1937 Ford Overheating

Car overheats quickly. The radiator has been cleaned, timing is correct, water pump works well. A 12" electric fan was added on front of radiator. This seemed to make the problem worse. Car used to run very well and not overheat. What is the next step???

Tom

Have you checked the thermostats. There are two.

Car overheats quickly. The radiator has been cleaned, timing is correct, water pump works well. A 12" electric fan was added on front of radiator. This seemed to make the problem worse. Car used to run very well and not overheat. What is the next step???

Tom

Remove the core plugs and flush the block, if the thermostat(s) don't fix it

A few things that may help.

Flush the block, back flush the radiator, Fit new bottom hoses, new scroll type Bob Drake water pumps (they are cheap),

Make sure the earth strap from the block to the frame has a good connection, Check the exhaust flap valve is not stuck closed.

A few things that may help.

Flush the block, back flush the radiator, Fit new bottom hoses, new scroll type Bob Drake water pumps (they are cheap),

Make sure the earth strap from the block to the frame has a good connection, Check the exhaust flap valve is not stuck closed.

This comment is interesting. Have I missed something all these years? What is the relationship of the engine ground to overheating?

A long time ago, a friend had an overheating problem. It turned out that the body wasnt properly grounded and the only ground path was the temperature gage tubing. Current passing through the gage tubing caused the tube to get hot, indicating an overheating problem - that didnt exist. That took a while to troubleshoot.

A long time ago, a friend had an overheating problem. It turned out that the body wasnt properly grounded and the only ground path was the temperature gage tubing. Current passing through the gage tubing caused the tube to get hot, indicating an overheating problem - that didnt exist. That took a while to troubleshoot.

I'll bet it did take some time to figure that one out. The starter motor must have been getting the ground in the same place.

"Make sure the earth strap from the block to the frame has a good connection"

I'm not sure what the significance of ensuring a good ground strap connection is but it maybe has something to do with a build up of static electricity or similar

Many years ago my father had logging trucks for hauling off road in the bush through heavy mud etc. and these were mainly SV Ford V8's and Whites.

They ran lot of the time at slow speeds and high revs and were always running at the hot side of the scale. The old mechanics who worked on them sworn blind that the engines had to be earthed properly or they would boil.

Maybe an old wives tale but when you have a problem with an engine boiling anything and everything should be checked.

The ground was connected to the engine, Just the chassis current was going through the temp. sender tube.

get a thermal gun