Add a couple of degrees more inintal timing and see if that helps the low speed cooling. Lack of air flow at low speeds = warmer engine. If possiable add a fan with 6 blades.
Using washers and the wrong type of thermostat is old hat thinking. The latest thinking by flathead cooling experts is to get the coolant flowing as much as possible. T/stats from a parts store are very restrictive. The best ones are NOS. If you cant find NOS then you're better with none. Put some detergent in your radiator and run it for a week or so. Drain and flush out. Ditch the t/stats. Refill with plain water and whatever antifreeze you need for your climate, and add a bottle of Purple Ice. This stuff makes the coolant "stick" to the sleeves, thus getting rid of local hot spots, and can lower your temp up to 20 degrees. It's also a water pump lube and corrosion inhibitor. The biggest enemies of cooling in flatheads are the brown sludge that builds up in the water jackets, and a radiator with partially blocked tubes and fins coming away from the tubes.
rockabillyb***man- i agree with you on the get the coolant flowing, but it didnt have thermostats before and it didnt run very cool. i added the thermostats and it started running at 155-165 all day. all the sudden it spiked up. im thinking something is clogging her tight. i might try the cascade and then flush her out. somekind of coolant restriction is needed to transfer the heat between the block and the liquid right? or am i mistaken??? i might gut the thermostats and leave a bit of the washer effect. thanks for the help mang- Raf
Cheap stuff first: Look under the manifold for a full set of baffles...you should have a vertical tube near the front and a set of little plates that snap onto the oil tube at bottom of valley. This gets pulled before hot tanking...did it go back in?? Anything missing in the way of baffles allows lots of extra splash and mist into valley, and the extra oil overwhelms the stem seals, which happen to be made of air in flatheads. Stock system depends of faith and gravity and cannot take any extra oil. While messing around, dump Marvel Mystery oil into oil and gas; this may actually increase your smoke while you are using it in the tank, but it will lube and loosen things that may be unhappy from little use. And drive it, as said by several above. It needs some road time before you worry much. If there is a real problem after flogging the details (does advance actually WORK, stats, etc.), a MINOR problem can be helped a good deal by installing a PCV kit, which is great for durability too.
Thanks bruce, thats in the top side of the motor correct? i did use marvel mystery oil in the tank and i will drive it untill i do anything drastic. i changed the oil to mobil vr1 (zinc) and went with a heavier weight 10-50 i believe...? i forget but it was thicker than what he had in it. so far it doesnt really smoke much till it gets into the 195-200 ish on hot days im ***uming the oil gets more viscous and either slides past the rings or defeats gravity and squeezes past the valves but im betting on the rings. im re flushing the block right now with white vinegar im going to let it sit for a couple days maybe 1-2 and then flush the snot out of it. i checked the thermostats and they opened fine in a pot of water. it was running 195-200 ish outside temp was 95 degrees. im ***uming its a wee bit elevated but last i was in there the heads seemed like they hadn't been flushed in a while. ill post to see how this ends up. thanks for the help- Raf
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