1952 Special Deluxe Project

[jackofalltrades70]

Robert,

Maybe a shot???

http://forums.aaca.org/f117/1950-1951-1952-buick-parts-330624.html#post1048287

Matt

[Guest shadetree77]

As always, thanks for all of the information and advice guys. My Dad and I are going to get my radiator this morning. I have had it with this sorry excuse for a radiator shop!:mad::mad: I called the guy again yesterday morning and asked him if his supplier ever got back to him with a price for the new core. He once again acted like he had never heard of me or my radiator and I had to give him all of my info. again. Then he says, "Well, I'm actually on the other line with them right now. I'll ask them and call you right back. By the way, what kind of car did it come out of again?"(at this point I have told him this info. at least 5 times). So I hang up and wouldn't you know it? He didn't call me back. My Dad and I are going to show up there in the morning and get my radiator back. It has been 3 weeks now and he has jerked me around the entire time. I don't know if he has removed the tank or not. I'm thinking probably not. He's probably going to try and hit me up for money claiming he did "work" on it but thanks to you guys, I'll be going in there prepared with radiator knowledge and should be able to dispute any of his claims. I won't be dazzled with bullsh!t! I'm actually kind of hoping he didn't remove the tank. I wouldn't trust the guy to do that at this point. If the tank has not been removed, I think I'll reinstall the radiator with some kind of filter material on the hoses and run the car a bit like Chris suggested above. That way I'll know if it's the radiator causing the issue. If it is the radiator, I have one more radiator shop to try locally. I hope they aren't friends with the guy from the other shop! I'll update when I get back from the shop this morning. Hopefully, I won't end up getting taken to jail for punching a mechanic(I'm sure I wouldn't be the first).:eek:

Matt, thanks for doing some scouting for me. I'll keep those radiators in mind if this one doesn't work out.

[smithbrother]

I bet his shop is a dirty mess, can you imagine what his business would be like it he ran it like a BUSINESS.....

I feel for you, you have been screwed over to often my friend. You are a great guy, you deserve better.

Dale in Indy

[Guest shadetree77]

Ok guys. I made it back without getting arrested for assault and battery. I simply walked in and asked for my radiator back. He walked me out to the shop, mumbled something about him working on it a little while ago, and handed it back to me. I have quite a bit of evidence that it was never even touched. It was sitting in the exact same spot it was in 3 weeks ago. It was BONE dry. There were spray bottles and tools sitting all over the fins. The tank has NOT been removed. I got further evidence when I got home with it. I ran some water through it to make sure that idgit didn't poke any holes in it. When I turned the water on, old pea green colored antifreeze and some scaly stuff poured out! Same color as the crap that came out of my engine! So that means he literally didn't do ANYTHING to it and was deliberately trying to screw me out of $500! That really chaps my ***! I didn't see any leaks and I flushed it with water til it ran clear so my plan is to reinstall it with filter material over the hoses and run the car a bit to see if it overheats. Well, I'm off to bed fellas(3rd shift). If I can manage to sleep being this angry. :mad::mad:

Edited June 20, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

Well, he did one thing....he allowed it to dry up in the core area so the scale and crap can come off! Dry up and blow away as it were! This crap can now flow out now with the garden hose you attached. Mount it up and see how she does. This will help determine if the radiator is the culprit and will need attention in the near future(when cash allows).

[Buicknutty]

I'm glad that he didn't take your rad apart, so now you can put it back in to see how she cools now. Chances are it will be better than it was, hopefully it will be good enough!

