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I pulled this out of a 66 Chevelle that I was asked to work on the other day. He said it overheated and his neighbor told him to put a 195 degree stat in, I know it doesn't make sense. When I pulled it out, it was stuck open, to find out that Autozone's stats have a fail-safe mechanism, the brass side pieces, that when the engine over heats it locks open.
I have have never seen or heard of such a thing, just thought I would pass this along.
Sounds like a good safety gadget if it works. I would not think a 195 degree thermostat would cause a engine to overheat if the radiator, fan, etc. cooling components are in good condition. It just takes the margin of cooling out of the equation. These motors used a 195 thermostat in the 70s to meet new emission standards and the engines were not significantly changed.
FYI, I also drove a 67 Camaro as a work car in the winter back in the 70s & 80s when they were used cars. I would change to a 195 degree thermostat in the fall to improve the heater output, then back to a 180 degree in the spring.
Therostat
