i'm putting the hoses on my car and i want to put washers with a 5/8 hole in the head how do you keep the washer from moving or spinnig and stay flat any pics. jack said he did it that way he also said a lot of guys did it like that to help with cooling. but he dont remember how it was done any pics or advice. thanks billy
I haven't done mine yet, but I was told that they used to drill small holes in the neck & used finish nails to hold the restrictors in place. The hose & clamp covered the spot where the nails went thru the neck, so there was no leak. The other option I thought of was to size the restrictors to the outside diameter of the neck & wire it in place before the hose goes on.
you lost me a little i have a 59ab to a 32 radiator i presume the washers went above the neck on top of the head. pics anyone. billy
Another "old time" way was to cut off some blades of the impeller blades on each water pump, which slowed down the flow to radiator, creating more time for cooling thru tubes, just don't cut off too many!!!-------Don
Way too many wife's tales here in my opinion. If anyone would even take the time to look at the impeller blades of these pumps you will see they are no more than just paddle wheels, providing very little volume. Many flatheads have corrosion in the water jackets from years of abuse and some even have material left in them from the casting process. Flat heads need coolant volume and as much as they can get. 5/8 restrictors will restrict volume. If you really want to improve your chances of coolant problems. Do this... 1. Do not use anything to restrict volume (not even a thermostat) ( Some people will argue this 5/8 hole or thermostat restriction diverts coolant to the rear cylinders to keep them cool but if you have high volume pumps this wont be an issue) 2. Replace the stock pumps with a high volume impeller (See Skip Haney) 3. Pressurize your system 4-6 pounds 4. Use water wetter with just water, no antifreeze 5. If you are using a good running used engine flush it with 100% vinegar. 6. Install an aftermarket or converted distributor that provides both vacuum and weight advance. 7.Install an electric fan for hot days in traffic.
also don't forget the importance of having a clean radiator. many people by 75 year old radiators filled with sediment and blame the motor for overheating....
I agree completely! All those old tricks of removing water pump impellers or drilling holes in them was a bunch of ****. You need a clean system and as much flow and volume as you can get. I'd highly recommend that you invest in some water pumps that actually move water instead of churn it - talk to Skip and buy his pumps!
I used some advice from the old guys, and some new parts. My 286 runs down the road at 170 on a 95 degree day. The advice from the old guys is, find a stainless washer that just fits the outlet in the head, ( McMaster Carr ), and make a 5/8 hole in it. The hose holds it in place. New radiator from Portell, new pumps, from Speedway, new heads, the block was decked at overhaul, 13 pound cap, 50/50 water and Prestone. The inside of the block was cleaned.
My thoughts,, run thermostats, when I took them out of our shoebox it would run fine around town but as when runing over 40 mph it would get hot, FAST. I put 180 degree thermostats in it, runs 180 on the road but overheated in town,, hmmm what to do? Put an 8 blade fan off of 440 mopar, guess what? It will idle all day long, not moving and run cool all the time. This was with new radiator and stock pumps. Only change made was thermostats and the bigger fan.
If removing impeller blades worked, why did Ford start out with 3, then 4, then 6, then 8? That is one of the worst of the old wives tales. Skip Haney's pumps are very good, but not really necessary if the rest of your system is up to snuff. Run thermostats - drill a 3/16" hole in the flange to allow air to escape Run plain water with a wetting agent and lubricant. If you live up where it freezes, check the back of the anti-freeze jug & add just enough anti-freeze to keep your coolant from freezing. Timing is very important. Now then - keeping T-stats in the necks on 59AB-style engines can be a challenge. I personally run the stainless water pipes & those keep the T-stats from traveling up the hose. Some folks run a second clamp just above the T-stat to crimp the hose a bit so it can't move. The restriction in a flathead doesn't necessarily help with forcing water to the back of the block as much as it does help prevent localized boiling at hot spots by slightly increasing the pressure inside the block. Of course, you need to make sure your radiator is in good shape. Finally, as mentioned above, cleanliness is next to godliness for cooling a flathead....the water jackets may very well be full of dirt, rust scale, casting sand, & other debris from the last 75+ years...
my 8ba runs 185 ALWAYS with thermostats, stock pumps, GOOD original 32 ford radiator and a mallory mech. advance dizzy. 50/50 water and AF. it's been rebuilt and CLEANED thoroughly. makes all the difference in the world.
