huskerala

Good morning all. I have a '69 442 that's running a mild 455, TH400 and 3.91 gears. I recently had the factory 4 core radiator flushed and repaired, installed the correct fan shroud and new fan clutch. The car also has the factory rubber/plastic seal under the front bumper/in front of the radiator. I can't remember what degree of thermostat that I have installed... If I'm driving around town or at speeds of 60 MPH or less on the highway, it runs at 180 degrees. If I get into traffic or at some long stoplights on a hot day, it can creep close to 200. My guess is that this is NORMAL. Share your thoughts.


I have thought of swapping out the radiator for an aluminum unit (because that's what I've ran on previous vehicles and they absolutely ran cooler) and and electric fan setup. Please let me know what you're running and what's worked for you or hasn't worked.


Thanks!
J Carmichael

70sgeek

that's a pretty normal temp range - I don't know that an aluminum swap by itself is going to make much if any difference. If you're truly worried, try a wetting agent in your coolant first - such as Redline's water wetter (or something to that effect) or other similar additive product - also would be good to know what t-stat you're running, though I presume it's a 180 if that's your baseline temp.


ensuring you're using a high-performance t-stat though may keep it closer to the 180 mark even at lower or idle speeds. Also, having a spring in your bottom hose to keep it from collapsing is a good idea.

jaunty75

You car can run at 200 degrees ALL DAY LONG. There's nothing wrong with that temperature. People have an obsession with 180, and that's just the temperature at which the thermostat opens, not the temperature at which the engine runs. Higher operating temperatures are GOOD for the engine because it is running more efficiently.


Stop worrying about this.

joe_padavano

^^^THIS! With a 16 PSI radiator cap, your coolant boils at about 250F.

76olds

Your 4 row copper core rad is as good as any aluminium rads on the market. Unless you see a good amount of hard water/calcium build up on the tubes inside the rad or fins start deteriorating and loosening, your all good. As others mentioned 200 is optimal.

Eric

jaunty75

This won't be an issue if you use distilled water to dilute. I assume the pre-diluted antifreeze you can buy is diluted with soft water, so this wouldn't be an issue, either, if you use that stuff.