56 special radiator

[smaltzie]

live in houston. the engine has been rebuilt and the radiator appears to be rebuilt. Running down the road at 50 to 70 mph or down the road normally she runs at N or slightly past. Sat at a long light and it started running hot till I got her moving. My daughter is going to drive this, so i need some help. I will change the thermostat. What is the recommended temp on it. Plus I,m going to sell here acura and want to put in an under the dash a/c so i need to cool her down or have it staying in the N. Any suggestions. She looks good, just need to her to run as cool as she looks!

[JohnD1956]

you should have a 160 degree thermostat. I doubt you will get that needle down especially if you put in A/C. When you have the antifreeze drained look inside the radiator. Did gunk from the engine wash in there on the top and plug your core? This happened to my 56 and I put in filter after having the thing rebuilt a second time in a few months.

Also you'll need a higher pressure cap that will keep things a bit cooler. But the tech service manual I have for the 56 says later cars with A/C had a temperature guage where the red lense was removed because customers were complaining that the car were always running too hot. So this is an inherent thing and it was recogonized back in 56.

JohnD

[BUICK RACER]

My brother is having a similar problem with his '56 Century, they want $225 to recore the radiator. My Special overheated on the way to work, running down the expressway, I was planning on leaving from there to go to the Great Lakes Regional in Westlake, OH in '97. Ended up leaving it in Pontiac for the weekend and helping an employee of mine get his second car back home to OH, and then having them give me a ride to the show! Was not fun not having a car or anything to drive to even get a bite to eat. Did get to borrow a '57 Roadmaster 75 one night(Jerry's, ex-Old Guys', aren't all Jerry's car's the ex-OLD GUYS?, one night, it's a local thing, Joe just bought back a '72 Riv he sold to Jerry, it's for sale, and it's green!) But the ride home was a day to remember in the back seat of The Old Guy's '40 Super Convertible, smiling all the way home.

I took the rad to the shop and for $48 they boiled it out, and it's been fine ever since! Chris' Century had been sitting since '81, and he got it ready for the '03 Centennial Celebration in Flint, and drove it from Buffalo, took them twice as long as the car wouldn't run right. Ended up being a burnt piston. So last year, he and his nephew, took the short block that came with the car and switch it out, but now it runs great but almost overheats. The rad is crucial to have work well, and don't trust those gauges, mine was boiling going down the expressway, but the gauge never went red, the gurgling noises, made me decide it had a problem.

Well, long story, but here's my '56 Buick Stuff page link! HERE

Make sure you read the newsletter story Chris wrote on his trip to Flint for Rockauto.com. I need to get him to write the last 2 yrs story on his '56. See it at the BCA Nats 2005Here, even on the dragstrip! Was shown in the Driver's class, he's done some more to it last week, installed shoulder harnesses from '71 Electra for kids seats and got the rear deck cardboard installed! Now maybe he can work on the '56 Special with the 3speed, or sell it to me!

[smaltzie]

thank you both for the help I'll fix it this week end

[vasilow]

I took my radiator in like my sister did but the shop said it was so plugged they could not get it clean. After I broke a piston I replaced engine but it still runs hot. Waterpump guy at BCA nationals told me to check the lower hose to make sure it had a spring in it. Brand new replacement hose from NAPA did NOT has spring inside to prevent collaspe under suction, you could actually see in collapse when you reved engine. Luckily I saved the old hose and used that spring. It is much better but still runs hot like yours after about 10 miles at +55mph or extended idling in traffic in gear. I have no thermostat, 15psi cap and a 73 Buick 350 AC flex fan on it. If I put heater on temp drops right down but that gets a little hot in the car.

[JohnD1956]

The Riviera crew have been talking about their hotter than normal problems this year( ...Okay, I mean the cars...) Anyway, one person with a 68 said they solved their problem by closing the gap between the radiator shroud and the radiator, so that the fan had to pull air through the radiator core. This might be worth a look. Especially if running the heater drops the temp right down.

JD