Technical Why does it seem everyone has cooling issues?

Seems like anytime hot rods or customs come up I hear people talk about how they have to be careful or their car will overheat. Then they talk about their high end radiator, multiple electric fans, 160° t stat(groans), possibly even an additional engine driven fan and "water wetter". On my 53 Bel Air I'm running an Amazon El cheapo radiator (was like $160 shipped lol), factory 57 Chevy fan, O'Reilly stock house brand replacement short waterpump ordered for a 57 Corvette, generic 180° t stat, advance auto 57 Chevy radiator hoses, and regular O'Reilly green antifreeze cut with 50% water. I've let the car idle for an hour at a time in the summer (including during the "heat wave" people were complaining about) without the car getting over 190°. No shroud on my fan either. Are they just running far too much timing or something? Seriously confuses me lol. I'm not even running particularly free flowing exhaust either. Stock 55 Chevy exhaust manifolds going into 2" exhaust running through cherry bombs dumping out the side in front of rear tires.

 

Global warming because of…

 

"... have to be careful... "

How they have to be careful would indicate the cause.

If they say they have to drive slow, they have a coolant flow problem.

If they say they can't drive slow, they have an airflow problem.

Or they just have a big bad ass hot engine in a little car. That's very common.

Always loved the Breck Girls.

 

It's the 57 corvette water pump.... see what you've done? given out a decades old secret....

 

I blame scientists for inventing global warming.

 

The cooling issues I have cured for Customers over the years all have been builder not understanding flow dynamics be it Air or Water sometimes both and or a Tune up so far off it's amazing they were driven at all. Often time the Electric Fan set the stage for lack of Air Flow. Bottom line is Builder not up to building what he was building. 1-800-Visa and because I was told I should use it instead of thinking about what was actually being done.

 

You’d be even cooler if you’d carry these differently.

 

Yeah only time I've ever had any sort of cooling issue aside from damage causing it was when I was twenty I threw one of those trash flex fans on my 79 f100 because I didn't have a clutch fan to fit and I was told I'd gain power with the flex fan. I now know flex fans are a gimmick like "tornado" air filter inserts lol.

 

I'm guessing that your temp gauge is a $3.50 el cheapo as well. Are your readings accurate..........

 

Always been more of a lucky strike and Marlboro guy lol

 

Stewart Warner actually. And verified with infrared thermometer

 

I was actually zooming in to talk about the curved tips on the fan blades. That makes a big difference in pulling air.

 

Excellent................. my comment was just tongue-in-cheek.

 

Im being a lil more OCD on the important stuff on this car because it'll be a true daily driver lol

 

I had far more trouble finding that fan than I should have lol. People I'd message about one wouldn't take me seriously lol. Finally found this one from a guy selling the original engine from his 57 Chevy four door hardtop that he was ls swapping. Turns out he'd already sold the engine and mentioned he only had a few of the engine related parts left. He gave me this fan and a good 57 Chevy generator lol. Long story short it's just a stock 57 Chevy fan

 

I'd say partly because you've been building cars that don't deviate too far from factory issue engineering, partly because you have a small, low performance engine in a fairly large car (large grille area), and maybe partly because you're lucky.
(I've had cooling battles with most of my Hot Rods, but got all of them to be livable.) All my old cars have pretty small grille openings, and 2 have big blocks, one with A/C, one with a roots blower (no room for mechanical fan there.) Because of all this, I have learned a lot about cooling, what works and what doesn't. Count your blessings!

 

I'd have to agree with @mohr hp, it is the deviation from factory engineering that factors in a lot. Case in point- I recently ran a fresh nailhead on a DIY run stand to break the cam in. Due to safety reasons, did not run a mechanical fan but had a box fan in front of a new correct application radiator. Did not do the job. Second attempt I ran high volume industrial fan plus a heater core loop in a bucket of water. All good. This motor is going in my coupe with limited grille opening and a narrow engine compartment. One of my major considerations is getting the heat out of that compartment.
On my 53, I am running a cheap Champion radiator with a shroud and a 5 blade fan on a SBF. Large grille opening and good size engine compartment. No heating issues.

