Ok ,,, are Both temps in same Location's Or 1 in head Other @ thermostat? If one in head ,other @ thermostat should be two different readings, Witch is Higher , I ask all this is because I Run all you show in 3 different A & 32's 1 full hood 2 with zipp's with mechanical fans 1 with Electric fan 2 engines over 650 hp 1 roots set up on 10:1 compression All 32 Rads, 1 rad is Walker F H radiator on chevy V8 , all W Zs
I have always made it home has gotten to 230. I think all air is out. Ran a little cooler with holes on freeway. Pulls a lot of air through rad evey on low. Timing is 12 at idle 31 total and controlled by ecu. Has done same with 3 different engines and tunes. My 34 truck has a chopped 32 alum. Rad runs just above thermostat with ac. I am thinking will try alum rad. Just do not know 2 row big tub or I see 4 rows? Then maybe the Zip
Verified the temp with another source? I’ve seen gauges read wrong. Got a hand held thermometer? fresh built engine?
Add 4-5 degs , cheaper then Rad !! It might Like 17-18 degs BTDC my blown I run 26 BTDC From experience if TDC is actually correct , SBC like @ least 15-16 , Total will / would be another Tunning task .. Even stock over what book says from OEM
Somtime Flaps over holes work in conjunction at idle and open up at highway speeds , Depends on how the shrould is designed and yours is pretty square & Flat !!
I have a 31 with a 383 and a Walker Z rad. Fan shroud has a 13” electric fan and no holes. Never gets past 195 degrees. I would try plugging the holes and see if that makes a difference.
If your readings are correct, it is not getting to a proper operating temperature. You will not be doing your engine any favours by running it that much cooler. Engine efficiency (both power and fuel usage) is optimised at the recommended operating temp. Running cool can also increase wear levels because the clearances and tolerances are also designed to be where they should be at the correct temp. It can also mean that condensation and impurities are not burned off properly. I always find it funny that people think that running their engine as cool as possible will protect it and extend it's life, when the truth is that it can be doing the exact opposite.
That's been mentioned a lot and it's a full load of ****. Yes, you might get a little more wear operating your engine at extremes (too cold or too hot), and you might gain a fraction of a percent of a horsepower running it colder (tests have shown up to around 2% in the most significant cases), but for hobbyist vehicles it really doesn't matter. Higher engine temperatures are primarily for emissions and economy. For those of us with hot rods that are primarily used occasionally, reasonably well maintained, and often more performance oriented, you're not going to notice any difference in engine wear or usable life over the life of the vehicle whether you run a 165 or 195 thermostat. It's irrelevant. If you notice that tiny fraction of mileage decrease, you need to put your foot into the throttle more often.
Those holes are great for freeway speeds to allow air flow through the radiator, but really reducing fan efficiency when the fan is trying to draw air, but is instead drawing air through those holes. Make up some aluminum or flat plastic flaps with hinges and rivet or screw the hinges so the flaps cover the holes. This way when the fan draws air it will pull the flaps shut, but at highway speeds the flaps will get pushed open.
Well first off flatheads tend to run hot and the Br***works radiator solves that problem, second I installed a PCV system on it to keep condensation to a minimum and the oil is changed about every 500 miles since the car isn't driven daily. Most flathead sites recommend 180 degree operating temperature on a flathead V8 , I've run flatheads since the mid 60's and only problem I've ever had involved broken rods.
.125" rubber, pop riveted over the top of the holes, works good, easy fix. They will blow out of the way at freeway speed if they need to. I have read all of the posts and if that car isn't puking, it isn't sick enough to worry about. Gauges are not always correct, I have some SW wings (hecho en México) that are basically for looks. They say my flathead is running 230 degrees but the direct fit gauge on the engine says 190. It has never puked. Add a direct gauge to the block, it is nice to have as well as a direct fit oil pressure and fuel gauge. I have never heard of someone taking a copper/br*** radiator that isn't plugged or leaking and replace it with an aluminum radiator, so it cools better. But it is your money, your car. Replacing stuff without a proper diagnosis is not the answer. You can put a zip riser on, mechanical fan, aluminum radiator, new thermostat, waterless coolant, bigger pulleys, etc, and spend thousands of dollars and you may fix it, and you may not. I recently saw the DR for some serious back pain that has been getting worse over the years. They scheduled me for pain management shots in my spine. That worried me so I got a second opinion from a neurosurgeon that came highly recommended. He said "why would they start treating something before they know what is wrong"? I am waiting on an MRI as we speak, and I am not going to return to the other DR. Your car issues are similar. You are seeking advice on the internet (not always a bad start, but the last time I consulted the internet for stomach pain it said I was pregnant) but throwing parts at a problem before you know the problem or even if there is a problem is not wise. It is what cut rate, grease monkey garages do. If you can't figure it out, see a spe******t. Just my opinion. Thanks for reading.
This statement is surprising to me. You've never heard of this in your life? I've known a lot of people who have done this after eliminating other possibilities, most often with great success. It's really not that unusual. I know there's a hate on for aluminum radiators here, though.
@05snopro440 I think @Bandit Billy might be referring To Pre 40s unless weight saving or not available, @ least thats why I used Aluminum
No hater here. There is a 4 core aluminum radiator in my 442 and a Brice Thomas Aluminum in my HEMI 41 PU. Br***works in my blown flathead roaster. I don't have an alloy prejudice. Aluminum is cheaper, cheaper is always better.
