Projects '47 Buick Super Sedanette project

How about this in the top hose right after the thermostat and water neck? Many sizes on Amazon.

 

Rear side panels before:

Got the sewing done, will get them pulled tight and glued to the cards soon:

The original upholstery was sewed to the cards, but I don't think my little machine will do that. The front has some grabbers to keep the material in place. The rest will just get Weldwood adhesive. Stainless trim will be going back on too.

 

My new radiator is in Chicago, according to the tracking number. So, it was time to move forward with other projects.
I am, quite obviously, NOT a professional upholsterer. I do, however, have the balls to dive into projects like this. One rear side panel is in the car; the other is getting glued up with Weldwood. I'll start on the rear armrests soon and post up what it all looks like in the car. The teal-colored vinyl looked WAY too dark when it arrived, but it's growing on me. The houndstooth material is a little bluer than I'd hoped, but I think it's all working well together.

 

^^^^ Maybe if you become an upholsterer, you can tackle my Buicks. LOL
I am going to attempt the same at some point as my upholstery guy stopped doing it.

 

@Bangingoldtin I had considered doing it as a side job in retirement, but I'm really not good enough to do that. If I paid an upholstery shop, and it came back with the quality of my work, I'd be very unhappy. Plus, working on somebody else's car at this point in my life seems like going backwards.

 

Yeah, the upholstery guy I had did it as a side job in addition to that being his main job as a DOD contractor. His hands finally wore out and he stopped doing it, so I am going to give it a whirl using Bedford Cord. Keep the pics coming, and hope the new radiator works out.

 

Working on fitting the new radiator. Had to re-work the lower mount/crossmember. Still tweaking a few things to get it to move forward just a bit. 1/4" or so. It looks like it will fit well. Will need to make some side panels to close the gap between radiator to the inner fenders. Hope it cools well. And hope the hood fits too.

 

Made these to bolt the radiator to the inner fenders (& direct some airflow) & spray bombed them. Remember, this is no show car, just a driver. They're sitting on my favorite paint spot - a '78 Impala front clip.

 

How the hell do you get this protective coating off of the polished aluminum fan shroud? Worked at it for a few hours yesterday and have one side left. The biggest piece I could peel off was about 3"X5". Basically, using my thumbnail to scratch it off. Tried a little heat & a bondo spreader. Tried lacquer thinner. Even called the place I got it from. They said just lift a corner & it peels right off. It doesn't. When I told the 'tech guy' on the phone it will take me 5 hours to peel it off, his response was basically - well, you better get peeling. Maybe it's been on there for too long? Or it got baked on in the FedEx truck during shipping? Probably should have just got the DA out and sanded it off. Just one more way this POS keeps fighting back. It's trying hard not to get driven.

 

I've been incapacitated for a couple days. Sciatic nerve pain made it impossible to walk or stand. Before I was afflicted with that, I managed to get the radiator bolted in. The old crossflow was mounted to the lower saddle (by me) with the factory GM rubbers and the top was held by a modified Chevy piece that was bolted to a cross brace which was bolted to the fenders. Worked great, until you need to adjust the front clip up to fix the hood/door to body gap. The top would move up, but the bottom stayed, making the radiator loose. Now, the new downflow is all mounted off the inner fenders & fender lip with the side brackets I made. Pic is before I tightened everything up.

Hard to tell from the pics, but the radiator only has about 1/4" of clearance with the steering box.

The PO did the frame mods & engine install. I would have done things differently. A rear steer set up would have probably been better. A rear sump pan would have helped a lot. Really starting to learn that it's better to start with a virgin car, than to finish somebody else's "almost completed" project. Hoping to get back on it in a few days when I'm mobile again. Feels pretty good now, unless I stand up straight, or walk normally.

 

Sorry to hear about your pain. I can relate to the sciatica....went through that in'23.
Hopefully this setup works better for you

 

I'm battling crippling lower back pain off and on since 2023. I'm on a good roll right now and can pitch in to help others on their projects.