Well,Ill throw my hat in the ring.I have to say i was scared to run a flathead after hearing some of the wives tales but take them for what they are,just wives tales.When i built my 276 i took every precaution i could think of.The motor is at a static 8.9 to 1 ported releived and uses a 400jr with a 4 degree advance.Static timing is at 14 deg.and a total of 36(mallory duel point with no vacuum advance).New speedway pumps and a 4 core br***works radiator.Two hi flow thermostats tack welded into the upper tubes by the heads.A mechanical 6 blade stainless flex fan.NEVER do i see over 195 in traffic on a 90 deg day or cruising at 75 in overdrive down the highway.The system has a 16 lb cap and 50/50 glycol mix.One of biggest things i did to help was to boil the block before i ported then clean the water jackets at the base of the cylinders,beating out the 50 years of crud then reboil it after i ported and relieved.I must have got 2 to 3 pounds of sediment after the first boil.
My dad ran bored flatheads in our grain trucks. Overloaded (of course) running slow to the elevator, fast getting back and nobody believed he could keep those flattys from overheating. When we s****ped the trucks (in the '70's) the secret came out -- his radiators had a couple of extra rows of tubes. Moral of this story? If your radiator isn't big enough nothing's going to work.
I agree with some of this advise but why do people insist on running straight water with water wetter? For years that **** didn't exist. They ran antifreeze and good ole water. If you run straight water it will evaporate, so why? When you use antifreeze, for every degree you supress the freeze point you raise the boiling point that same one degree. So if you have enough antifreeze to lower the freezing point of your fluid by 20 degree, you will raise the boiling point by 20 degree. By raising the boiling point you basically eliminate the worry of water boiling in the block due to flow issues. Add a pressurized cap with a clean system you won't have any problems. The use of the antifreeze also stops the water from evaporating, it has lubrication for your pump bearings, it has some PH balancers, and its been tested and used for better than 60 years now. Beside it stops your motor from freezing and destroying your block. So, why do people recomend not using it? I say it is complete ignoance to throw away all the benifits and tried and true results from the past 60+ years of a product that works!!! ****, I run 75% antifreeze, clean system, Speedway pumps, Recore 32 radiator, no T-stats, and NO fan. I run down the road to F'n cold, it never gets over 145. While in stop and go traffic, sitting at lights it never gets above 195. I have to let it idle in the driveway for 15-20 min before I have to worry about overheating.
Not to be ****y at all but as good discussion I will respond to this. Ignorance? Not hardly.. Antifreeze does 3 things.. Provides for a higher boiling point and also prevents corrosion and of course prevents freezing. I for one do not want to increase my pressures above 6 pounds or increase my temperature within the system on a stock radiator tank (new tubes). Antifreeze is not as effective as water in removing heat from a block (I've seen studies on this) Water wetter changes the molecules of water and allows them to adhere to the walls of the coolant p***ages providing more heat relief. Flatheads should not run at 210 degrees let alone 240. Water will not evaporate in a pressurized system and it should not leave the system in any way. On a pressurized system, If we are having to top off the radiator on a constant basis to keep the engine cool, we have a head crack or head gasket leak. Bottom line.
I was questioned on the 100% vinegar flush on older good running flatheads. 1. Use 4-5% acidic white vinegar. 2. Fill the whole system with 4-5 gallons . 3. Run the engine for a week. Smells like your cooking french fries. 4 Heated Vinegar is more effective. 5. Drain and flush the piss out of it. And not onto your white concrete drive cause your not going to believe the tons of **** that has desolved and will come out. 6. Repeat again after for 3 days. 7.Repeat until your coolant is clear. Usually two times works. Pour some Baking soda in the system to neutralize it. 8. Your coolant will stay crystal clear for years after this and your p***ages will be so clean they look new. Hard on a radiator??? Only if it has weaknesses to begin with.. I still content that its better to have a high volume pump vs. restricting the flow with thermostats or washers.
