Andy,
I had a modern copper core radiator that I installed in 1990 one season (of
chronic overheating)after I completed my restoration. It was a significant
improvement over stock, but on hot days in heavy traffic it was marginal to the
point where I had to run the heater to shed some of the excess. I had to wrap a
towel around my right ankle to keep from being roasted by the heater discharge
from the 230 degree water circulating.
Eventually, this core needed service, and I decided to do the 100% effort to
eliminate this issue. (have radiator, needs a boil, will sell)
I bought a Fluidyne aluminum core radiator from Dale's Restorations
(909-799-2099), a 13" Terminator pusher fan from Scotts Manufacturing
(661-295-9340), and of course, a Gano filter to keep this from happening again.
I bought the clear Gano because I am nosey. I bent the stainless band from a
hose clamp like this: <______> and slipped it under the hose clamps on the Gano
to keep the hoses from slipping off, as the OD of the clear Gano is smooth.
Gano provides safety wire, but this suggestion from Laifman was a good one (as
usual)
I dropped the running temperature of the car from 220 to 170 with just the new
radiator. It will creep to 190 in stalled traffic and I can idle it as long as
I want. I do have a 6 blade fan to aid this, however.
I use the electric fan (manual switch) only as a novelty. I tell people that
the car is ready for a Bastille Day Parade in New Orleans, if ever called into
service.
I made two brackets out of aluminum and bolted them to the cowl sheelmetal in
front of the core. I attached the pusher to these brackets and did not run
bolts through the core like is often provided with consumer quality electric
fans. I jumped the panel switch wiring and used this stock switch to trigger
the fan relay.
Subtotal on the cost was close to $600. I say subtotal because now that have
have overcapacity in cooling, I obviously need more motor! ;>}
In addition to Steve, I also had good advice from Bob Palmer. As usual, make
sure you refill the system with distilled water (after flushing, of course)to
prevent any scale from depositing in the tubes. I also recommend following the
coolant manufacturer's instruction on changing the coolant. Prestone R&D used
to be a customer of mine and I saw their corrosion tests and got a good
tutorial from their research staff. The corrosion inhibitors break down, even
if the glycol stays stable. It is especially a problem with cars like ours that
do not run every day. Coolant gets trapped in small pockets like a water pump
and the corrosion inhibitors are more prone to breaking down where they are
stagnant with lots of surface area and a small volume of coolant. Low mileage
is not a reason to extend this service. It is all about time.
Bob Melusky
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