 

Between my sciatica and my special needs daughter's hospital stay, I haven't been in the shop for a while. Yesterday, my new upper radiator hose showed up. Folded into 3 sections & wrapped for shipping. Doesn't seem like the way to do it to me. However, the '77 Impala hose fits pretty good. I trimmed about 2" off the engine side and installed it, along with coolant & I'm ready to fire it back up, right? Right...
The new T-stat housing is a modified Chevy piece. Elongated the holes a little to bolt it up. The bung for the fan temp switch was leaking. Tighten, tighten, tighten, snap. You can see it in the pic. There's a crack at the top of the bung.

This thing fights me every chance it gets. I could have put the temp switch in the original temp sender's hole (bottom of pic) but didn't think I could get it out without taking the water pump off. I gotta gig. Gonna be in the sun for 4 hours on the hottest day we've had for a few years. This is turning out to be a great day! I need a beer.

 

More fighting back. Found a factory GM housing that would work (SBC) in my parts stash (still on an intake). Got that off and installed. Put it all together and started the beast up. The electric fan never turned on. So, I grounded the temp sensor switch & the fan works. After letting it cool down, I took the switch out and this is what I see:

Yes, the bottom part of the sensor is still in the reducer. Broken. Maybe the same time the housing cracked? IDK. Contacted Champion Radiator (Leadfoot Racing) to see what they say. I'm so close to this being on the road, but this car doesn't want to be driven. It's frustrating. 1 step forward & 2 steps back.

 

had a hard time 'liking' the last post...so it was for the update...even though youa re having a tuff time...but you are stronger than that iron...brass... though I feel your pain.
On the lighter side....you will get it on the road and I will revel along with you when you do....
Stay strong

 

Success! Well... so far. I contacted Champion radiator - nothing. No response at all. Expected more from them. When I tightened the petcock by hand, it broke. I'm not that strong. The "ears" or "wings" just turned on the shaft. Not leaking, but it will need pliers or something to loosen it. I can change it when the time comes. That & the sensor falling apart, I assumed would get a response.
Ordered a new fan control from Amazon. Put it all in and it leaked. I'm afraid to tighten it. Took it back out (AGAIN) used yellow Teflon tape & no leaks! It sat & idled about 180-185 according to the gauge. The thermostat is a 180 & fan comes on at 185. I need to permanently run the wires for the fan circuit, as I just did them temporarily in case this didn't work. Then, I can see if A) the hood fits back on (fingers crossed), and B) if it cools at Hwy speeds. Gonna shoot for the local Tuesday cruise. Wish me luck.

 

good luck
At least you aren't at the casino...we all know they have the house advantage...
You have the house advantage now

 

Took it for a ride with the hood off. Maybe, 5-7 miles. At first it was holding about 190, then it crept up to 200 or more (this, all according to the original gauge), and I drove it back home. It was hot but wasn't puking coolant. Turned it off and tried to restart it. Wouldn't turn over fast enough - too hot. The gauge pegged after the cooling fan stopped. So, small victories, but it's still not really roadworthy. I'm tired of throwing $$ at this thing and it just won't run cool.


Yes, the upper hose is still above the radiator, but it's the best fitting one I've found so far. What's next?

 

Louvers!

 

Sorry to say but.... Put the engine in correctly so it is lower than the radiator, and you can run an engine driven fan with a fan shroud. Also when you have the engine out, remove the core plugs and clean out all the rust and crap that is at the bottom of the water jackets and between the cylinders. That should help a lot if there is a lot of crud there.

 

If I go to all that trouble, a 350 chevy would be a better option.

 

Since I said I was driving with the hood off, are you saying I can louver the hood, leave it off the car, and it will run cooler?

 

Have you tried a different gauge? Also you need some shrouding in front of the rad(TOP) to force all of the air thru the radiator.
Is the timing correct/advance working?

