Does this sound like a radiator issue?

I'm suspecting my rad just isn't up to the job of cooling my smallblock. Right now with the outside air temp around 60 degrees my water temp reads 180. When its 90 degrees air temp I'm running 210 or slightly higher water temp. The temp slowly creeps up while moving (somewhat faster when I stop) but really dosen't come down when I start moving again. I'm not comfortable with 210+ on my temp gauge, and feel its running at an acceptable temp now when its 60 degrees outside. I'm running a shroud and my timing is set at the factory specs. The radiator is a ford 5000. I'm seriously thinking I need a different rad. Any input?

 

I wouldn't worry until the guage reads 250...!!! I think all the gauges are wrong these days. I have a '40 Stude, with stock sized rebuilt rad (it's huge) and a small blok 400"...my gauge regulary reads 220 degrees, whether it's 60 degrees outside or 120 degrees in the shade...but I've had the radiator's temp read with a lazer and it's right at 180, which is the thermostat I run...and I've been driving it this way for 20 years...



R-

 

250 would really make me nervous. I'm thinking its a size issue because of the different gauge readings. I switched between thermostats a couple times but thats not really the issue. I'm thinking the rad should maintaine a fairly constant temp no matter what the outside air temp is.

 

I'm no radiator expert, and I've not a clue what a Ford 5000 rad is, but if the rad is in the truk in your avatar, you've got room for a big rad...check into a Walker, or check into an aluminum one...

FWIW, I've got a '55 Caddy, running a 500" Caddy and had an aluminum rad built for it (19" wide, 22" tall) and with a shroud, and I can't get it to run over 200 degrees...even at an idle for a long time...

If you think the rad is too small, maybe it's time to step up...

R-

 

210 is fine, that's what new cars run at all the time. 230+ is something to worry about, but a lower temperature can be a problem if you don't have a pressurized system or antifreeze in it and it boils over.

If you can post some picts of the cooling system and the front of the car we can help you figure out if there's some other fix.

 

Feel the rad at the top and the bottom with the temp up. Is it cooler at the bottom than at the top? If it's hot all the way down, you probably need more cooling capacity, whether it's larger radiator or more airflow.

 

Is the fin area clean or is it clogged with years of bugs etc? Have you had it flow checked? You could do as 40StudeDude and check radiator temp with a laser temp gun.

 

If running a clutch type fan could be the problem also .

 

Yes the radiator is for my 37. I know I have better pics of the radiator and shroud but I can't find them. This should give you an idea.

 

Im running the same radiator in mine..Granted its not on the road yet..
but Mine sat running for hours at 92 muggy *** michigan day and never got over 180

maybe you dont have a good enough fan, or your pump is resricted with ****? or the impeller is in bad shape..

got a shroud?..ok i see it now..need that top area adressed
and your fan is running a bit low too..mine is low also but not that low
maybe the gauge is a lier?
does it puke?
what pound cap you running?
maybe your cooling system is junked up?
is your lower hose colapsing?
50/50 mix?
timing too far advanced? doubble check it, when its running
do you know for sure that is really the true temp?

I was messing around with mine on that very hot day ,,running it up and down thru the rpm range,, and blipping the throttle W.F.O. many times and never saw my temps go above 180 on the temp probe i have in the fill neck and my heat gun.

I figure if it can sit for hours running and not over heat sitting still, it shouldnt out on the road.

 

I'll feel the top and bottom when hot once. The radiator is new and already I see small drops of anti-freeze around the top tank. The fan is just a direct fan, no clutch.

 

I see part of the problem...your fan is below the rad's bottom...and the shroud is not completely covering the rad at the top...you're cooling the lower portion of the rad...the fan needs to be higher...or the rad lower...!!!

A Zip's high rise water pump would solve most of that...

R-

 

Is this a new build?
New or used smallblock?
New or used radiator?
What kind of fan?
What kind of water pump?

 

make sure the air cannot go around or over or under the radiator,it must go thru it. looks like it is going over it

 

The heat gun is a better call on true temps.

Most cars I have owned, and many other vehicles I've seen, never had actual temp numbers on the gauge....just a cold, a hot, and a wide "normal" range on the dial. Why is that?...so the driver won't freak out.


If you can't get it to boil over on the summer hot days in traffic, why be concerned?..or..