Keith

[Guest shadetree77]

Sorry to report that all is NOT well with my cooling system. I'll try to go over what happened and what symptoms were shown and see if anybody can enlighten me as to what exactly is going on here. We put the radiator back in and put pantyhose filters on both hoses. We refilled the system exactly as the manual said to. First strange thing to happen was that the system only held 3 1/2 gallons whereas the manual says it should hold around 7 1/2(if I'm remembering correctly). We let it idle for about 20 minutes and she began to get a little hot. Not overheating, just too hot to be sitting at idle in the shade with hood off. We shut it down and I checked the radiator with an infrared thermometer. There were no cold spots. I checked it at 4-5 inch intervals all the way down and temp. ranged from 120-168 degrees. Waited for her to cool a bit and removed the cap and coolant level was a tad low so we topped it off. Pulled both hoses off and changed out the pantyhose filters. They had some crud in them but not a lot. We started her back up with rad. cap off and watched the coolant to see if it was flowing when the thermostat opened. It appears that it is only flowing when the car is revved. At idle, the coolant doesn't appear to be moving. Or if it is moving it's so slow you can't see it. Is this normal?? My Dad suggested a weak water pump or partially stuck thermostat could be the culprit. I then pressure tested the system with a tester. I left pressure on the system for about 10 minutes and the needle didn't move so that means no leaks internally or externally. At this point I decided to take a quick trip down the road just to see if she would overheat. She DID. In a big way. The gauge never pegged until I pulled back into the house. I heard a godawful squealing noise and steam and antifreeze were pouring out everywhere. I tried to shut the engine off and it dieseled badly. The noise was the pressure coming out of the overflow pipe on the radiator. Sounded like a tea kettle straight from hell! I checked the rad. with infrared and it was 230-250 degrees. Engine block registered around 220. So, that's where I decided to end the day. I'm sweaty, sunburned, covered from head to toe with sticky antifreeze, and oh yes......at a complete loss here. Can anybody piece this puzzle together? Bad radiator cap? Too much pressure?:confused:

[avgwarhawk]

The three gallons taken would indicate to me the system had a lot of air and not enough fluid. Specifically in the heater hoses and cores. You replace these correct? Did you open up the heater control valve(s) you installed to allow the coolant to enter and bleed any possible air that might be trapped? Is there a bleed valve to allow any trapped air to escape. Normally systems release air via the highest point which is the radiator fill. Sometimes a bleed valve is required on some cars. Coolant will flow faster as the engine is taken into higher RPM. I don't think the pump is the issue. Some pumps become an issue if the propeller is damaged and not spinning on the shaft. Sometime fins missing. Is the thermostat installed correctly? The spring always goes towards the block. Let it cool. Assure the thermostat is installed correctly. Attempt to let it bleed all the air. 30 feet of heater hose needs to fill. Air needs to escape. As a last resort remove the thermostat. Check for good coolant flow without the thermostat that should occur as soon as you start the engine.

Rereading your post, did you fill the radiator and cap it then started the motor? If so, you must fill the radiator and allow the engine to warm with the cap off the radiator. Stand by with a full jug of water. When the thermostat opens you will see the coolant level drop away. Fill the radiator with the water until full. Allow the car to idle for a while longer with the cap off to help remove any trapped air. Seems you are also at the same juncture as to where you started. Before you posted the needle pegged when you shut down and stayed pegged for quite some time. She looks to be doing so again. I would run without the thermostat. Check flow and cooling capabilities of the radiator. No need to drive it. If she will overheat it will happen just idling. If she still repeats the same performance of burping up fluids when turned off (which is common from what I read) the radiator will need a new core. Ugly news monetarily. However, the diagnosis is complete.

http://forums.aaca.org/f120/buick-straight-8-overheating-need-some-309696.html

Edited June 22, 2012 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[Buicknutty]

Robert;

I don't have my book on the cars handy, but I think that 3 1/2 gallons is close for those engines, not 7 1/2, so your fill amount is likely about right. The level will "settle" as it warms up, but it sounds like you topped up after the themostat opened. I'd try removing the panty house filters first, as they will restrict the flow somewhat, and if they haven't caught too much crud, then your system is fairly clean and you can do without them.

The other thing you could do is to run plain water till you get the issues sorted out, so then if it boils over you'll only get covered with hot water, not "sticky" antifreeze,(sorry, bad joke!) and you won't waste the good stuff.

