RE: Over heating

["Dennis C." <dennis.2914@xxxxxxxxx>]

Been there - Done that!

I had a long battle with over heating with my 63 SF 383-4 speed car.  
The 383 is warmed up but not over the top, just a nice driver.

I tried the following:

New water pump
Performance thermostat - important to use
Fan shroud
Electric Fan

Nothing worked.  I went to a small radiator shop in Yuma to have him 
move the radiator straps slightly so I could use the shroud.  The old 
guy immediately said Mopars do not over heat unless timing is wrong or I 
have the wrong thermostat.  I assured him the timing was correct and I 
had the right stat.  

Finally I got him to look at the radiator, he asked who recored it, I 
told him it was done in Arkansas where my brother and I build the car.
He said it might work in Arkansas but not in Arizona.  He showed me 
different cores and explained that my core did not have enough fins per 
inch, I needed a new radiator!

I tried the shroud anyway, actually made it worse on the road, slightly 
better in town but now enough.

I tried an electric fan, the highest CFM I could get for the width of 
the core, no improvement.

I finally called U.S. Radiator in Phoenix.  They built me a 4-core 
copper radiator that works.  Aluminum is better but I wanted the 
radiator to look stock and this one does except for the lack of markings 
on the top tank.  I did not go with a larger radiator, it is exactly the 
same width and hight as my old radiator.

I made a trip with the car last year from Yuma to Arkansas in the 
summer, no over heating problems.  I don't have A/C the over heating was 
in the driver's seat.  Temperatures on Interstate 8 was in the 110 to 
115 degree range.

Just a comment on radiators.
A deeper core does not automatically mean more cooling, it can result in 
less.  High fin count actually restricts air flow but will ncrease 
cooling to a point.

Just consider that the first row sees the air coming into the radiator, 
the second row is getting the warm air off of the first row and the 
third sees very warm air that has came off of the first two rows, as you 
can see a fourth row is even less effective seeing the air off of the 
other three rows.  

I discussed this with the radiator company and they assured me that a 4 
row would work for my application.

I can only say my experience with U.S. Radiator was good, I have no idea 
how they have done for others and would not suggest they have the 
ultimate answer for your application but it did work for me.

Good Luck
Dennis

Cory Rempel wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Greetings from Canada.  Just put a 440 into my 65 Polara which was 
> originally a 318 poly.  The 318 never over heated, but this 440 
> constantly runs very hot.  To the point where it starts to ping.  It's 
> got a big block rad in it and the water pump is good.  The only thing I 
> can think of is that I don't have a shroud.  Can a shroud make that big 
> of a difference?  I've never had this problem before.  Suggestions would 
> be appreciated? 		 	   		  
> _________________________________________________________________
> Game on: Challenge friends to great games on Messenger
> http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9734387
> --
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 



1996 Dodge Ram 3500 Van Conversion
1964 Plymouth Belvedere 318 Auto
1963 Plymouth Sport Fury 383 4-speed
1949 Dodge Pickup 289/C4 soon to be changed
1998 Honda Valkyrie Standard


----
Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic.  Thanks!

1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.