I agree that these motor cannot survive at higher temperatures, but do you think that the water temperature observed at the temp sending unit is the same as that right next to the cylinder wall? I don't think so. Why does the plain water not transfer heat from the cylinder wall to the surrounting water effectivly? Because the wall of the cylinders are hotter than the boiling point of the water. The point at which the water is supposed to be touching the wall, it cant because the surface is basically boiling the water. It creates a barrier which is essentially steam, If you increase the water boiling point it will not boil at the cylinder wall and effeciant heat transfer will take over. By adding the holes to the thermostats as some describe, gives a p***age from which the steam escapes the system. If you prevent the development of the steam, better heat transfer will prevail. The heat from the cylinder walls will gradually transfer to the surrounding flowing water and be moved out of the system. Thus the importance of a clean, efficiant cooling system. If Antifreeze interferes with cooling, why the hell is my car running so cold? And when I try running it on straight water I can't keep it under 190?
I agree totally, I am just saying water wetter and straight water is more effective. WaterWetter® is a unique wetting agent for cooling systems which reduces coolant temperatures by as much as 30ºF. This liquid product can be used to provide rust and corrosion protection in plain water for racing engines, which provides much better heat transfer properties than glycol-based antifreeze. Or it can be added to new or used antifreeze to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems. Designed for modern aluminum, cast iron, copper, br*** and bronze systems. · Doubles the wetting ability of water · Improves heat transfer · Reduces cylinder head temperatures · May allow more spark advance for increased torque · Reduces rust, corrosion and electrolysis of all metals · Provides long term corrosion protection · Cleans and lubricates water pump seals · Prevents foaming · Reduces cavitation corrosion · Complexes with hard water to reduce scale
Ok, Here are some intersting test results.... not mine by the way... [SIZE=+1]Physical Properties of Liquids[/SIZE] Liquids have a few properties that need to be understood before we can proceed. Chemistry isn't everyone's favorite subject, so well keep it as simple as possible: [SIZE=-1]Specific heat. Specific heat is the amount of heat that it takes to raise the temperature of a standard amount of fluid a standard degree of temperature. For example, one BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise one pound of water one degree F. To raise the temperature of a pound of water ten degrees, we need ten BTUs. This is true any place between the freezing point and boiling point of water. A fluid with a higher specific heat has greater capacity to absorb heat, which is a desirable property for a coolant. Here are the specific heats of the three principal coolants:[/SIZE] <CENTER><TABLE cellPadding=7 width=350 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Substance[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Specific Heat[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Ethylene Glycol[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1].57[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Propylene Glycol[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1].59[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Water[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]1.00[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER> [SIZE=-1]Latent heat. When a fluid is about to freeze or boil, extra energy must be removed or added to accomplish the state transition. If you were trying to boil one pound of water, every BTU you add will get you one degree closer to the boiling point. But just at the boiling point, you need to add much more heat to push it over the top. Latent heat is a very valuable property, because it gives you an easy way to add or remove lots of heat: just get a fluid to boil or freeze, and you've done it.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]The latent heat effect is used in two ways in your cooling system. First, cylinder heads heat very unevenly. There are some very hot spots in the vicinity of the exhaust valves, for example. Coolant coming in contact with these areas will instantly boil, drawing a great deal of heat from the component. This local boiling is called "nucleate boiling". The other way that latent heat is used is more subtle. After cooling the head and block, the coolant p***es through the intake manifold water jacket. This causes droplets of gasoline to vaporize, drawing heat from the coolant. (Vaporizing gasoline in this way actually improves the drivability of the motor, but that's another FAQ). Generally, a high latent heat is a desirable property in a coolant. Here are the latent heats of the three principal coolants:[/SIZE] <CENTER><TABLE cellPadding=7 width=350 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Substance[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Latent Heat of Vaporization[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Ethylene Glycol[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]195 cal/gm[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Propylene Glycol[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]170 cal/gm[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Water[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]540 cal/gm[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER> [SIZE=-1]Vapor Pressure. As heat is added to a liquid, its molecules become more energetic. This energy will tend to force the molecules apart, and turn the liquid into a gas. The liquid will boil if these internal forces exceed the atmospheric pressure acting on the fluid. Thus, the boiling point of a liquid can be increased by increasing ambient pressure. This is why the cap your radiator is a pressure cap. By adding 4, 7, 15, or more pounds of pressure to the system, the boiling point of the coolant is raised.