Also, there isn't usually too much flow visible at idle, and unless the impeller is wrong, there's not much that can be wrong with the water pump.

You can try a few things, but do only one at a time, so that you assess the results, and not be confused as to what did what.

Keith

[Guest Peter Bird]

Hey buddy, this is not good news. I haven't been on a while and I was expecting you to have that ride well sorted! And then I start reading about your radiator troubles. Jeez, mate. If you lived near me I'd come over with a brand new radiator I had made to fit my 52 but now don't need it. I'd be using water only at this stage too. Doesn't water have a higher boiling point than coolant? Tell you what, the sound of an engine detonating due to overheating is a scary sound. Hope all is well internally. Peter.

[Guest shadetree77]

Chris, I left out a step in there. We filled it like the manual says to and we did leave the cap off until the thermostat opened. The coolant level only dropped slightly when the thermostat opened so I poured a bit in and put the cap on. That's when we let it run for around 20 minutes and it began to get warm. Sorry I left that part out. I don't know of a bleed valve anywhere. There's the overflow tube which lets out extra pressure. As for opening the heater valve, I blocked that off with the shutoff valve so it shouldn't have to fill the heater system thus air in there shouldn't be a problem. Checking on the thermostat is our next step. I'm pretty sure we put it in there correctly. I think I'll just take it out completely and see what happens. You said the radiator might need a new core. I thought if you didn't have any cold spots anywhere, that meant the radiator was still good. Am I wrong about that?

Keith, You are absolutely CORRECT about the capacity. I don't know where I got 7.5. I just double checked the manual and it says my car needs 15 qts.(3.75 gallons). So I guess it did hold the right amount. Good call on using water too. When I work on it again, I'll use water only. I did manage to get a pan under her when she started pouring. I strained it into a jug through a coffee filter and managed to save about a gallon of good antifreeze(hey that's 13 bucks!). I'll go ahead and remove the pantyhose too. There wasn't a whole lot of junk in them anyway. I'll tell my Dad about there not being much flow at idle. He seemed pretty concerned about that. I didn't share his concern quite so much but I'll let him know about it so he doesn't worry.

Pete, I was hoping I'd have it sorted by now but the Buick Gods aren't shining down on me lately. If shipping amounts weren't so outrageous these days I'd gladly buy your radiator. As you might have surmised from my thread, funds have been short around here lately. You aren't kidding about that sound! I've never heard anything like that. Sounded like a hundred tea kettles and a hundred dying cats were under my hood! Scared the crap out of me! I thought my engine was done for. Hopefully, nothing cracked. I've been checking up on your blog. How go'eth the engine swap?

[avgwarhawk]

Robert,

I was not sure if you filled then capped. I was under the impression you filtered with the panty hose and removed them. Take out the panty hose. They have done their job. Check your thermostat. Just use water. Still in the diagnosing stage. You said the temp reader you have was reading hotter from the top of the radiator to the bottom. Or vise versa. Not sure of the direction of flow for your system. This would indicate the radiator is cooling the fluids as it passes through the cores. The question is, is it cooling the fluids enough. Passages might be to narrow with sediment, etc. Before I would condemn the radiator I would remove the thermostat and run. No need to drive her. She will act up at idle if she is going to act up. The radiator is the only piece of the puzzle that has not been repaired or replaced. More than likely the culprit. She flows but not flowing enough.

Edited June 23, 2012 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[Guest shadetree77]

We did remove them once and then put new ones on again just in case. We didn't think they would affect the flow that much. I am going to remove them completely when I work on it again. Yes, the thermometer read that the coolant at the top of the radiator was a lot hotter than the coolant in the bottom. I would think that means that the radiator is doing its job. Thermostat check/removal is next on the list. Hopefully I'll get around to that sometime today.

