[Billgear]

Well it got up to the high 70's here in N. Ca. The temp needle got up to around 195-200 in traffic. I have
a 4 core dessert style radiator, high flow melling water pump, high flow 180 degree thermastat. The engine
is a slightly build up Alum headed 302. I'm running a stock style fan with clutch. The car runs bad when it's starts to get warm, does a little bucking ect.. I'm a little concerned what it will do when it's 90 degrees +
outside. Do you think a 160 degree therm would help out? I've heard about the water wetter stuff that
you put in the coolant, i also heard it doesn't work well with with high alot of antifreeze, I run 50/50 because of the Alum heads. Maybe i need a electric pusher fan? Any idea's.

1966 Mustang Coupe, 302 custom roller cam, holley 650dp,http://www.289mustang.com
http://www.289mustang.com/images/vmfcar.jpg

 

[autoxsteve]

Get a Robertshaw (solid brass) thermostat set at 160. Water Wetter also couldn't hurt. Let us know what happens. you may also want to go to an electric fan.



Steve Leslie, 65 coupe in restoration. 302, toploader, A/C, disc brakes, bench seat

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1571478&a=11942550&p=43703435.jpg

 

[1967GTA]

I read a while back on this board that if a cars timing is off, that can cause the engine to run hot. Last Summer my car ran hot. I had the timing adjusted, added Water Wetter and a fan shroud. 1 or a combination of those did the trick.

 

[mrgem]

Bill- One thing you might want to verify somehow is the accuracy of your temperature guage. It may not be overheating at all. The setup you have should be more than adequate to cool your car.

One of the other posters suggested timing. I think that timing that is retarded (IIRC) has the potential to cause overheating.

Is it spitting out coolant from the overflow or showing any other signs (aside from the temp guage reading) of overheating?

Glenn Morgan 66 GT Fastback 351w+toploader

 

[Billgear]

I don't have a fan shroud, I could try backing my timing off a little, i run 16 initial with 36 total with no
vacuum advance. Where do you get a RobertShaw thermistat? It was starting to ping a little after it got hot.

1966 Mustang Coupe, 302 custom roller cam, holley 650dp,http://www.289mustang.com
http://www.289mustang.com/images/vmfcar.jpg

 

[Billgear]

I have two temp gauges, with seperate sendors. The stock guage and a Autometer aftermarket guage both indicate the same condition.

1966 Mustang Coupe, 302 custom roller cam, holley 650dp,http://www.289mustang.com
http://www.289mustang.com/images/vmfcar.jpg

 

[VictorII]

I run a built 302 in my '65 convertible. The WaterWetter helped a lot. But what helped the most was a shroud. They're cheap and easy to install. If you decide to get one be sure you get the correct brackets to mount the shroud (two-row, three row, or four-row). I also run a seven-bladed fan with a clutch, a Gano filter to keep the crap under control, and a 4 row radiator. I have ported iron heads with Chevy 350 valves and run 50/50 coolant/water mix. Oh, yes, I also run a 180 degree thermostat. I regularly drive from the North end of the San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Rosa) to Chico in the summer. It gets over 105 regularly. My setup runs cool except in stop and go and then only heats up a little and cools immediately when I get a little speed up. You might consider a small phenolic spacer between your carb and intake to keep the carb a little cooler. That could be why it runs worse when hot.

 

[camachinist]

Bill,
You might have been running into mild pre-ignition problems when the engine got warm, which exacerbates the condition...If you were getting as hot as you say, you should be getting some pretty good puking into the overflow....what lb. Tstat are you using?

Have you done a plug reading yet? Since it got hot, I mean...

IMO, get the shroud, back the timing off to 10-12, use a good quality 7 blade fan and get a phenolic carb spacer if you don't have one already.

The Red Line water wetter does give a quantifiable improvement, at least under racing conditions....I've never had any experience with it on the street.....nor any with the RobertShaw Tstat.....I just run a 160 degree Autozone special in my car *G*

Make your changes one at a time and log the result....it's going to be a long, hot summer....*G*

Pat
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1570936&a=11937754&p=42910787.jpg

 

[Billgear]

I have a recovery bottle, it got full and then sucked it back up like it should. I tried the 1" spacer, it made my car feel like a turd, really killed the performance. I removed it after 1 day. I was surprised it made that
big a difference. I'll back the timing off tonight. Thanks everybody!!!

1966 Mustang Coupe, 302 custom roller cam, holley 650dp,http://www.289mustang.com
http://www.289mustang.com/images/vmfcar.jpg

 

[camachinist]

With the aluminum heads and manifold, I'd recommend a thin phenolic spacer (1/4-1/2") to isolate the carb from engine radiated heat...
I'm a bit nonplussed as to the performance hit...please describe the spacer and the perceived performance deficiency....rpm or mph noted would be helpful along with the feel in each gear...

Our combos are likely a bit different but the race car benefitted from the spacer to the tune of .05-.07 and .2 mph......is it possible moving the inlet package up further into the scoop may have moved it out of the boundary layer?

My spacer is just a chunk of phenolic with 4 holes bored about .030" larger than the throttle plates and a small hole up the middle for the power valve cavities....no PCV takeoff...and is sitting on top of a stone stock Perf RPM...

It sure would be good to get some time in at Sears Point and quantify all of this....

Oh, did you get any residual foaming in the recovery bottle....or any residues at the bottom...?

I'm glad you jumped on this right away....overheating and detonation are two big enemies of aluminum heads....

Keep us posted!

Pat
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1570936&a=11937754&p=42910787.jpg

 

[avj97]

Try the shroud first. I had the same thing last year and the shroud alone did the trick. 49 bucks from NPD.

JJ
69 Fastback 302 2v 3sp. trans.

 

[bluefinger]

Did you get the metal or plastic shroud? I went to Dallas Mustang, but they weren't interested in helping and said it wouldn't make a difference. I'd like to order one, but not sure if I should go with original type or the plastic reproductions.

Jason
Formerly Bluestangcom
"Got gas?"
Vintage Burgundy'66 Conv. 289 & C4. GT-ized
Strawberry/Silver '91GT
Rust/Red/Turquoise '67 coupe - Parting Out
Guards Red 2000 Porsche Boxster

http://www.bluestang.com

 

[Billgear]

Pat,
I used a 1" pastic spacer like the one you described. I don't have any hard performance data, just the seat of the pants. The top end power was there, it just killed low and mid range power. I was suprised because
I really didn't expect to feel any thing. I'm wondering now if I might have had a small vacuum leak or carb
tuning issue that i might have missed. I drove it, didn't like it and removed it! I'm going to check my plugs
tonight and make sure the pingong didn't remove any shinny stuff from my heads *g*.

1966 Mustang Coupe, 302 custom roller cam, holley 650dp,http://www.289mustang.com
http://www.289mustang.com/images/vmfcar.jpg