 

Alot of folks go straight to chasing radiators and fans without checking thermostats and waterpumps, condition of cooling passages etc. Is there a cowl fitted to the radiator?

Perhaps if those with issues thought of air behaving like water, they may understand better? Path of least resistance.

As mentioned above is a poor tune causing a lean condition? or incorrect ignition timing getting those temps right up?

Expecting to be able to drive the vehicle like a modern one is another.

Or its just the simple fact of a non stock motor in a small vehicle.

My stock 216 in my Chevy works perfectly so long as I keep distance from cars in front in traffic and keep it under 60mph when moving.

 

I must agree that OEM engineers usually provide for a reliable cooling system
there are a few cases where for some reason the engineers failed
the 55-57 Tbirds have a spacer installed behind the water pump that when the car is at idle, at 600 rpm there is no flow.

Another reason some of our old engines overheat is caused by rust and scale build up over the years, then as it loosens up in ends up in the radiator

 

same with my ford, granted it is a stock motor. it barely gets over 140 without a thermostat, im running a 180 thermostat so itll melt some of the oil sludge out

 

A number of things can contribute to poor cooling, and it's rarely just the size of the radiator. Timing, or tune can also be a big factor. How the engine was built, or how large it was bored. The fans used, or how well air is directed through the radiator also is a big factor.
I have two that run 175-185 all day long in all temps. My third is my tiny Austin that has a 16"x17"x 2.5" Griffin aluminum radiator as that's as big as I could fit in it. A pusher electric fan because of cramped space behind the radiator, and it still never goes over 195 degrees in hot temps.

 

Number one cause of cooling issues is the lack of a shroud , in my opinion! There are no shrouds on a lot of cars pictured, here on the HAMB. Air has to come through the radiator! With out a shroud air comes in around the radiator, not through it! Most shrouds are ugly and hard to put on , so some folks leave them off. I have seen in hundreds of times! Of course it goes with out saying the rest of the system has to be in good working order , also.






Bones

 

Many don't have a cooling problem at all, they have a "I think it should run the same temperature that the old engine in the car would have" problem. Way too many guys with 350's that left the factory with 195 thermostats and normally rain around 220 if they had an actual gauge but with the needle pointing to "norm" on the gauge in the car it came in pissing thier pants because that same engine with matching trans straight out of the donor car still wants to run around 200/220 when they put it in that 80 year old car with the new X row radiator. OMG what is wrong? Answer nothing is actually wrong. It's not a flathead or babbit beater six.
Agreed 100% that 90% of the time if it heats up when you are in slow traffic or at a stop and cools right down you have an air flow issue. Same with running cooler at a lower speed but getting hotter at normal highway speeds, that being most likely a coolant flow issue.

 

Actually because most people are think they are smarter than the engineers who designed the system in the first place. They create their own problems. The biggest radiator made for the car, fan shroud (properly designed and fitted to the radiator and fan) and a good old fashioned 7 blade fan and clutch. Never let me down once!

 

99% of cooling problems are due to air flow. Regardless of ratings, most electric fans are inadequate. Note you use a factory fan and that is always a good solution if it fits. I use these Mark IV electrics on cars when factory props won't work. Factory engineered for big engines, comes with its own shroud, they offer 2-speed operation too. I built a '59 El Camino for/with my grandson and this fan fit perfectly in the '59 shroud.

 

Too small of a Radiator. Get big one!

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I’m stupid.
I call my local radiatorologist and tell ‘em what I’m building if some odd engine swap.
For some reason I try to make sure the parts I use work together.
I’d bet more cars left the factory that didnt run hot than did.
I start from there
And running “hot” is boiling over for me
190-215* That’s bout right

 

I vote for this................... and also a lack of understanding of cooling systems.

 

Most of our type of cars tend to sit around a lot, too. In cars that have a good cooling system, I have alleviated cooling issues by doing a good flush with a product meant for that task. It's amazing the crud that comes out.

I think a lot of people don't understand cooling systems and just go for whatever is cheapest or may work.