Quote Originally Posted by NTFDAY View Post
Check the counter weights under the module in the dist and make sure they move freely. If you have a vacuum gauge you can get the timing fairly close, adjust for the highest reading and back it off just a tad and you'll be in the ball park and you can do the same with the air/fuel mixture screws on the carb except you adjust for the highest steady reading. Old radiator hoses do have a tendency to collapse under pressure and heat and will restrict water flow.
I actually do have a vac gauge, will try that right now. I appreciate it! And after testing the hoses by pinching them I think you're definitely on to something.

Quote Originally Posted by rspears View Post
Along the lines of checking the simple things first, you do have a spring inside the lower radiator hose, right? If not you could be sucking that hose closed as rpm's increase, severely reducing your flow. And when you say you had to get another radiator, that was a new/rebuilt unit and not one from the salvage yard, right?
Interesting, I just went in the garage to try squeezing the lower hose and it compressed way easier than I was expecting. Also way easier than when I first installed the hoses, which could explain why I never used to have this initial overheating problem after I initially fixed the problem with a bigger fan. The upper hose was a lot weaker as well. Although I don't have to worry about the upper hose because it has positive pressure and the lower hose has negative pressure right? Also would O'Reillys have the springs I need for the lower hose? And I replaced the radiator with a brand new one.


As a side note, after a 10-15 minute drive the starter really struggles to turn it over. I replaced the starter just last week with one of those cheap ebay "3 hp" electric starters from DB electrical (I was hesitant at first but read good reviews about it), because the old starter I was using had stopped working. When cold, or mildly warm, it starts beautifully, much faster than the old starter. But just yesterday I was driving home from the grocery store and pulled into the driveway. Got out to open the garage door, then started it back up to drive in and it really struggled to turn it over.