 

BJR has some good suggestions and, unless the camara angle is misleading, that engine sits way to far from the radiator.

 

Did the fan temp switch work? I'm a little surprised as the tephlon tape would insulate the switch from grounding.
I found the off shore made adapters that come with the temp switch don't seal will. My fix was to get a better quality (?) adapter at the Ace Hardware.

 

Responding to suggestions:
@pprather The fan temp switch worked as it should. The instructions say to not use tape, but it was dripping without it. I'm sure that the threads cut though enough to make the ground. The yellow tape worked awesome.

@RMR&C I have thought of some shrouding in the front. I tried that with the old radiator (just cardboard & tape), but it didn't help. It may with this bigger radiator and is on my list of options. I will RECHECK the timing again, just to be sure. The factory gauge is a little hard to read, as the sweep is smaller than the numbers.
Not my car, but this is what the gauges look like:
The last hash mark must be 220. The gauge doesn't go far enough to point at the 220 number, just the hash mark.
It seems to be fairly accurate, as it was reading around the 185ish mark (just past the halfway point) when the fan turned on. It was pretty much pointing straight down, when the thermostat opened (the upper hose got hot). On this last ride, it was nearing the upper mark, maybe 200-210. It didn't boil over, but it was hot. Hot enough to turn over slow, after attempting to restart. Yes, it's a brand-new starter. When I shut the engine down, I turned the key back on for the fan to run and the gauge had climbed higher.

@BJR You have suggested this a couple times, but you, or anyone else, has yet to explain to me how it works from the factory (ever see what a Corvette looks like under the hood?). I've seen Rat Rods with the radiator horizontal behind a truck cab with no shroud and electric fan, and it works. I was at a car show today (my band was playing), and when we were on break, I looked around. I saw a couple cars with the same set up. Radiator lower than the engine. I didn't notice them come in or leave on a trailer, so I'm assuming it works. And it was hot as hell today. Almost every car produced today, has an aluminum radiator and electric fan, and runs cool in 100* plus weather with the AC running. So, unless somebody can give me scientific proof of why it won't work and then tell me why others have made it work, I have a hard time accepting that it can't be made to work. I'm not a fan of how the engine was mounted, but as I stated, it's not my work. I'm trying to make someone else's stalled project work, without starting from scratch. I only planned to drive this, until my '49 Merc is done. It'll probably go up for sale after that. Maybe before, if I can't get it to run cooler.

Things to try:
Shrouding the front, to get all the air through the radiator.
Remove the thermostat to have better flow. I'm not using a heater anyway.
Look for some kind of high-flow water pump, or maybe a bigger pulley on it?
I don't know if there is some kind of blockage/build up inside the engine, but the coolant looks clean. Maybe find something to run through it to clean it out? I don't think that's the problem, but I'm willing to try it.
I realize the stock Caddy radiator is big. Like 33" wide. But you know that won't fit in this car.
Is there a better fan than a Spal 16"? Champion says this radiator (AE4953) and the Spal fan will cool up to 600HP. Pretty sure the stock 500 Cad is less than that.
What else can I try, before I give up and send it down the road as-is?

 

The area around the radiator needs to be sealed so air MUST go through it, not around it.
Don't forget that grill air should also not go into the hood cavity, over the radiator.
You mentioned current production autos, they are all sealed like this.

 

I would suggest NOT removing T'stat. Also, I would advise against the high flow water pumps.

 

Yes, when the engine is turned off, water stops circulating, yet the water will be drawing heat from the engine. Thus, temp gauge rises.

Running electric fan with the water pump (engine) off, will only lower the temperature on the coolant that is in the radiator, but not coolant in the engine.

 

Is it possible that the angle of the engine is causing it to overheat? Maybe the water is not circulating correctly with the back of the engine so much lower than the front. Just a thought, don't know if it makes a difference.