cooling

[roracer70]

ok, im totally fed up with this car, i love it to death, but it's gots it's problems. it's a 1970 camaro with a 350. all new, engine-long block crate engine. everything on the engine is new except the powers steering pump. new radiator,milodin 160 degree thermostat, milodin high flow water pump, new hoses, aluminum pulleys, aluminum fan spacer and nylon one piece fan, and an electric fan in front of the radiator. the electric fan isn't the best-picked it up from discount auto before i knew anything about them and i found out it only flows like 800 cfm. now my transmission is a turbo-hydro 350 that was rebuilt, and it's cooling lines go to the radiator, it doesn't have it's own cooler. the car mostly runs hot when im at a stop, which means im not having enough air flow through the radiator. but is that true? or could it be that my transmission is cooled by my radiator, and not have it's own cooling system? please help, i've dumped a lot of money into this car to get it in far better shape then i recieved it in. thank you

[Frankie]

Sounds like your fans are too weak for Florida. Do you have a shroud around that water pump driven fan? How many cores does the radiator have? I've got a triple core and a perma-cool electric fan in my '67, running a 160 stat, and idle in the heat I still hit 200 degrees.

[HerHotRod]

You have almost the exact cooling set up I've got along w/ motor and tranny. I've got a Flex fan w/ the longest aluminum spacer I could fit. I've also go two small fans in front of the radiator on a switch to turn on when I need to. Try to push your fan as close to the radiator as possible. Get a longer spacer if you can. Also get a fan shroud if you don't have one. I have one on mine and it makes a diference. The fan doesn't do much good w/ out the shroud to direct the air towards the radiator.

I've also got the Miloden high volume pump. Mines the long pump, not the short one. I've got a Griffin radiator, and I think my t' stat is 180 but not sure. I do have a seperate tranny cooler though.

We really have almost the same exact set up :lol:. I used to have a lot of problems till I got this radiator. Other than that the shroud made a diference on mine and the t'stat. Maybe try a 180 first to see if it helps. It just may not be staying in the radiator long enough like you said. My problems were only at a stop as well.

And to really throw you off :lol:, when I was having the problems you were, I knocked the center out of the t'stat, to see what would happen. I didn't have the money for my aluminum radiator yet so I was trying everything. Anyway, it ran cooler! Makes no sense because there was hardly any restriction then, but it was a little better.

Good luck w/ it. I know how frustrating it can be. :)

[HerHotRod]

Frank, you have an aluminum radiator in yours?

[Frankie]

Nope, plain old 3 core Advance Auto $150 special. It beat the single core piece of shit that the car came with :D

[HerHotRod]

Very true. But when that goes the aluminum is worth it. It takes me a long time to hit 200 sitting in traffic now in the middle of the day. I start overheating before the car does :lol:.

[roracer70]

thank you for all your help, im totaly tight on money, so i didn't want to go out and buy everything on the shelf lol.yea, i got a new shroud wasn't the cheapest though. so if i can go with just electric fans and a tranny cooler, i might just swap it and sell the shroud. but yea, the coment you made about you overheating before your car does is exactly how i felt driving down belcher today. i thought i was going to die-no A.C.........

[Frankie]

And you all wonder why I roll in that old ass Cadillac. It has AC!!

[roracer70]

i love old caddies from the late 50's and and 60's. big ass cars with the fins and a convertible top.just not the pink ones.....

[HerHotRod]

Don't get rid of your shroud, I think you'll only be going backwards. I would at least try changing your t'stat first. There not too expensive. Then go from there.

Also you may want to try instead of regular Antifreeze that stuff that comes in the can. I forgot the name, but I think the fluid is actually pink. I've used it but had a brain fart and can't remember what it's called. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

[70Z]

I would agree that getting rid of the shroud is a huge mistake.

Is your car running hot or overheating? There's a big difference. Also, you say it mostly runs hot when your at a stop. How hot does it get? Does it cool down after you starting driving again? Does it happen even in cooler weather or just on days like today? I mean today was rough. The answer's to these question will probably point you to the problem. Or more questions

[70Z]

Got distracted writing the last post and forget to say that if the car does start cooling down once your driving you most likely do have an air flow problem.

Which crate motor you get?

[roracer70]

yea it will start to cool down once im moving, but i really gota be moving. and it happens moslty when im sitting. and it's just running hot, not overheating. i don't let it get to 240, at about 210 if im in traffic i'll pull over. but if there is a clear shot i'll usually chance it. and it's just the 260 hp 350 lbs of torque with the headers and 4 barrel carb. my . it had the 350 h.o. engine in it and a turbo-hydro 350 with a shift kit. but the car sat for over a year in the driveway-i got it when i was 15, and it was in rough shape. so after a year all the seals went and i had to get another engine and this is the only one i could afford. plus, when the engine was dropped in, my stepdad and neighbor were drunk and mis0aligned the engine and transmission. so now i have a run-of-the-mill turbo 350. i would love some more power, but like i said before i dumped alot of momney into the car. he's an idea
flowtech ceramic coated tri-y headers
flowtech purple hornie header mufflers
chevy 350 crate engine
edelbrock performer series intake manifold
edelbrock performer series 600 cfm carb
aluminum pulleys
milodon high flow water pump and 160 degree thermostat.
new 3 core radiator and upper and lower hoses
new rear suspension-which i need taller shocks
new repo fan shroud
electric pusher fan-which sux completly
im a student machinist so i made a switch panel and a shift lever knob
new dash
auto meter gauges
l-88 style corvette hood with low-tension springs
msd billet distributor
edelbrock valve covers-i got some mickey thompsons if any one wants to look to buy
N.O.S. gauge cluster for the stock tach and gauges-the mounting holes arent damaged
and brakes
lol that about covers what i've done to the car so far.
p.s. thank you for responding so quickly.

[74javelin]

ok, here's my story. amc 360, bored 60 over, stock 3 core radiator, stock 7 blade flex fan, stock fan shroud, pusher fan, 180 stat.

this car would run 200 all the time with the push fan running. if the pusher fan wasn't running it would go to 220 when your at a light or had the ac on.

a few months ago i changed the water pump. it was a little longer than the old one. the belt was off by one grove. so i would say it moved the fan 1/2-3/4 inch closer the radiator. i would say the fan is around 1 1/4 inch away from the radiator now.
well geuss what. it stays at 180 all day long now without the pusher fan.