Thread: cooling system

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This may sound a little dumb,but I'm a little concerned that my car doesn't over heat! Ever! The car is a Moel T street rod 350/350, mild mods on the engine,but I'm using a mid 70's chrysler compact car radiator (Volare I think) and just the stock engine fan. The over-flow tube isn't plugged,(I haven't needed a catch can). the radiator cap is a 14lb-R12. The thermostat is 180 or 190.I can cruise all day and the temp gauge (MOON) never goes over 195 degrees.Several times,in heavy traffic on hot days,it got up to 220 degrees but still didn't loose one drop of fluid! I even made a pass down a local drag strip on a day the temps were in the 90's and still didn't loose a drop! How ever one time I did notice a little seepage from around the filler neck or the expansion tank one time on a really hot day. It evaporated before I could determine where it came from,and never did it again. One other thing that may be related-summer before last I changed the engine goose-neck because it had a pin-hole leak on the bottom of the neck-one year later the new one developed the same leak! Less than a year and it was rotting out on the bottom of the neck part where the top hose clamps on. So...I'm wondering if there is some other damage being done to the engine because of a wrong radiator cap or some thing? It just seems too good to be true,especially when I see other guys having to use front and back electric fans and all that stuff!

I think, from your post that everything seems to be working fine. If you are concerned, spend a couple of bucks on a new cap for your radiator and maybe a new thermostat. Everything should be just fine. There is a misconception folks have about the temp going above 212 degrees. The whole reason for your pressurized radiator cap is to keep the system pressurized which prevents boiling of the coolant.

Ditto on Jeff's remarks.

Also, some of those guys you see with fans front and back are creating more of a problem than they're solving. The key is to get the air flowing through the core, not around it. If not properly spec'd those fans offer more of an obstruction. Most people would be better off making sure that as much of the air that comes through the grille (not exactly an issue on your car) is channeled through the core. That's what all those sealing strips around the side, top, and bottom of an OE system are for. Secondly, a good shroud around the fan, with just a small amount of clearance to the blades and coverage out to the edges of the core, will help the fan pull the air through (most of those double fan systems you've seen probably didn't have this). And then you need to give the heated air a place to escape the engine compartment. That's a big part of why the lower part of firewalls slope away, to channel the hot air out. That's a large part of why the older cars with completely, or nearly so, firewalls have the hood side louvers, or some run without hood sides. That's why the "smoothie" look has been hard on keeping the early "square" cars cool.

Thanks for the info, Guys! I don't plan to fix anything that isn't broke yet, but I will change the cap and thermostat. I pulled the engine out to do a rebuild over the winter, so I won't be doing any testing till spring. If I still don't loose any coolant on hot days, I guess I should just count my blessings!

Since we are talking radiators, I was just doing layout for mine today. Here is the plan, let me know what ya'all think.

First off, the radiator is an all aluminum Howe, 2 rows of 1" tubes. The core itself measures 24.5" wide X 18.5" tall. I am mounting the air conditioning condensor 1" in front of radiator with the tranny cooler mounted directly under that, not over it. The shroud and 18" electric fan will be mounted with 1" of clearance from the core to allow air flow through the complete core. All air flow through the grill area will be directed to the radiator. Do you think that 1" of shroud clearance off of the core is enough to allow it to pull air?

I am running a modded 350/crate roller engine. No overbore. The radiator will be mounted in a custom frame set on 3/8" neoprene.

Dean

Dean,

Sounds like you've thought this out pretty well. 1" is a bit tight, but if you have a full coverage shroud the air has only one way out, through the fan. For the discussion, the fan doesn't serve much purpose when the car is moving because a ram air effect is in play, that's why I say a multiple fan application has the possibility of being more obstruction than solution. The fan(s) earns it's keep when the vehicle is stationary.

Have you thought about using an Anode type radiator cap. It has a sacrificial anode that allows the electrolosis and corosion to eat the annode instead of the aluminum or pot metal parts that always go 1st. I am thinking of going this route also if anyone has any comments?
Thanks,
Scott