[old-tank]

Robert

The radiator is still plugged up. Call another shop and ask if they are capable and willing to rod it out and then ask what the turnover time is. My local shop is 1-2 days, but that does not help you. My guess is that it can be rodded since it stood up to a recent pressure overload. Heat guns are not accurate on the core, just the tanks and metal engine parts...all you can expect is a temperature drop between the top tank and lower tank ( I usually check at the thermostat housing and where the lower hose attaches to the water pump). Water transfers heat better than antifreeze mixtures, but boils at a lower temperature...the pressure cap is main item that raises the boiling point of the coolant. Removing the thermostat will not solve anything, but removing to check for proper orientation is good...also put in a pot of hot water to be sure it opens at the correct temperature and opens fully.

Willie

[avgwarhawk]

I'm believing the radiator is partially plugged. She is flowing but not enough cores open to cool the car. Hence the reason for single to triple core radiators. In short...that sucks.

[old-tank]

(call a local tractor dealer...or truck...or heavy equipment... to see where they get radiators repaired)

[Guest shadetree77]

Looks like you're right Willie. I was bored today so I took out the thermostat anyway(it was in there correctly by the way)filled her back up and let her sit at idle for about 30 minutes. It took a lot longer this time but the engine temp. slowly crept up. I shut it down before it truly overheated but it would have eventually. I'm calling another radiator shop tomorrow. I'll try to get the radiator out today if I can stand the heat. Hope they treat me better than the last place! Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys. I'll check back after I speak with the radiator shop.

Edited June 24, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

That stinks Robert. I was hoping the overheating was something simple. But it's clear the radiator is the culprit. You have checked and replaced all in the system. I hope you can find a shop that s reasonable.

[Guest shadetree77]

I took my radiator to another local shop today. I talked to the guys in the shop for a bit and overall, I got a much more professional vibe. I mentioned my troubles with the last shop, being careful not to give any hints as to what shop I was referring to just in case they happened to be friends. By the time I got done talking they knew exactly who I was referring to. They told me that I was around the 5th person or so to come into their shop this month complaining about the other place. The owner said that they were pretty busy right now and that it should be 2-3 days to get it done. Felt good to get an exact estimate rather than the "I'll get to it sometime this week" that I got from the other place. I hope they don't let me down. I also hope my core is still good. I don't see how it could be bad seeing as(like Willie said above)it recently stood up to a pressure overload and came through with no leaks. I'll check in here when(if) I hear from the radiator shop.

[Guest shadetree77]

I got a call from the radiator shop yesterday. He said everything is going good and that my radiator would be finished today. However, it wasn't all good news. He said that the filler neck has a small crack in it. He wanted my permission to go ahead and put a new one on. He said that it would only add about $4 to my total so I know he wasn't just trying to screw me over. He said the replacement neck should take my original cap and that it would be brass, not plastic. I don't think I'll be able to re-use my original overflow tube though. The original tube is a metal line that simply presses into a small hole on the filler neck. He said that the new one would instead have a nipple for a rubber hose. No way around this though. I can't use the radiator with a crack in it so this has to be done. I wonder if it cracked during the recent overheat? I'm very excited to go and pick it up! This should be the last big hurdle before I can drive my car on a regular basis(fingers crossed). Of course, I've had that thought before only to have the Buick Gods rise from upon their thrones high above Flint, MI and smite me for my arrogance. I'll have to make sure I burn a 100 dollar bill as an offering before I put the radiator back in! Can anybody loan me a 100......?

Edited June 27, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[Guest shadetree77]

Just got in from installing my radiator. Looks like I should have taken my own advice and burned that $100. She overheated again. Not as badly this time but she still boiled for awhile. I'm officially at a loss here. I've done everything short of taking the cylinder head off to clean the passages. Good grief.....:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[avgwarhawk]

Robert,

Open the heater control valve. Allow it to fill. Allow possible trapped air to escape. It is possible your heater core was helping keep this engine cool.

