severe cold.......and no, you don't need a seperate gasket. A rubber ring comes on the new thermostat and you just drop it in place of the old one. Unless for some reason the rubber is missing off the one he handed you.

 

So the one he handed me was the 160*? It doesn't have rubber on it.

 

If he knew what he was talking about, yes, that should be the one for "summer months". And, being you live near Chicago, it might be good to swap in the 180* when it gets cold. I'm not sure about the rubber......I was under the impression they had rubber with them.

 

I do live by chicago but the car is in storage october to end of march. so it would be a good idea to swap the thermostat, correct.

 

If you're not driving it in the severe cold, then I don't see why you'd have to bother swapping them for the winter. Go with the 160* then, if you drive in the spring/summer.

 

Do not put the new t'stat in until you have verified the temperature, AND that it is the correct t'stat for the reverse cooled LT1 engines. You can not use the t'stat for a conventional SBC in an LT1 (from Shoebox's Tech Pages):

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#thermostat_change