I never said that the temps the guy quoted were a major concern. As far as I am aware, everything I stated is correct, even if the difference it would make is small. You will notice that I didn't say anything about what he should run, and what extent of difference it would make. And, by the way, I never mentioned thermostat temperature rating at all, as it makes no conceivable difference to engine operating temp. The thermostat will only affect the time it will take for the engine to warm up to at or near it's optimal operating temp. If the guys flathead runs all day at or near 180* that is not a problem. If it runs a fair bit cooler a lot of the time, or takes a long time to get up to operating temperature, the engine will be seeing an increased level of wear (a****st other things). Small issues, but simple physics. If that is not a concern then people should, as always, do as they wish.....
15 years ago in need [I thought] of a new radiator as the copper/br*** one in my car was pretty corroded looking, gradually running hotter and hotter [I had put AC in] and I was going to rebuild my car so I started looking at Aluminum radiators. Current radiator was [still is] cross flow single p*** four row 1/2" tube, 17" x 22" core. Best aluminum I could find at that time was two row 1-1/2" tube, same core size; don't think they had double p*** radiators then. I called two of the highest $$ brands and asked would aluminum be better than a new copper radiator? I gave a HP figure of 450 and was told, "" lighter but not even close in cooling"". As an intermediate effort [I had been trying all kinds of Mech fans] I would give a new thermostat a shot. 20$$, 160°. Same cruddy radiator and it runs at 155° around town, maybe 165° at 70mph in sixth gear. Maybe 5° hotter with the AC on.
Aluminum vs br***/copper? Br***/copper sure is easier to repair. Try soldering up a repair in an aluminum radiator. Not all of us have the equipment or skill to weld up a repair on an aluminum radiator. And as the radiator ages I don't expect it will get easier to weld on either. Kind of "throw away" parts? Use it till it breaks, then s**** it and get a new one? (fyi, I'm running aluminum radiator in the A pickup, br***/copper Walker in my 47 coupe)
I repaired a hole in my aluminum super EZ JB aluminum repair. nothing to it br*** vs aluminum for heat transfer? I know a guy that builds both. Excellent products. Needed a rad for a tight fit. Supercharged SBC in a Porsche. At the time he only produced aluminum. Gave his radiator scientists the hp, cubic inch… info. Said they couldn’t do it. Called Walker. Talked to their radiator scientist. Said they could. The walker was br***. But it wasn’t as much the material as the core size capability they had. Walke could build a thicker core at the time. The aluminum guy now builds both. His scientists say br*** as a material transfers better. The one impedance to that is the soldier for the fins on the tubes. The other is core design. The aluminum rads they build have tubes twice the size of br***. So, a few years ago I replaced a working copper/br*** with an aluminum. Did a engine swap and needed the ends in a different spot. So I had one built in aluminum the same size but different hose connections. Went from cooling a 350 with copper/br*** to cooling a 500 with aluminum. The 500 runs 185 (too dang cool) the 350 ran 215 to 220. Never boiled over Both new hoses, stats, fresh builds, correct timing Same gauge. Same sending unit that’s my real world experience. both ran the same flex fan and no shroud
I tried regular JB Weld on an aluminum radiator, it worked for about a day and then started leaking again. But the damage was to the top tank, because of the way the support rod bracket was attached, causing it to oil can. So after a short time the oil canning caused the JB Weld to fail. I'm not sure JB Weld is fully chemical resistant to antifreeze either. But if it worked for you, good deal. In my case I had to take the radiator out and have it patched at a weld shop. If it was copper/br*** I could've done the repair myself.
^^^^^ Like @ekimneirbo said Apple to Oranges !! One of mine is 10.5-1 with close to 10 psi With Walker Z
Same ride Same size radiator Same gauge Same fan Same no shroud Both the copper and aluminum cooled the ride Different variables? .060 350 with ****py dished pistons and 64cc heads. Cheap thick gaskets Stock bore 500, slight mill on the head Timing? Don’t really know. Set both with a vacuum gauge
All I’m saying was both worked. The caddy runs too cool in my opinion. Would rather see it in the 210 range
Tape , Restriction to Taylor your Temp.. Just curious have you moved the temp sender to different Location & note Temps ? I have mentioned that I have experiment and used up to six temp gauges all calibrated to different location locations with different temp readings 10-25 ish average , one spot was 40 higher . I found that P S cooler then D S. My testing was on 1gen sbc & bbc , Oem blocks , My aftermarket block has different cooling . On one of my engine Now I have been playing with Im my thinking I am running coolant threw block Front to Rear , coming from rear of intake back to radiator # 8 lines one on each side , in front T ing with A 1/4 ID line to Rad. I do not have correct test equipment I am trying to balance the temps on each cylinder at the head combustion chamber and spark plugs. Might be a wast of time , I do not know .
I had Br***works build me a radiator for my avatar roadster 2009. Not one problem with it ever! I have in excess of 40k trouble free miles on it and in 100° weather it runs 190°! It wasn't cheap in cost nor quality and I am very happy with it.
Hot weather so the cooling questions start. If it is not puking coolant it is probably ok. My understanding of fan shrouds is all the air has to be pulled by the fan as that provides air flow for as much surface as possible, so no “high speed” holes. Walker radiators have a high fin count and may require a proper fan. Br***works typically have fewer fins for better air flow. Mine has worked great for 33 years, engine driven fan, & shroud. Air flow out of the engine compartment is essential. The photos of the o/p Model A look pretty much filled up.
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