is this a bad idea?

ive been reassembling my motor and its accessories after replacing a piston. i forgot to put the thermostat in the housing before i bolted it up and had an idea. ive been wanting to delete the mechanical fan for some time. would it be safe to leave the clutch fan off if i left the thermostat out or do i need to put that thermostat back in there and get me an electric fan? would the coolant flowing freely at all times make up for the lack of the clutch fan?

Running without a thermostat would not do your engine any good. It would take forever to warm up and would not be good for your gas mileage. The thermostat also creates a high pressure zone in the block and a low pressure zone in the radiator to help the system shed heat more efficiently.

If you really feel the need to do something, leave the thermostat in and do a search on what people here have done with electric fans. Some people love them and some people hate them.

The themostat is there for a very good reason!! It allows the engine to reach it's operating temp. If you leave it out the engine may take forever to reach operating temp if ever concidering the weather we are having. Your engine NEEDS to be around 195 degrees to operate properly! You decide.....:doh:

1) Keep the thermostat. No option there. You can get t-stats that open at different temperatures but I would just stick with the factory recommended t-stat for your climate.

2) get an electric fan. it's a little bit of work to get it installed, wired and set-up properly but any competent DIY-er can do it. The benefits are:
a) much more effective operation than a fan that is dependant on engine speed, and
b) reduction in parasitic drag on the engine.

thanks a bunch guys. i have read about the electric fan swap and will research this further to install one when i decide to make the swap. thanks again for the advice.