[/SIZE] <CENTER></CENTER> [SIZE=-1]Note that the vapor pressure of ethylene glycol is well below atmospheric pressure at normal working temperatures: if you were to fill your radiator with pure ethylene glycol (not really recommended), you would not need a pressure cap.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Boiling point. As we have discussed, fluid will become gaseous when the kinetic energy of its molecules exceeds the external forces acting on it. In other words, the more pressure, the higher the boiling point. At the point that vapor pressure exceeds ambient atmospheric pressure, the fluid will boil. A sea level, ambient air pressure is 14.7 PSI. If we increase the temperature of a sample of water to 212F, its vapor pressure will be 14.7 PSI, and we will begin to get boiling. But what happens if we are in Denver, where ambient air pressure is lower due to the higher al***ude? If you add heat to your sample of water, vapor pressure can only build to prevailing atmospheric pressure before boiling occurs. So the water boils at a LOWER temperature in Denver, 202F. This has a profound effect on your cooling system, as anyone who travels through mountainous areas knows.[/SIZE] <CENTER></CENTER> <CENTER><TABLE cellPadding=7 width=300 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Substance[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"><CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Boiling Point @ Sea Level[/SIZE]</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%">[SIZE=-1]Ethylene Glycol[/SIZE]</TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%">[SIZE=-1]387[/SIZE]</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%">[SIZE=-1]Propylene Glycol[/SIZE]</TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%">[SIZE=-1]370[/SIZE]</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%">[SIZE=-1]Water[/SIZE]</TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%">[SIZE=-1]212[/SIZE]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER> [SIZE=-1]Surface tension. Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, which carry a positive and negative charge respectively. The polar nature of water creates a fairly strong bond between water molecules. In the absence of air resistance and gravity, a quan***y of water will tend to clump together, and will form a spherical shape, since a sphere has the smallest surface area per unit volume. You can see this when a small amount of water forms a drop. Altering the shape of this drop requires some external force, because the internal forces which keep the water in a clump must be overcome. To see this in action, try floating a double edge razor blade on a cup of water. If the blade is carefully lowered to the surface, it will not sink, because its m*** isn't sufficient to overcome the internal forces which are trying to keep the water together.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]The relationship of surface tension to your cooling system is subtle, but critical. There are points in your engine which are hotter than others, such as the area around your exhaust valves. When water hits one of these areas, its quickly heated to the boiling point. A small bubble of water vapor is formed. This is called nucleate boiling. Once the bubble is formed, we'd like it to disperse, so that additional liquid coolant can reach the hot spot. But the surface tension of the surrounding fluid resists until the bubble is large enough and energetic enough to break away from the surface. Reducing surface tension is a very important goal in coolant selection.[/SIZE] <CENTER></CENTER> [SIZE=-1]Specific Gravity. Some substances are heavier than others. This is intuitively obvious in the case of solids: a volume of steel is heavier than an identical volume of aluminum. The same is true of liquids. Specific gravity measures the density of a substance relative to water.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]In our discussion of specific heat, we related the capacity of a substance to absorb heat to it's m***. Since the volume of our cooling system is constant, filling it with a denser substance will allow it to carry more heat. The higher the specific gravity of a substance, the better:[/SIZE] <CENTER></CENTER> [SIZE=+1]Stovetop Experiments[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]The standard old saw a**** mechanics is "water cools best". This even has some scientific basis, since water has the highest specific heat and latent heat a**** the available coolants. But on the other hand, water has the highest surface tension, lowest specific gravity, and lowest boiling point, which would suggest that there may be problems with pure water as a coolant. I decided to conduct some controlled experiments to determine the facts.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Experimental design. The experiment was structured as follows. For each coolant mixture tested, a fixed volume of coolant was used (one pint). The stovetop was thermostatically controlled to 900F, and was allowed to reach its full operating temperature prior to each trial. The test coolant was placed in an aluminum pie tin, at 70F room temperature. The time required to heat the fluid to boil was observed.