Projects Coolant recovery bottles in the 50s?

Just put a new radiator in my 55 Sunliner and it does not have the over flow tube that goes down to the bottom but just a fitting to put a hose on like a modern radiator,so with that I would like to put a coolant recover bottle on it but not one of those plastic versions so was there any made back in the 50s out of metal or anything that would not look so out of place.

 

@junkyardjeff

You might want to check your radiator neck and cap to be sure they are designed to work with a coolant recovery system. Pre-coolant recovery systems the cap pressure relief was a one way deal. It let out excess pressure but did not accommodate the return of fluid after cooling off.

Likely your new radiator/cap is set up for recovery, but worth checking to be sure.

Ray

 

WW 2 canteen

 

The main difference between recovery not recovery systems, is that there's a rubber gasket around the outer part of the radiator cap, so it can hold a vacuum. Earlier non recover caps just had a metal to metal seal, that would prevent the overflow from splashing out around the cap too easily.

Sincc the neck in the new radiator has a hose fitting, it's very likely that it's designed to work with coolant recovery.

you can use any container you want, just make sure the hose goes almost to the bottom of it, and it will suck the coolant back into the radiator tank as the engine cools.

Or don't bother with the container, just check the coolant level in the radiator occasionally, as long as it's over the tubes when cold, it's fine.

 

At a local cruise night, as a joke one of our club members, a NYS State trooper, had one of his "on duty" buddys roll up and write an "open container" ticket for one of our other club members. Seems that club member was using a Jack Daniels bottle for his overflow.

 

Jeff, I’ve been running my 56 now for almost 10 years without one. I use the stock 7 psi cap and the coolant down 1” just like they came. With the radiator I have I’m sure I could to a 14-15 psi. I never loose or use any coolant.
I have thought many times I’d adding a recovery tank also stop when seeing them. I’ve thought of one of the street rodder style tall narrow ones and painting it black but since I’ve never seen the need I didn’t. Hope you find one that looks more like it belongs.

 

As far as a container goes, I used an old Optikleen washer bottle and bracket.

 

Look at some of the Aluminum Drink bottles you can put one in a lathe or drill press and spin it then using Gray Scotchbrite remove the lettering and have a nice aluminum bottle. Thats what I did but with some weird Surplus bottle I got somewhere,


You can just see it stuffed down in the corner on my Willys

 

I was planning on using this from mooneyes. Clean and simple.

 

Don’t have a picture, but I used an empty propane bottle. The small green ones you get at Wally world.

 

This is a beautiful engine and engine compartment. Very neat and clean!

 

There's a couple of ways to look at this for necks with a small hose. See if the hose connection is above or below the cap spring loaded seal on the radiator. A radiator with a cap with a spring loaded seal below the hose will only let coolant out during an overheating situation and the coolant expands too much. The pressure is relieved by the spring and the expanded amount of coolant is pushed out, through the hose into the overflow/puke tank. This keeps the mess to a minimum. When things cool down, the cap seal seals things back up and nothing will be sucked back into the radiator. You will find on some older car radiators there is a brass tube attached to the next that dumps the coolant down rather than all over the engine compartment. Newer cars and trucks have a surge tank. The radiator has only a cap that seals around the neck, no spring relief and moving seal, if it even has a cap at all. The small hose on the radiator neck will be below the radiator cap seal or top of the radiator thus letting expanding and cooling coolant flow in and out of the radiator. The surge tank has the radiator cap with relief mechanism. This tank allows the coolant system to expand and contract. There is a "make-up" line at the bottom that feeds the lower radiator hose so coolant can re-enter the system. This is why you see "COOL" and "HOT" lines on the tank. If things still get too hot the cap on the surge tank will relieve the pressure as a typical radiator cap does.

 

Did you empty it by placing it on top of a fence post and shooting it with a .22? Then trekking through the woods to try and find it.

 

Old Strohs beer can...

 

Na, nothing that easy, just a .45 1911.

 

I seen one made from an old brass looking fire extinguisher. It looked like about a qt in size and looked pretty cool.

 

I can't recall when they made you have one at the drags--was usually whatever worked

 

I like the concept of the "recovery" system. It should keep the radiator topped off with no air pocket.

Did you shoot from the hip?

That might be mine. I posted it a year or two back. The 'knob' on top is a high/low dipstick and the nipple at the bottom has a standpipe that goes up near the top for an overflow function.

 

Made one from an aluminum water bottle. You should include an overflow outlet in case the amount of coolant released is more than the recovery bottle capacity.

 

Back in the day....mine was a Coors can because I was underage and Coors wasn’t sold in Iowa. Just for the “cool” factor.

 

This is the one on my avatar.

Sent from my LG-H700 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I like the glass washer fluid bottle so that is what I am going to do,I forgot all about those and would look alot better then one of those cheesy plastic versions.

 

I always thought the overflow bottle system's advantage was that it kept air out of the rad itself, so slowed down oxidation of the coolant and thus engine corrosion.

 

I also use an old fire extinguisher for my catch bottle/recovery. It's not an old brass one, just an old aluminum version. I stripped off the label, and polished it up with some Mothers aluminum polish. Bought the strap at an electrical supply house.

 

I used a shine jug on a car I used to have

 

I made one from a piece of aluminum 'vette driveshaft.
A bottle will reduce the suds in the system, improving its efficiency up to 10%.

 

Anything that holds the liquid w/o leaking.

 

If all fails I will just get a piece of tubing with a short piece of rubber tubing and make it like the original radiator.

 

I made mine from a piece of aluminum electrical conduit. It has a siphon tube to the bottom with an overflow tube out the side near the top. A petcock out the bottom, too. Painted black to kind of blend in.

Gary

 

Who remembers Ovaltine?