Leaderboard

I guess I hadn't clarified why I'm willing to go the less thrifty route with this rebuild (jump off the boat and swim with the sharks, eh?). I'm in my early 20's, still with my folks and this GL is my car... My only car. My window of time living with my folks is quickly closing and I knew I needed a car that was reliable, and easy to work on. However the issues I had with the car were just one after another. It makes sense, the car is old and tired. So my plan is to get the car to somewhat of it's former glory, deal with the big issues (mainly engine and drivetrain) while I don't have a bunch of bills and have the extra parts stashed away for when some smaller issues come up as I start getting my feet under me and navigating life as an adult on my own. Basically I'm taking the "buy once, cry once" approach in the hopes that in the end I'll have a car that will get me through my 20's without a bunch of debt. And no offence taken, in hindsight I shouldn't have bad-mouthed anyone's business. I'm young and learning, I have plenty of mistakes yet to make. I appreciate all y'all's input, I just don't have much experience so learning from other's experiences is very much appreciated. :]

If the coolant bypassing the radiator (through the heater core[s] in this case) is adequately removing the heat, than the thermostat doesn't need to open. As long as there's adequate circulation, the thermostat will open when it's needed. In theory, removing the thermostat entirely can be counterproductive, as increasing the coolant flow means it doesn't spend enough time in the radiator to actually dissipate the heat.

Make sure you actually bypass the heater core. Circulation through that circuit is what warms up (and therefore opens) the thermostat.