[Guest shadetree77]

My Dad suggested that too Chris. He said the heating system might have been taking extra heat away from the engine. Kind of like the old "turn your heat on high" trick you can do if your car starts to overheat. I didn't try it today because I was so angry I just had to walk away from it.:mad: By the way, during this whole process I did test my heater control. It is letting coolant by it even when it's turned to the off position. Just like Willie said, the bellows inside it must be shot. I'll give it a try. I don't have any other options at this point other than adding electric fans. I REALLY don't want to do that though. That just kills the original look under the hood with those big electric fans attached to the radiator. My Dad is fixating on the water pump. He wants to clean up our original pump and put it back on there. I don't know if that will help anything or not but he keeps bringing it up. He doesn't think the new pump is pumping hard enough. For all I know, he could be right. It looked to be a pretty shoddy re-build. The impeller blades inside the new one are completely different than my old one too, so who knows??:confused:

Edited June 28, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[55 SURVIVOR]

ROBERT;are you running a 7lb cap? Does the straight 8 have a block drain[to flush it out],is the timing correct?Any slippage of the fan belt?Is the pump impeller smaller or different than the original,any gasket or gasket sealant blocking any opening?Have you back flushed the radiator?When filling the radiator take the lower hose off,does water run out quickly or slow?Also there may be build up in the block around the cylinders acting like an insulater.Have you taken the thermostat out and placed in a pan of water and heated it to a thermometer to tell if it is working correct[boil test]? MARK

[Guest shadetree77]

Yes on the 7 lb. cap. It does have a block drain which I did remove when I flushed the block with water. Haven't checked the timing but engine runs smooth. We tightened the fan belt when we put everything back on so shouldn't be slipping. The new pump did indeed have a completely different shaped impeller on it. It's the same pump housing, just a different shaped impeller. Shouldn't be any gasket or sealant blockage. We were really careful putting all the new stuff on. Water comes out quickly especially since we just got the radiator rodded. You may be right about crud built up around the cylinders. I flushed the block and got a lot of crap out but there could be more. We actually took the thermostat out completely this last time around and it's still overheating. Thanks for all of the suggestions Mark.

My guess is that there is some crud in the cylinder head. I did flush the block with water until it ran clear, but after running the engine hot I bet a bunch more broke loose and piled up in there. At this point I'm thinking some kind of chemical flush is in order. I'm considering going with the CLR flush method that a fellow member suggested. If it still runs hot after that, I guess I'll be taking out my freeze plugs to do some deep cleaning.

[avgwarhawk]

Interesting that the new pump has a different impeller. Hmmmm. The slow moving water could indicate the pump is not the correct one. Wrong impeller as your dad suggested. It could also indicate a blockage somewhere in the block or narrow passages from corrosion over the years. I would pull the pump and clean the water jacket and passages as best possible. Again Put the original pump back on. We can say the car ran hot with the old pump but never boiled over like it does with the new pump. Now for some reason it can't get out of the driveway without overheating. You done cleaned up, re-corded and replaced parts of the cooling system. To be honest I'm surprised she is still over heating after all of this. Try the original pump. She was getting along OK with it. See how it is now.

Edited June 28, 2012 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[55 SURVIVOR]

Robert;sounds like you are on it,you may have had some large amount of debris[rust] come loose and cause blockage,i think the other pump would be a good avenue to go also,how was the car stored when you got it,was it full of anti-freeze,water,empty?what has been coming out of the flush,flakes,muck,small particles?My dad had a 1936 case tractor that would need a good clean,he put a handful of tide and took it haying,i'm telling you it cleaned it right out,although while doing so it looked like an overloaded washer!!! Just a thought.I think your problem is internal to the block.Try removing the pump,and thermostat,get a good seal at the thermo opening and hit it with some pressure[water]. Mark P.S. When it is idling with the cap off[and it may take a little while for the thermo to open when it gets warm] do you see water movement or circulating around,should see it churn.

