Projects Mid Life Crisis 62 Vette

I'm heading up to Tucson, to see how it does in the big city in summer. Should only be around 100 there.

 

Arizona, where “only around 100” is a thing! Lol!

 

But, it's a dry heat"!!!

 

that’s not far from me and I believe they will be at mokan as well I have some friends goin on that deal I’ll try to make it up there to see you and my friends run

 

Rolling around Phoenix I happened upon Harley with a soft top,
Much like on an old Model T or A.

 

So what does the thermostat do?

 

If the cooling system is undersized, dirty, or overloaded then all the thermostat does is help the engine warm up quicker on initial startup. Then it provides a very slight flow restriction whilst the car comes up to it's (higher) operating temperature, just like Fogger said.

If the cooling system is correctly sized, clean, and loaded within that sizing then the thermostat acts as intended. It helps the engine warm up by preventing fluid moving past the cylinders. Once warm, it opens... and then modulates slightly. The modulation holds the cooling system at a relatively fixed temperature (within a few degrees), and the car does NOT come up to a higher operating temperature. Modern cars behave this way... their temp gauges are relatively stable until put under heavy load.

My guess is that most people run older cars with strained cooling systems, or upgrade the motor/thrash the engine without upgrading the cooling system. It reinforces the belief that the thermostat does nothing but warm the engine on startup.

Cheers,
Harv

 

Yes, an engine will reach operating temperature regardless of thermostat, but if the operating temperature it reaches is only 120 degrees or something, then it will wear out considerably faster than if it were to get to 160 or 180 or so. And probably won't operate as efficiently.

 

Yep, a thermostat regulates engine coolant temps and by extension, engine component temps to keep them within a desired range. The manufacturer wants Matilda going to the store on Wednesdays and Officer Joe who is idling for long periods then chasing down speeders to both keep the engine within the best temp range in all expected operating conditions to ensure the engine clearances are correct, the combustion is complete and not building deposits, along with keeping the oil warm and evaporating out blowby.

 

Very recently in the uk there was a huge issue with BMW police cars having bearing failures due to long periods of idling followed by high load.

 

Thermostat controls the minimum operating temperature. If you have a 180 degree and the car runs at 200, a 160 won't make it run cooler.

 

Bingo.

Jim,
With all the recent changes a 160°F thermostat is drastic. Engine wear will increase, more like 10x. Every 1K miles is 10K miles in wear. Just to solve a percolation problem, this is not the way.

Critcally, if the oil is not getting up to temp it will not boil off contaminents nor will it properly lubricate, especially non pressurized oil surfaces(cylinder walls, cam lobes, rocker pivots, timing chain, etc) oil will be glopped on. Worse if the engine is not hot enough fuel will condensate and increase cylinder wall wash down and oil dilution.

Switching to a lighter weight oil might aid in better lubricating, but will not solve fuel condensate issues.
An oil temp gauge would better inform you of engine running condition.

I would highly suggest reinstalling a 195°F thermostat.

If carb percolation is still an issue, a phenolic spacer along with rubber coated washers to thermally isolate the carb from direct intake heat should be done.

 

I've always had a 160 thermostat in the car, and will keep it in the car. I don't anticipate any issues with fuel or water condensation in the engine. The difference between 160 and 195 on engine life isn't severe enough for me to worry about it....

I can get a good feel for oil temp by watching the oil pressure gauge. It starts out pegged (at highway speed), drops to about 45 when the engine is warmed up but the thermostat is still partly closed...then when coolant temp goes up further, the oil pressure drops further. Which is normal.

 

Oil temp is a tricky thing too high a temp causes oxidation and breakdown too low of a temp causes nitration which makes acids. An oil temp of 175 to 220 is good, oil temps generally run 10 or so degrees higher than water temps, unless you have an oil cooler. A 160 thermostat will probably cause oil to be at 170 degrees or so, maybe a little low but with frequent oil changes shouldn’t cause a measurable increase in wear IMHO. Lower engine bay temps should allow the engine to make a little more hp.
Dan

 

More hot weather fun ahead. Going up to Tucson Dragway for the test n tune tonight, to see how it runs after all that work. Hope I make it home again!

It should be about 100 up there when the sun goes down. Racing starts around 7.

 

Good luck.

 

Clubbed the first run, then ran 15.95. I'll try it without the air cleaner.

Also it's been using a lot of oil, there's something wrong with the heads, I guess

 

Are your rings fully seated yet?

 

The rings were seated just fine, I didn't do anything to them when I installed the new cam and heads.

I have a problem with a serious stumble off the line...first run it quit running, second I think I didn't give it full throttle for a while, third it stumbled badly.

car 33

 

That’s a bugger. Intake leak from the valley?

 

Could be a bad exhaust valve seal Fowled plug could make it stumble.

 

Hmm. Down about 5 mph from the original engine setup. It's hot weather, obviously, but that's a lot and the car has better heads and camshaft now. Something's not happy, but what? Almost certainly a carb issue with the stumble, suppose that's first thing to address. I'd have sure figured on a nice power gain with the new parts. The power just has to be there, but where's it hiding?

 

The times on the best run are very close to what it ran before, at Tucson. It's gone a lot faster where there's dense air (Drag Week and Power Tour last year).

 

In your second run - person you ran against did a 12.5 but 120 mph. How the hell u get that combination? High gear, slow time, great speed - strange

 

Sorry to hear you had gremlins. You've been down the strip enough to spot things and diagnose troubles. Hope you get it healthy and consistent.

 

Sorry, I for some reason was thinking your engine was a fresh rebuild, had to go back and read. Hope it’s something simple. Good luck.
Dan

 

Good place to look. Had a fresh set straight out of the box do that.

 

I got a tip to check to see if the PCV system is where the oil is coming from....it might be. Maybe the roller lifters make more oil mist? hmmm.....




the stock soup can is still in the valley.

 

Simple A-B-A test. Take the car out and watch for smoke. Disconnect and retest. Reconnect and retest.

 

Can you stuff a piece of Stainless Steel pot scrubber in the hole to help with that?
Could there possibly be not enough fresh air draw through the engine? Is there any oil coming out of the oil fill breather too?