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Thermostat Housings/Water Necks
Pontiac V8 Thermostat Housings/Water Necks
Year, Carb and Outlet — Thermostat Housings/Water Necks for Pontiac V8s
The thermostat housing is where the coolant leaves the intake manifold, and on a Pontiac V8 it is a year-specific part. Housings changed through the 1960s and 1970s, and Tri-Power cars used their own housings that clear the center carburetor and the linkage above them.
Butler carries OEM-style cast aluminum housings by year group for 1965-1970, 1971-72 and 1973-79, correct Tri-Power housings for 1964, 1965 and 1966, chrome O-ring style water necks for 1964-79, and 360-degree swivel billet housings in 1.5" hose, AN16 and AN20 outlets.
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1. Stock replacement by year
If the car has to look right, start with the year group. Butler's OEM-style cast aluminum housings are split the way Pontiac split them.
| 1965-1970 | the OEM replacement aluminum housing for the bulk of the muscle-car years. Butler notes the bolt holes may need to be elongated on some engines. |
| 1971-72 | its own cast aluminum housing for the later low-compression years. |
| 1973-79 | a separate cast aluminum housing again for the last of the Pontiac V8 cars. |
2. Tri-Power housings
Tri-Power is not a trim detail here, it is a clearance problem. The center carburetor and its linkage sit right where a standard housing wants to be, so Pontiac used specific housings and Butler stocks them individually.
| 1964 Tri-Power | reproduction of casting number 9776276. |
| 1965 and 1966 Tri-Power | separate housings for each year, not interchangeable with the standard four-barrel parts. |
| 1966 Tri-Power water neck for non-dimpled covers | a version for engines whose timing cover does not have the Tri-Power dimple. |
| What will not work | the 360-degree swivel billet housings are specifically not for use with Tri-Power. Neither are reproduction timing covers, which is why the dimpled cover exists. |
3. Water necks and billet housings for a build
On a performance engine the housing is usually chosen for plumbing and clearance rather than originality, especially once an aluminum radiator and a relocated upper hose are in the picture.
| Chrome O-ring style water necks | steel, chrome plated, for 1964-79 Pontiac V8 except 389 engines. |
| 360-degree swivel billet housings | for 326-455, O-ring sealed, adjustable through a full circle so the hose can be clocked wherever it needs to point. Available with a 1.5" hose connection in polished or black anodized. |
| AN plumbing | the same swivel housing in AN16 and AN20 outlets, polished or black, for cars plumbed with braided line. CVF also offers a clamp-on compression fitting that converts a 1.5" radiator inlet or outlet to -16AN without welding, rated to at least 120 PSI, and fits inlets from 1.45" to 1.6". |
| Billet 15-degree housings | CNC machined in the USA from 6061-T6 aluminum in polished or stealth black, supplied with mounting hardware and an O-ring, and compatible with OEM and many aftermarket thermostats. |
| Fill points | Moroso aluminum radiator filler necks and manifold fill kits for cars plumbed so the radiator is no longer the high point. |
4. Before you order
Three questions settle almost every call on this page. What year is the engine, does it have Tri-Power, and what size and direction does the upper hose need to leave the housing? Get those right and the housing bolts on. Get them wrong and you find out with a hose that will not reach or a carburetor linkage that will not move.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.