[Buicknutty]

I'm starting to agree with your Dad, only based on your observations of the impeller type. If the bearing and seal on your original pump are alright, I see no reason that it won't work again. Also, I agree with the other posters that previous to all the work, you could at least DRIVE car. Worth a try, I think. Your system may not be perfect yet, but it should cool better than it was.

Keith

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for all of the advice and suggestions guys. I too am convinced there's something not quite right about that pump and I will probably end up putting the old one back on. Mark, I have removed the thermostat and looking down in the radiator at an idle there is NO discernible flow. It only appears to churn and flow when revved. That is initially what caused my Dad to think the pump was bad.

In the meantime, there have been some new developments over the weekend and I might not have to mess with the pump after all. My Dad and I braved the 100++ weather all weekend here and did a THOROUGH flush of the cooling system with CLR/water and of our own "cooling systems" with lots of ice cold Miller High Life(don't knock it man! it's the "champagne of beers"). You may have caught my http://forums.aaca.org/f115/question-about-engine-block-flushing-331283.html post on the General section. As you may have read, our first flushing rig did NOT work because the pump would not pull coolant from our container. Thanks to a response on that post by Willie, I have now been schooled in the workings of automotive water pumps and I now know that they don't work like any other kind of pump. I guess we'll blame that one on inexperience.:confused: Anyhow, after we called it quits on that day we went with another flushing method the next day. We drained all of the coolant out of the engine block and replaced it with our CLR solution. We let the solution sit in the block for about an hour. In the meantime, we attached a water hose to the bottom(inlet)radiator hose and ran an extension from the top(outlet)hose down into a container. We opened up the shut off valve I recently installed on the heating system, took the plug out of the water pump and re-connected the heater hose, started the engine up, and turned the water hose on full blast. We flushed all of the cleaning solution out of the engine into the container and then some. We let the car run in 45 minute intervals with the hose running fresh water through the engine the entire time. We flushed and flushed for hours. The temp. never got above the bottom of the normal range on the gauge. We also placed two box fans on either side of the engine to aid in cooling during this process as seen in the picture. Untold amounts of rusty, scaly stuff flowed out of the engine block. An old brown leaf even popped out at one point! No idea how that could have gotten inside my engine. Let's see here.....I've had walnuts in my gas tank, an acorn in my oil pan, and a leaf in my engine block....squirrels making themselves at home maybe?? Nut trees growing inside my motor?? Who knows? Anyway, after we got done flushing we re-connected the hoses, filled her up with distilled water, and took her out for a test drive(don't worry, in that oppressive heat we had already sweated out all of the High Life). It was a short drive(around 6 miles)but she never got above normal!!! Keep in mind, it was well over 100 degrees outside and before this I couldn't even make it 1 mile before she overheated. So I'm hopeful that we may have solved the problem with a combination of copious amounts of flushing and/or reconnecting the heater system. I didn't mess with it on Sunday. It was the wife's day off and she dared me to even glance toward the garage! The joke is on her though, I dreamt about working on engines all night. I was busy all day Monday so the true test drive will be sometime today. I'll report back later today. Wish me luck Buick Brethren!!

Edited July 3, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

The leaf in the passages certainly did not help. The scaly rust coming out could have been hung up with the leaf. The closed up heater hose could also have been the flowing water at just the right part of the system to push out a blockage. However, its does not matter because it sounds like you got it beat.

Miller is good but I'm partial to Shaefer Beer. Its the one beer to have when you only have a $1.10 on you.

Edited July 3, 2012 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[retirednow]

Glad it worked out for you Robert. I really enjoy reading this thread. Picking up a lot of great tips here!-Dave BCA#46470 1952 56C

Edited July 3, 2012 by retirednow (see edit history)

[Buicknutty]

Robert;

Hopefully you will have a nice cool running Buick now!