..If you are running in the summer at a genuine critical running temp, it "should" boil over shortly after you stop the engine. Any too-small system would do that.

If it has boiled over, then I'd worry about what's wrong.

 

I have no hood and mine fluctuates so I run different sized pieces of cardboard in front of the radiator depending on the outside air temp.

 

another very important issue.

in coming air has to only go thru the rad,
not under it over it..or to the sides

 

New build less than 1000 miles. Rebuilt engine, stock pump not new. The fan is one of the steel 6 blades from speedway.The radiator is new too. I know the fan isn't centered but if I went any higher I would have had to tunnel the floor. I' ll try to find a pic of the original stock fan setup and post it. The original wasn't centered in the rad either.

 

Might be fine when you drive it .Im guessing thats at idle.....

 

thats about the size of the ford 5000 tractor radiator

 

I'd be looking into the guts of that pump

that fan might not be agressive enough either..i cant say because im not familiar with it.

but the fan im running is an odd one off a V8 Vega..has 3 blades on one side and 2 alone on the other side..with a hell of a pitch and curve in the blades..it pulls like a mule

 

Is that a tractor radiator? Not that it shouldn't work, but it sounds like it's marginal. You probably don't want to hear it, but an aluminum 2 row that replaced the copper 3 row '66 Mustang solved the same type temps in my '36 with a 472 Caddy. It was cheap, $200 bucks, I'm very happy.

If you have room in the grill shell, and like junkyard scrounging, try a late model cross flow turned on end. I have a Honda Odessey rad in my '51 wagon, cools the LS1 just fine, towing the trailer, in any temp. Cheap, fits, works.

Brian

 

ok..ive asked the questions..
and im running the same in my build without these issues..

i'll sit back and wait for the answers...or not

 

remember all cars are air cooled! most use water to transfer the heat! as mentioned the air might be going around the radiator but just as important the hot air has to exit the engine compartment. check for air flow around engine and ******. put ****** cooler separate from radiator [not in front].that being said 210 wouldn't bother me.

 

Here's a pic of the stock fan, also runs low.

 

There ain't no "factory specs" for a '37 Chevy with a so far unknown (to us) SBC.
What distributor?
What º thermostat? (a 180º T-stat would be preferred.)
What cam?
What carb?
If you aren't running manifold vacuum to the Vacuum Advance do that now.
If you don't have a vacuum advance, you aren't "factory specs" unless it's a '50's Corvette.
That alone will fix it if you are running an "Edelbrock" on the ported bib.
It's the vacuum bib on the driver's side instead of the p***enger side.
Ignore the Edelbrock instructions...
My truck runs all day as cool as a field pump engine at 181º on a 180º thermostat.
'48 Chevy truck radiator converted to pressure 7 lb cap, recovery system.
I run between 11º and 14º initial timing depending on gas quality available, 12º vacuum advance added keeps it cool at idle.
That's the trick. you need the 20-something degrees at idle to keep from overheating.

 

Yes it's an edelbrock, I'll have to check tomorrow what side the vacuum is hooked to.

 

Not necessarily so. I've had problems in the past where idling was fine but out on the highway under load it would climb in temp

 

well i hope not, with mine.

..but it sounds like he is even having a problem with it sitting still.

and as far as size..i cant fit anything bigger in the Model A shell.

my thinking was Tractors work hard and hot out in the fields,,,in very hot climates...and make gobs of heat producing torque.

mine never puked..and i raged on it trying to get it to over heat on a 92 degree muggy *** day..

i never saw over 180 to 190..(and mine dont even have a shroud on it yet)

Im hopeful and somewhat confident it wont over heat,

I think he has other issues
and there are other questions i asked in post #10 i never got answers for yet

 

I don't know what you have but here's a rundown of my set up, Griffin aluminum radiator, be cool pusher mounted on the front of the radiator, 351W stroked to 427, .540 .544 cam, stock Ford water pump, 185 thermostat, temp gauge in bottom of radiator, by stat, and 1 in the head, fan has a manual overide and an automatic thermostat switch. In the hot spell it could idle at 900 rpm for 2 hours and would cycle between 165 and 185, in the cool weather it is operating at 185 at idle and the pusher cycles only about every 3 minutes. I use no shrouding, my hood sides are open.