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]BTU output of the stove was calculated based on measuring the time required to boil a one pound sample of water, mixed with surfactant. This calculation is almost certainly incorrect, but since we are mainly interested in relative results, it's OK.. [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Since significant nucleate boiling occurs as soon as the pan comes in contact with the stovetop, a true boiling condition was determined when the temperature of the coolant reached its limiting temperature, i.e., when the entire volume of coolant was at the boiling point. A fast acting thermocouple and calibrated meter was used to determine this.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]The coolants tested included pure water, pure ethylene glycol, 50/50 EGW, water modified with a surfactant, and 50/50 modified by a surfactant. These are the most common mixes.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Rationale: The pie tin is a fair model of a cooling system. The stovetop represents the heat generated by the engine, while the exposed surface of the coolant provides heat transfer to the atmosphere, emulating the radiator in a car. Using a standard volume of coolant reflects the way an actual cooling system is filled, and therefore includes the full systemic effect of specific gravity. The pie tin has minimal m***, so the heat transfer properties of the pan need not be considered. The longer the coolant can function without "boiling over", the more effective it will be in a real engine.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Shortcomings: In the experimental model, fluid remains static. The effect of circulation through a water pump may be significant. The systems is unsealed and unpressurized, which undoubtedly affects the results. In particular, results with pure water and aqueous glycol solutions are distorted, since significant evaporation occurs during the test.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Results:[/SIZE] <CENTER> </CENTER><DIR>[SIZE=-1]Test 1. The above graph summarizes the first experiment, a trial of pure water vs. pure ethylene glycol vs. 50/50. It's clear that a 50/50 mix of water and ethylene glycol not only has a higher boiling point than water, but extends the heat carrying capacity of the system, which can be determined by calculating the area under the curve up to the boiling point. (Pure ethylene glycol was not tested to its boiling point, since it is very flammable.) The systemic heat carrying capacity is displayed in this graph:[/SIZE] <CENTER> </CENTER> [SIZE=-1]Test 2. There are products called surfactants which improve the cooling ability of water by lowering it's surface tension. The next test attempts to measure the effectiveness of Redline Water Wetter, a commonly available surfactant. For comparison, a test was run with dishwashing liquid, another commonly available surfactant. The quan***y of surfactant added to one pint of our test mix, per manufacturer's spec, was 1 fluid oz. Note that surfactants do not change the boiling point of the working fluid, but do affect it's ability to transfer heat.[/SIZE] <CENTER> [SIZE=-1].[/SIZE]</CENTER>[SIZE=-1]Test 3. Various combinations of surfactant, ethylene glycol, and water were tested. The use of surfactant only applies to aqueous solutions.[/SIZE] <CENTER> </CENTER> [SIZE=-1]Test4. Non-aqueous glycol. At least one manufacutrer makes a pure glycol coolant that is designed to be used without water. Since glycol has a relatively low specific heat, a concern with using such products is that operating temperatures would increase. To test this hypothesis, an measurement was made of the number of BTU's required to raise various coolant mixtures to a standard temperature (212F). The negative effect of surface tension is evident in the results for water vs. water+Water Wetter. The results for ethylene glycol are especially interesting, since they suggest a specific heat of .78, vs. an expected result of .57. This may mean that commercial coolants have a different composition than standard, or that there's some factor (like convection cooling) that isn't being measured in the experiment. Based on these results, pure glycol should not raise normal operating temperatures.[/SIZE] <CENTER></CENTER> </DIR>[SIZE=-1]Summary of Results. Water does not cool best. But water with a surfactant is an excellent coolant. Pure ethylene glycol gives the best boilover protection, but should never be used in non aqueous solutions because it's inflammable. Given that most drivers are concerned with freeze protection as well as cooling, a 50/50 mix, plus a surfactant is the best choice.[/SIZE] <DIR><CENTER></CENTER></DIR>[SIZE=-1]Copyright©2002 Michael Frank[/SIZE]
I thought I'd share this. It's a NORS Atlas brand stat for a Flathead. You can see the vent hole at 9 o'clock. It's less than .125 but it is there. It seems to be a flathead quirk. I have read that guys put a couple of tiny self tapping screws down through the flange into the rim of the neck of the head to keep them in place.
I understand it chemically changes the physical properties of the water to increase cooling, but why do people constantly suggest to use straight water and WaterWetter, which provides no freeze/cooling protection supplied by Antifreeze. When you can use it in conjuction with antifreeze and take advantage of all the other things that antifreeze brings with it.
