Technical Cooling System Setup for 37 Chevy

My 37 Chevy sedan has a low compression 350 V8 with Vintage air. It gets hot in traffic with the A/C on in 85 degree Miami winter weather. The engine is running 17 degrees initial timing with 19 degrees mechanical advance and 10 degrees vacuum (manifold vac), and a Moroso curve kit with weak springs. I have ordered a Champion radiator to replace my 3" core Copper/brass unit (came with unfinished car) which has staggered core tubes with wider spacing in the central rows. there is a 16" Flexalite 3000 CFM puller fan on the back of the core. Does anyone have experience with 37 Chevs and A/C, as far as cooling system configurations? I should have about 2.6 inches in front of the water pump with the new radiator.

 

My ‘37 has a Brassworks radiator, fan shroud, Flex-a-lite mechanical fan and seldom gets over 200 degrees on a 100 degree day in traffic with the a/c on in a black car. For me, a shroud seems to be a key component. Of course, there will be a zillion different opinions on cooling systems.

 

My '37 truck will also heat up setting still with A/C on, cools right off once moving. Mine is due to the low rpm of the 250 inline six at idle and the location of the fan. The inline has a very low water pump, so I had to drop the radiator down, but the fan blades still go below the core. The engine is mounted low so the T350 didn't need a large hump in the floor. My home made shroud helped a bunch but didn't cure the problem, I just keep an eye on the temp and speed up the rpm when needed.
I have a 17" flex fan, biggest I could fit in the tight space. I also added a smaller water pump pulley to speed up the fan and coolant, and sealed all the air gaps around the radiator so all the air has to go through the core. I have a little more then 1/2" between fan blade and the core, and 1/2" between fan blade and harmonic balancer, I had to make a custom spacer for the fan to get it centered in the narrow space.

 

show us some pictures.

My guess is the fan is not as good as you hope it is. There is quite a variety of electric fans available, some work well, some don't.

I like mechanical fans, but it's not easy to get a decent sized one into those cars, due to how close the pump sits to the lower hose.

 

So, what is hot? Is it 200, 210, 220? Is it pushing coolant out the overflow?

 

Very few electric fans actually pull the rated cfm stated, so could easily be not enough air movement. I use a mechanical 6 blade fan on a pretty high performance 350 that's got Dart heads and is 430HP in my '39 Chev coupe, and it only gave me cooling issues in hot weather idling in traffic. My issue was the fan location being located lower and not pulling air across the upper half of my radiator. I added an electric fan as a pusher on the front side and a relay/stat I set at 185 degrees to come on anytime temps got to 185. This solved all my issues and the temps never get over 185 degrees, even idling in hot temps. My radiator is a two row aluminum with two one inch rows so it cools well with enough air flow.

 

Thanks for the info. My car hits 220 in minutes, with the Cham

I was thinking the same thing regarding fans. The Flexalite only draws 18 amps, while other units with lower CFM ratings draw 30. Which is the best for this application?

I think a low mounted pusher to complement my high mounted puller may be in the works.

 

It hits 220 in minutes.

 

Besides installing a low pusher , a shroud is in the works. Looks like it will have to be fabbed. The question is do I replace the 16" flexalite and if so with what?

 

What you have now is a 16" diameter radiator when not moving. Add a shroud and pull the fan off the core as much as possible so it can pull air through the whole core. The fan will likely pull more air when it's not right on the core.

 

Just a thought,lot of stuff under hood in photos. Woundering if air is getting back out well enough? I'd prop open hood a little [ few inchs each side ] as a test n drive,vs full closed< careful so as not to scratch paint. to see if it cools better[ if not moving out-it can't cool ether.]

 

I have the radiator out right now in order to move it forward and create the maximum space for a shroud. The cross bar needs to be moved forward to allow the condenser to do the same (it mounts to the grill shell). The radiator was spaced back .5 inch to clear the condenser. That is a good point about the hood. It seals to the cowl unlike most later cars.

 

Help , stupid me here , please . What is total ignition advance at 2000 RPM ? Where is the Vacuum Advance connected , full or timed vacuum ? Pull one of the plugs and share an image , please . Thank and be safe

 

If it ain’t boiling over it ain’t hot

ran my 350 at 215 for years

 

If you can move the radiator ahead enough for a shroud and a 6 blade engine driven fan, I bet your heating problems will go away. Also get a high flow thermostat, they let the pump move more coolant through the system.