Thread: Cooling issue in my '35 Ford

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I am having a problem trying to keep things cool at idle. I have a 1935 Ford with a 350, 290 hp crate engine. It is equipped with a Walker Cobra radiator, a 16" puller fan and a 12" pusher, and Vintage heat & AC. Has a 180 high capacity t-stat and premium water pump. I have absolutely no room for a shroud. I am running Mobile 1 synthetic oil. Just wondering if an oil cooler would help. I have run it with and without the t-stat and it still heats up (230) degrees on a hot day if I get stuck in traffic. I may have room for another small pusher fan in front of the puller if you think it would help. As always, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sometimes cars of that time period have engine compartments that contribute to overheating. Their design traps hot air so that no matter how hard the fans are blowing the hot air has no where to escape. When you put a larger V8 in there and toss ac into the mix, it just gets worse.

Does the car cool off when you get it moving again? If so, what does it normally run at? Also, what brand fans are you running?

Don

Is it possible also that the Pusher fan is blocking the radiator when used in conjunction with a puller fan on the other side of the radiator. It could be blocking open area and not allowing the puller to do its job. Just a thought. Don Jr.

Spal fans are about as good as they get for electric fans and pullers work much more effectively that pushers. If you don't have a Spal, you might want to look into one of their straight bladed units which pull the most air. Have you looked into any of the products you can add to your radiator fluid to bring down the temperature? Are you hood side solid or vented? If they are solid, you might want to look at getting some that are vented if nothing else works.

While I agree most heartily with Don Jr's comment about front mounted fans frequently contributing to overheating by blocking more air flow than they contribute (and don't disagree with the other thoughts expressed), since you said the condition only exists at idle that likely isn't the issue this time. I would suggest you may have an ignition timing problem. Start with the "simple" stuff first before throwing more hardware at it.

Thanks for the replies. It does cool off when moving and stays at 180. Puller is a Thinline curved blade and is at the very top due to space restrictions. Pusher is a straight blade and is mounted at the bottom of the condenser. Don't know the brand name. I added Be Cool fluid and it didn't help. Has a factory hood and the sides are vented. Still wondering if an oil cooler with a fan might help. Thanks again!

Ok, much more info. Those thinline fans put out almost no air compared to a good SPAL fan. I had to run them on my 27 for years because of clearance issues and once I put a SPAL on it the difference was like night and day. If you test a SPAL while holding in your hands it will try to get away!

If your car cools off when you start moving it is because of airflow. You are gettiing enough while moving but the fans are not doing the job when stopped. Maybe if you don't have a short Chevy pump setup that might give you enough room for a good puller. A shroud also helps immensely.

Don

Don & I were typing at the same time, but he was faster. I know you said you have no room for a shroud, but I believe that may be the problem here. Without a shroud your fans will pull/blow to the path of least resistance, which is not through the radiator core. My "shroud" is a simple piece of aluminum sheet turned down about an inch on the sides with a 16" hole for the fan. That 1" lip provides the mounting surface on the radiator, putting the fan only about 1/2" back from the core. My SPAL puller fan is biased to the bottom of the radiator to help clearance at the pulleys - I rotated it top to bottom when I laid the radiator back more... If it cools down at speed it seems to me you have an air flow problem.

If you can take some photos and post, we can probably get a better feel for the problem. I agree that air flow is you problem. You have a condenser which will block the air flow somewhat, then another fan. Add that to the tight engine compartment, somewhat restrictive hood sides, no shroud, then a 180* T-stat when it should have a 190-195 you have a recipe for over heat. As far as 230* and with a 15pound cap, it will not "boil over" until the water temp is about 250*F.

This Cooling Components fan (Walker owned) is what I'm using in conjunction with my Walker radiator. When it kicks on, it creates a wind!! They have a thinner version now.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. I am going to try a spal straight blade fan and see if that will keep it cool. I talked to a representative at Evans Cooling and he told me if I installed an aluminum radiator my problems would "go away". May try that if the spal doesn't work. Thanks again!

I'm sure you will be getting conflicting opinions on the aluminum vs brass/copper radiator debate. Some people think copper is better some think aluminum is better. I am on the aluminum team myself, but am no cooling expert. However, I do ask a lot of questions and have used a couple of aluminum ones with good success.

Just for a second quote you might call PRC and see how much they want for a radiator for your car. I had one in my 23 and it was difficult to get it above 170, even with a 190 thermostat. You could hold the bottom hose and it was only warm, so the radiator was super efficient. Just a suggestion.
www.prchotrod.com

Don

I'm no expert but do you have a shroud behind your rad so that you are getting all the air from the puller thru the rad?

Originally Posted by MelloYello

I'm no expert but do you have a shroud behind your rad so that you are getting all the air from the puller thru the rad?

Mello, if you look at post #1 Cooling issue in my '35 Ford he says he has zero room for a shroud, and is not running one. It's been suggested several times as being "necessary".

sorry Roger the old eyes don't work sometimes and I should have made mention of "Has this been mentioned here" - - - I'll try and read more the next time, maybe? LOL

Originally Posted by MelloYello

sorry Roger the old eyes don't work sometimes and I should have made mention of "Has this been mentioned here" - - - I'll try and read more the next time, maybe? LOL

Hey, I know what you mean about the eyes, and there's no problem here with you asking!! I knew because I had earlier mentioned that having a fan shroud of some type is Cooling 101. Without it you'll likely flunk the class.