Keith

[55 SURVIVOR]

Robert;looks like you have a handle on it,I also flushed mine[264 v-8] I took the petcocks out of the block,when opened it would dribble and stop etc.I filled the rad with water and blew air into the block as water ran out the threaded hole minus the pet cock,the air bubbles with water took the loose stuff out,even ran a thin wire around inside,flushed till nothing more came out removed the lower rad hose and the heater hose and flushed at the filler neck[get anything out of the core].Previously to all that i ran water with prestone flush,drove it to a couple of out of town shows[total of five hours of run time on the interstate with heater on] then the next day was the flushout in the back yard.it is all back together and filled with coolant,was 90 the other day and the temp doesnt even crack mid point,[nice and cool] I have a 160 degree thermo.I love the MILLER pin-up[i love pin-up] it is awesome!! MARK

[1953mack]

.......My Dad and I braved the 100++ weather all weekend here and did a THOROUGH flush of the cooling system with CLR/water and of our own "cooling systems" with lots of ice cold Miller High Life(don't knock it man! it's the "champagne of beers").....

And all along I thought everyone in Georgia drank BILLY BEER and ate peanuts. Thanks for setting the record straight. :cool:

Your perseverance paid off.....glad everything worked out for the best!

Al Mack

BCA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

[Guest shadetree77]

Two test drives completed today. First one went great. Outside temp. was around 85 degrees. Total trip was about 15 miles. The car didn't even reach normal operating temp. until I pulled back into the driveway(keep in mind I still have my thermostat removed). Second trip went OK. Outside temp. was close to 100. Total trip was around 20 miles of curvy back roads so I was running for 20-30 minutes. Temp. stayed in the middle of the normal range for 90% of the trip. Last little bit she started to creep upwards but never did leave the top of the normal range on the gauge. I don't know what might have happened if I had kept going. I need to go on a good 50 mile test drive of open roads at some point. So I guess you can say she's definitely better. It's hard to tell if she's completely fixed at this point without further test drives. I did have a recurring problem rear it's ugly head half way through my second trip though. When the car gets warm, it starts trying to die on sharp curves and/or turns. It begins to stall and I can smell gas. Today, I even heard a high pressure squirting sound during one of these stalls around a sharp curve. I'm starting to think it may be too much fuel pressure. Anyway, I'll start another thread on that one. Here are some videos I took today. First one is of the first test drive. I tried to show the gauge readings. Second one I took when I got back from that drive. She was running really smooth and I had an urge to capture it on video. I recently adjusted my carburetor and fixed an exhaust leak I had. Now she's running so quiet you can't even hear the engine sitting in the driver's seat. Gotta' love that!

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0NCnoCUwHQM" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/w_-UEnvFDyA" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

Edited July 5, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

Looks like the problem is licked. In this weather my temp gauge will creep up towards the top of the normal range and will hover there. This 100 degree temp is tough on the cooling systems. I suspect if you keep going she would have been fine. And as always, the gauge rises higher towards the H when shut down. Nature of the beast.

[smithbrother]

That fuel issue would seem to point to FLOAT LEVEL ADJUSTMENT. I haven't been into one of those carbs for years, so don't recall what it looks like.

I am glad you are making progress. Your heating issue could be tested with a 15-30 minute idle, open road testing won't tell you that much, it's in traffic and idle that will. IMO.

Keep us posted my friend,

Dale in Indy

[bhambulldog]

the addition of fan shroud will improve cooling

[smithbrother]

One should take steps to ASSURE that ALL air passes through the radiator, so blocking off any openings ahead of the radiator that will FORCE air through such will help. Been there, done that.

Dale in Indy

[bhambulldog]

One should take steps to ASSURE that ALL air passes through the radiator, so blocking off any openings ahead of the radiator that will FORCE air through such will help. Been there, done that.

Dale in Indy

Absolutely!!

EXCEPTION:I would leave open (if, present) the hole in front of the battery. That hole is there to dissipate dangerous vapor from the battery (even maintenance free batteries give off dangerous vapors! ask me how I know!).