Since this topic appears to be relating to a cooling issue, this is my take on hose restriction. If your main goal is to address engine cooling of first importance is the radiator, is it a new radiator or a used original radiator? New radiators don't need to be cleaned out but old radiators build up corrosion and must be cleaned out by removing the tanks and cleaning the p***age tubes and re***embling. Running hose water thru the radiator will not give an accurate evaluation of the radiator condition. Second you need to run a fan, mechanical preferred but electric ok if it is a puller. The next step is determining the operating temperature of the engine with no thermostats or washers, How hot is hot? You should run the vehicle to operating conditions and then take a radiator thermometer, that you can get at the local auto parts store and check the actual operating temperature of the coolant. Knowing the upper tank temperature will give you an idea of the water temp exiting the engine. Should be in the area of 180-185* over that may require further investigation. Since most flatheads were not designed to run at modern higher road speeds, the original design water pumps spin a little fast at todays 60+ travel and have a tendency to spool the coolant. The newer design pumps are more positive pumps and are more efficient a higher speeds. Personal approach to this is that they are too efficient and have a tendency to circulate the water faster than necessary. This gives a lower water temp reading but increased cylinder wall temperatures due to the inability to exchange heat between the surfaces. As the water p***es over the metal at a higher speed the heat exchange does not have time to process . So my approach is to run thermostats in the heads, slows the coolant flow thru the radiator to allow heat exchange, works the same as washers and gives a faster warm up . You can use a washer but a freeze out plug, of hose size, with a hole drilled in it positions better than a washer.
PeteJoe, Looking at some of these test results. You should be using the Water/Glycol mixture if your are concerned about pressurizing you system. You will get more out of the Glycol mixture given most of the other tests place the WatetWetter comperable to the Glycol mixture. Besides now if you use the Glycol you wont have to change fluids when you put the truck away for the winter months.
Good thread. I had a really really big core put in between the factory radiator tanks on my F1. The radiator shop owner said he's done this to lots of flathead-powered cars, even ones with air conditioning added on, and he gaurantees you cannot possibly make it overheat. They went so far as to let one flathead sit idling on a hot day with the AC going full blast. Sounds crazy. I suppose this is like using a sledge hammer to fix a dent....but way more cooling capacity can't hurt.
Ok, I concede You got me by a hair there. I was comparing water + wetter vs. 50/50 straight antifreeze. Still we had a good mix of ideas to think about. Good post ****, If the new impellers ran the volume too fast wouldn't the heat transfer be seen overall in all the systems coolant and at your gauge not just beside the cylinder walls?
This is what we did We tried every trick in th book - but when you have a huge lift cam, larger valves, and paper-thin heads - there just isn't much hope. It ran cool(er) on alcohol - but could not get enough volume through the Stromberg 48's with so much overlap in the cam. When we have time, we want to try a Hilborn setup on alcohol - if anyone knows of one of the very early Hilborn units for sale - please let me know... I would agree - in general - the waterpumps are moving the water too fast - you need to try to keep the water in the radiator longer. A company (http://www.petersonfluidsys.com/engine_cool.html) makes a restrictor that fits in the outlet radiator hose (for Chevy's for example) that slows the flow out the radiator. We use it on our LS7 big block and it did help.
For whats it's worth. In mid 60s ran a 296 in a TRP. 9.5+ static comp. Followed the old time methoids and removed everyother impeller blade ,and ran 180 stats . Antifreeze 13 lb cap on a modified FH Cad radiator,space limited me to a 15 inch 6 blade fan. Going down the road right on 180 , in trafic 185-190. And trafic in Phoenix at 6pm in the summer you have air temps 105-115. I think modern design waterpumps with thermo stats and anti freeze is probably the way to go. As to restrictors that was orignaly for racing as nothing there to fail. Now days without the hot caustic boil tanks it is damm hard to get a block really clean and water scale is a GOOD insulator. Tea of Coffee any one ?? LOL
This ought to mix it up a bit. There was a guy at the So Cal open house who had a flat motor with No fan belts! He drove it in and it didn't puke any water. He claimed it never got hot and cooled by a principle of heat rising and therefore circulating without a pump, or something to that effect! Any comments on that one?
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