Edelbrock Intake Issue

Bewy said

Post #24 pics. Not getting how the smaller Chebby style stat will fit. It looks like it would fall in the hole, nothing to support it.

Click to expand...

The hole is smaller than you think, but there's precious room for error. On the '78-up cars, the smaller stat & housing were standard equipment. The 2176 and its EGR-equipped brother are the only aftermarket intakes of which I'm aware that work with all the factory axial-compressor brackets and attendant parts.
I swapped an internally-corroded 2176 onto an '84 Fifth Avenue. The previous owner of the intake was in FL and ran straight water, so the coolant passage had huge voids and the 'stat opening was fairly thin. My fiancée drove it for almost two years without issue, but the guy who bought it from us told me that the thermostat fell into the coolant passage about a year later. The 'stat flange had eroded that far--hence my "precious room for error" statement.