SBC cooling/ timing advance etc...

I crawled all over a mild '49 Merc custom at a car show in Grand Haven MI. This car has a SBC, carbed, and a similar pretty similar to mine. Owner is running a 4 or 5 core rad, custom made shroud, mechanical fan, and a 16" pusher. He said it runs too cold. Looks like I'll be having a shroud made, maybe I'll take my puller and turn it into a pusher.

 

I'll bet his mechanical fan is what makes his cooling system work.

A pusher fan is ok as an aux fan, but they are not as efficient as a puller fan.

Too cool means his thermostat is not working or is too low a temp.

 

He had a really nice custom shroud, I took a picture with my brain. I'll lick this cooling issue!!!

 

Short update, car is at my buddy's shop in Niles:

-Ignition timing way too advanced
-Two plug wires crossed ugh
-Adjusting carb, was lean

EDIT...

-Says I have a 3 core Pinto radiator

 

Sounds like your issue is not far from being solved.

 

Two crossed plug wires... sigh. The wires looked so clean in the looms that I ***umed they were correct... I'm stupid.

That explains why I thought the car had a cam in int.

 

Keep it up - those kind of fixes are good lessons on the basics & not much expense required. Great update!

 

New update:

-Ignition timing way too advanced
-Two plug wires crossed ugh
-Replaced carb with new Edelbrock 600, old one was f'd up in man ways
-Car appears to have 3-core Pinto radiator

Steve will now mess with the cooling issues today.

 

Bet it ran like a champ when you fixed the timing and the plug wires!

 

Yep it did after fixing the timing, a new set of wires, and the carb swap. Other carb was too fubar'd from sitting so long.

 

Update:
-Still using e-puller fan during current work
-Temp, as verified by pyrometer, has not gotten over 203F at the thermostat
-My 180F Autozone stat not acting right, acting like 195 stat. Swapping it out for Mr. Gasket 180F stat NEXT
-Has a pretty big cam, only pulling 10 to 12 degrees of vacuum at idle, tight converter, and single plane intake
-Idle still gets a little mushy at 203F, so swapping 180F better stat, seeing what happens from there.
-Buddy is not ready to go with new rad, not a step he wants to take yet, he's a super cool friend and just likes cars.

 

agreed! throw that edelbrock in the trash!

 

TOO late I got another one, runs great!

 

Hope you have better luck than I have with them. Some people like em, I take every one off I can.

 

That big single plane intake won't do you any favours on a street engine-but if it has a high lift -long duration cam-that's what it was set up for. You could switch out to a dual plane low rise intake and you might pick up some vacuum (and low-end torque)

 

Stay away from all the parts-store brand thermostats, I haven't installed a single one in the last five+ years that has worked correctly, even the Stants don't work right in every application...

And,

Send those Edelbrocks to me, I've had great luck with them!

 

Send those Edelbrocks to me, I've had great luck with them![/QUOTE]

have three setting in the floor in the corner of the shop as we speak.

 

I don't mind the low end torque, I just cruise the car and it has decent p***ing power.

Thermostat swap is next, and I'd like to have the e-puller fan come on much sooner. Then we'll see what it does. I'd still like to have a shroud fabbed up like the shroud/rad/e-puller combos I've found in my online research.

 

...Base timing at 10 degrees
...160 stat
...E fan on at 170F
...With AC on has not gone over 200F
...Car temp will eventually creep up to 200F
...Will retune car hot, see if can clean up the idle a bit more
...Will drive car in stop and go traffic, see if it behaves. If it does not I will be ordering an aluminum radiator and then we will be done.
...I'm stoked, and thanks all (and to Mike for the phone time, helped us big time!!)

 

...In very bad traffic, including sitting for 12 minutes waiting for a train to go by, the car after 30 minutes of heavy driving did hit 205-208. Popping it in neutral would help cooling it down.
...Does cool down when moving at a decent clip
...Last thing to do is make a temporary shroud from cardboard or particle board and see how that helps the low speed and sitting temps. Doing that today.
...Idling at 750 in drive, 1000 in park. Much better than before.
...May tweak the tune one more time focusing on hot performance but just about done
...Have thought about new radiator but since the car will do 190 moving that's not so much a rad issue but issue of how the rad, fan and air flow all interact while sitting.

Thanks again to my friends Steve and Mike with the car, I could have it back for this weekend.

 

Good update! I'll bet a good shroud will be all you need.

 

Final update, picked the car up...

...Still using e puller fan, no shroud
...10 degrees timing
...Timing locked out, no advance, that's what the motor likes
...My SBC has a big cam, hence some of the tuning challenges
...New carb, cap, plug wires, 160 stat
...Runs at 185-190 at 60mph., 200 in traffic.

Steve at Fairlane Automotive in Niles, IL, just outside of my Chicago figured it all. He's a great friend! Also thanks to Mike in CA, we used a lot of your ideas and they all helped! Drove the car 2 hours today, no overheating problems.

 

I don't need to block off the area around my radiator, but I'd like to try it as an experiment. Any suggestions on what to use? I can't use 1/2 inch weather stripping the spaces are too big...

 

Update.

Drove a good hour in mixed traffic conditions, stop and go, then down Lake Shore drive, downtown, and then up I94 and then turned around at Peterson and headed home.

So the cooling system is working really well in traffic. Once my e fan kicks on, the temp drops a good ten degrees and will hold at 190-195.

This was the first time I really got the car over 70 mph, and what I found interesting is that it didn't run much cooler. In fact I think the temp edged up a bit when I held it at 70-75mph. Based on what I've read on here, that would indicate that the radiator might be showing it's limitations. As I mentioned before, my buddy says I'm running a 4 cylinder, 3 core, Pinto radiator (26x17 ish).

 

Glad your getting things sorted out!. Possibly on the piece of angle,trim some sheet metal/aluminum to cover exisitng airflow around the rad so everything flows through the core.A couple holes with some screws(for removal puposes) or rivets will only help the cause.
Nice to see "a plan comming together".

 

Thanks Mike and thanks again for sharing your tips. How wide is your rad again, 19 inches?

 

John- 27 across,19 1/2 high. Summit # 380328.