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Too Hot !


rocknroll

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Bromley's Corvettes

Sounds like a bad rad:) I would start there. I have seen the air dams help some but at high way speeds all the rest like seals and even fan and shroud dont matter. Like I said on cars I have done dual high flow elec fans you can shut them off at 65 plus m.p.h and temp dont change. That shows that fan air flow does not matter because your getting so much air through the front of the car at that speed. Most of the time it turns out to be rad or t-stat sticking or water pump going bad or timing and running super lean or sometimes a combo of all of the above lol.

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Bromley's Corvettes

Yikes thats high for a rad lol. I can get him a much better deal:)

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O.K. Update ! Thanx for all the help so far. Hope you'll continue since I'm not exactly sure if the problem is cured yet. After close examination is see a couple things. First, (This is as much a questions as a statement) the water pump seems to be fine. It's new, I drained some juice out of the radiator and started the engine. When I looked inside the radiator I see a full stream of water/antifreeze pouring down from the top. I am not 100% sure what route the water takes in the radiator, but if I am not mistaken that means the radiator has a free flow as well without restrictions. Do I assume correctly ???????

next, as far as the foam sealers around the radiator, they don't exist anywhere. Just a couple remnants that still remain that used to seal across the top against the hood. The rest is nothing but open space.

My thought is to try the seals and an air dam on the front before going to the expense of the radiator. Any thoughts on this anyone ? Am I correct in assuming the radiator is OK since I see water flowing freely inside the radiator ?

Bromleys, I see your website.......nice pics by the way ! but I don't see prices on radiators, am I looking in the wrong place ?

Thanx for any info anyone can offer ??!!

Thanx,

Rock N Roll !!!


P.S. When this delima is resolved, I have an electrical problem next. Hope there are some experts out there for this too !

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Oh, one more thing. I am a novice motor head still. Can someone tell me what direction the timing goes to increase/.derease the heat ? Adsvance, retard ? If I remember correctly, clockwise advances timing yes ?

Thanx again,

Rock N Roll !

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You're headed in the right direction ... confirming good flow ... and level of coolant is good ... and check it with the car running and the cap off should confirm any air in the system ... and because you're not having issues except on longer highway drives, getting the air damn and seals is very important.

For timing ... you need to get a light on it to make certain of where you are before beginning adjustment ... I'm not a fan of setting by ear, especially with your conditions .... again because of over heat only on long runs ... it's got to be pretty close ....

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Just because teh water is moving, doesn't necessarily mean that it's flowing correctly, but at least it's moving....I would address teh fan shroud issues first, but I'd at teh very least run a gutted thermostat (clip out teh plunger/wax pellet cleanly, file any edges) if you don't intend to run a thermostat. It won't do you much good for a heater in winter, but hey, this is AZ, we don't really have winter.

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Just because teh water is moving, doesn't necessarily mean that it's flowing correctly, but at least it's moving.

^^^this^^^

This to me means you're water pump is doing what it's suppose to, delivering a volume of coolant. Since I don't believe the question has been asked, what kind of coolant? Are you sure you have the proper mix of coolant?

I'd personally never omit the t-stat entirely, as stated before, you need a certain amount of engineered constriction in the system so the coolant just doesn't blast through he radiator without having the chance to dissipate heat. I'm kinda like several here, I think your issue is more about the airflow, that or you just got sold a rotten radiator.

You aren't loosing coolant are you? Totally different dealio if that is the case

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Though some folks hate it, or even teh idea of it, I've always had decent luck with Red-Line Water Wetter/Purple Ice/etc...I can usually get about a 5-7 degree difference using it. Not that it's meant to solve an existing problem, but there it is.

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A lot of good advice here, I'd just like to add (as stated earlier) check the timing, and make sure you don't have a vacuum leak or fuel issue making your car go lean. I assume it runs ok? Maybe give a little more information about the engine, is it a stock rebuild?

FYI, I have a 400 small block with the stock radiator and fan and my only issues with heat are carb related if I idle too much. I have also run .060 over small blocks without trouble but that could have been luck.

Good luck.

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Some mid-70's blocks did have a lot of core-shift, so it's possible that at .060 over, you've got a hella-thin cylinder wall...

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I still need to know which direction to adjust timing for cooler temps. More advanced ? Or more retarded ?

Info on the engine, it is bored 60 over because it is the 2nd rebuild of the same engine as far as the builder could tell. Rebuilt so I could keep matching numbers. Ordered the largest cam I could use with pump gas. The manufacturer said it is pretty close to the stock cam that came in it. has a holley double pump which I thought might be too much but it seems to run just fine with it. Builder said should have about 330 horses, I think he was shining me a bit. Feels pretty close to stock to me. Anyway, expensive rebuild, don't wanna burn anything so I'm stressing over this heat problem till it's fixed. I wanna be able to drive through the Mojave desert at 110mph and still keep and ice chest cool under the hood. (Too ambitious ???)

I'm off to order the air dam and seals. I'll give another update soon as they arrive and I get em installed.

I'm going to put the thermo back in as well since I have had a LOT of people tell me this makes it run hotter without. Now I understand why too. Thanx for explaining.

If this doesnt work, I guess I'll opt for the radiator. Either way, I'm guessing I needed the air dam (They look cool too) and the seals anyway so I'm not losing anything by starting with them first.

Any more thoughts are very welcome. I'll give an update and stuff asap.

Thanx,

Rock N Roll !

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Before buying another radiator, I'd look at a better fan if teh air dam and thermostat doesn't fix it outright. Flex-fans just don't work in AZ...

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Just keep it simple. If you have no overheating in town, then the fan, waterpump, timing, radiator, and coolant mixture are relatively in good condition. Quit obsessing over any of those items. Concentrate on providing good airflow through the radiator at highway speeds, since that's where the problem exists and the fan does no good after ~35 mph.

After you get the airflow resolved, to lower temps even farther, both in town and on the highway, run a higher concentration of water than coolant (aka anti-freeze). 60 - 40 will still give you freeze protection and enough waterpump lube too.

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Just keep it simple. If you have no overheating in town, then the fan, waterpump, timing, radiator, and coolant mixture are relatively in good condition. Quit obsessing over any of those items. Concentrate on providing good airflow through the radiator at highway speeds, since that's where the problem exists and the fan does no good after ~35 mph.

^^^^^^ THIS

start with the basics first!

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Thanx everyone, I'll have some answers in a few days for an update. Got some things on the way. Think it's gonna cure me. All this info was really helpful. Found some articles too. I'll be updating in a short time.

Thanx,

Rock N Roll !

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Bromley's Corvettes

Let us no what you find:) I am working on a 79 vette right now it sat for 15 years it wants to get real hot when you drive it. New alum rad high flow elec fans water pump flushed block many times and tried 160 high flow t-stat and no stat and tried flush cleaner and did a block test to see if a head gasket or crack in head or block and it still wants to run hot lol. There must be crap stuck in block next I am going to knock out some freeze plugs and have a look around.

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Bromley's Corvettes

Yes sir lots of rust and crap has come out of the block. It looks like it will need a very aggressive cleaning to get most of it out. This is the worst one I have seen;(

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Bromley's Corvettes

I never tried that. I need to find a way to get the crap out of the block. Cleaners and flush dont work on this one.

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