My car sits at about 210 on a 78 deg day with a 160 t-stat. It sat at the same spot with a 195 t-stat. WHat is the temp supposed to be? I have a clockwise rotation water pump. The belt are v-belts that all spin clockwise. I have the original radiator from the 250 in the car. Thank you for your help.
Before you start to fight that temperature, recognize that a new aluminum radiator will fix your cooling problems. I try to keep mine at 180+/-15, and fought for years to keep it there, but every time I added a HP increasing mod, it ran hotter. I tried various thermostats, water additives, having the stock radiator reamed, and then I filled it with muriatic acid to dissolve the calcium buildup, and all helped, but didn't fix the problem. I finally bought a new aluminum radiator and have never ran hot since. I live in southeast texas, and last time I drove was in the city with temps up near 97, and it ran right at 185 degrees.
look in the maverick/comet cars and parts for sale on this site. at the top of the page is a sticky about aluminum radiators that a lot of guy on here have bought. jimmy2gates has something to do with them.
they are champion radiators all aluminum 3 row have heard a lot of good things about them.i know wilbur green on this site has one and swears by it.
If it was me I would go with a (no 3 row gimmick radiator) by engineered cooling products. You can find them on ebay just look under aluminum radiators. I'm going to get one and a friend of mine has one said he loves it best money he ever spent.
I don't think it's so much that you need a Aluminum rad, it's more you need a good rad. I had my factory V8 rad re-cored, with the tighter cores. I sat in traffic 2 weeks ago, for 25 minutes, it was 80 degrees out, and I didn't go over 190. Plus it looks stock, which is what I like.
I have one of these Champion radiators in my car too, 347 stroker, never gets over 185 degrees and I can drive in bumper to bumper traffic going 5 mph for an hour and it does not change (believe me, I have done it). I actually bought a second one of these radiators for my next project. They are direct fit although I have heard of a few guys having to make a minor adjustment where the petcock is. Mine is close but was not a problem.
There's more to variables to stay cool other than a radiator. A bad radiator cap, timing, collapsed radiator hose, faulty gauge, fuel octane or air flow are just a few. Be sure to cover all bases before jumping to conclusions
I have a low compression 302 with a taurus electric fan and an aluminum 3 row radiator and I usually run around 200, I haven't gone over 210 even after sitting in traffic for a long time.
??? have you tried one of those expencive thermostats??? i have a 6 cylinder radiator and i bad little 302 (plus one of those fancy thermostats) and my temp was 155 the other day???
the parts in the motor expand with heat. when the motor was desgined and machined this expansion was accounted for. 155 is too cold. 185 is a good temp to average.
When the engine is fully warmed up, the temp should be close to the temp that your thermostat is rated. If not, I would check the accuracy of your gauge.
