![]() ![]() Does that translate into "aluminum construction"? Coefficient of heat transfer for aluminum is less than OEM brass/copper, meaning if you have an aluminum radiator it won't cool as well as an original-design one. Oh, my other question - you mention it's a "race-spec" radiator. Procedure should be in VTCI Forum archives at - do a search for Timing and Vacuum to see if anything shows up. ![]() ![]() Adjust timing/advance using the vacuum gauge method instead of a timing light and let us know if problem is still there. It is possible that the rubber has dried out to the point that the damper pulley has shifted, even if it's only got 12,000 miles on it. Shifting damper pulley/timing mark is a very common problem and certainly would screw up distributor timing if taken verbatim. I have also looked at swapping to an electric fan/shroud setup but would really rather not go there if I can avoid it. Finding shrouds for this vintage Tbird is nearly impossible, but there are some avenues for both aftermarket and generic ones. I have considered swapping to a higher flow fan as a test, and installing a shroud. It's possible that the fan was swapped by the PO but I don't see why they would have done that. The shrouds on my vintage thunderbird were only installed on the models equipped with Air Conditioning (or so says the information I've been able to dig up). The car does not have a fan shroud, but didn't have one originally either. The old one had popped a weld and was re-sealed by a local radiator shop. Instead it connects to the block with the thermostat in-line, and then connects to the radiator via the upper radiator hose. On the Thunderbird the surge tank was external and not built into the radiator itself. The car did, and still does have a surge tank connected to the radiator. All the belts were replaced last year and don't show any signs of slipping. The fan is a 6 or 7 blade metal fan, directly driven (clutchless) by the waterpump pulley. The radiator we put in was, as he mentioned, is a Ford racing radiator/trans cooler modified by a local builder here in Minnesota. Thanks for the tips! Following up on Biscuit's post, the thermostat is at 160 degrees. I believe the thermostat to be 160*, but maybe Schaefer can confirm? It is currently installed on the car and shows no additional signs of leakage.ĩ. The surge tank was leaking when the car was purchased and repaired by reputable local radiator guy. As far as we know, the fan and accessories are original to the car and shouldn't be reverse pitch or adding significant drag.Ĩ. While it shouldn't matter, the engine is currently running an Edelbrock 600CFM 4bbl carb.ħ. Engine has new spark plugs, wires, and coil and was tuned by a knowledgeable local guy here.Ħ. Something to note is that the upper inlet for the new rad is smaller than original (1.25" as opposed to 1.5").ĥ. The radiator in the car now is a race-spec BBF (429/460) that's been modified slightly by a local engine builder to fit the Thunderbird in question. The original radiator showed some signs of failure (white/green crusty bits at a couple of places).ģ. The car may have but 12K original miles on it, and is running the original 390 FE.Ģ. So, I'd like to respond to a couple of questions asked so far and maybe add a couple things.ġ. As such, I know the car and also want to help my buddy out. I'm helping Schaefer work on the car, and *may* have enabled his purchase of it. Personally, I would do all I could to re-use the original equipment rad/surge tank and if that meant taking it to a rad shop for a steam clean and pressure test, so be it. ![]() I would not trade my original Ford radiators for any aftermarket ones. In other words, It was an good quality system to have. The original would have had a surge tank and would have been an extra duty rad. One thing I did note is that you have replaced the rad. Timing is important as it cause abnormal heat to accumulate in the heads which is them transferred via the water jackets into the engine.Ī warped or cracked head and/or a blown head gasket can also allow the heat of combustion to escape the confines of the cylinder. Other things that effect engine temps are the tune of the engine. Those are the most obvious problems when you have an issue with overheating at idle. Is another pulley in the system hard to turn and dragging the speed of the fan/belt down? Is the fan the wrong pitch or for an application that pushes instead of pulls? If it overheats at idle then there is obviously not enough air moving threw the rad.Īre all the original factory air dams in place?Īre the belts slipping, are they adjusted to correct tension? If it's fine on the road then there is obviously enough air going threw the rad to keep the engine cool. ![]()
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