What is the highest temp thermostat I can use to increase the heat in a 1973 dodge dart 225 6 clyn?Or Should i just try one of those electric heaters in the cig lighter?

Start from the start! You may wind up finding you do indeed need a new thermostat, but there are many different potential causes for poor heater performance. Don't just throw a higher-temperature thermostat in it, do some proper diagnosis. What are the symptoms? How cold is it where you live?

Those car heaters that plug into the cig lighter will often do a nice job of burning up your underdash wiring, BTW.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

During the winter months, I use a 195 degree thermostat to get some more interior heat and let the engine run at a good temperature. The 180 used during warmer months just dosn't let the engine warm up any. I use a 7 blade clutch fan with a 22" radiator and an auxilary transmission cooler, so I'm not worried about overheating.

Your grocery list is:

195 degree stat is OK for our applications.
If still not good, the cooling system may need to be flushed if it hasn't been in the past.

You also can have:

A plugged heater core (doen't take much gunk in the cooling system to screw things up there)

There may be some stuff in the heater box impeding the air flow a bit over the core...(love those leaves from the fresh air vents that just seem to bake into the ribbing).


I would check out your possiblitlies before jus swapping the thermostat and finding it causes yet another problem.

Good luck,

-D.Idiot

One other thing that will greatly effect the performance of your heater is the weatherstripping around the windows and doors. Such is the case with my car. The interior will warm up ok around town but as soon as I get on the highway all the heat is sucked out of the car. May or may not be an issue with your car however, I know once I reseal my windows it will be a whole lot warmer inside.

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1974 Dodge Dart Custom, 225, 904, now with a Holley 2300...

I've been having the same problem at times.
My engine cooling electric fan operates off an adjustable thermostat. Right now i have it set at 180* and was wondering if i raise the set point to 190* or 195* will that have the same result as actually changing the coolant thermostat?

When operating in a very cold environment the thermostat dosen't have as much to do with the engine temp as ambient temperature. When you have 30* air blowing past the engine it is going to cool the block as it goes by. You would be better off blocking the cold air than spending money on a new t-stat. Since I am running a pusher I put a piece of metal across the top half of back side of the radiator to deflect the air down. this still allows maximum cooling ability of the rad on not so cold days and reduces air cooling of the block. My 2 cents.

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