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Cooling issues - and a weird question

How deep are the radiator tubes? I like at least 1" and yes, I've been down this road many times lol. I learned years ago that 4 row radiators are a waste of money....
Hiya Cranky! :)
The tubes on this Griffin are 2 rows of 1.25(in) tubing; it's dang near a 3" thick core.

This is the unit, as recommended by Rick Ehrenberg:
http://www.griffinrad.com/load_deta...ect_Sub_Group_Transmission=N/A&key_id=5-00004

I took out an almost new "3 core" copper/brass aftermarket radiator, so I hear you on that one.
Thanks for jumping in here. :)
 
Jeez, looks like enuf to fill a semi!!
You'd think, right? :)

For some reason, the last time I filled up the cooling system (with the old 3-core radiator), I wound up wiping out my entire stash of leftover pre-mix plus three gallons of new. I can't remember how many of them were totally full or how many times I filled a jug again with straight water when I ran out of mix.

Since this stuff is only like 90 cents a gallon, I bought a bunch to match.
 
Hiya Cranky! :)
The tubes on this Griffin are 2 rows of 1.25(in) tubing; it's dang near a 3" thick core.

This is the unit, as recommended by Rick Ehrenberg:
http://www.griffinrad.com/load_deta...ect_Sub_Group_Transmission=N/A&key_id=5-00004

I took out an almost new "3 core" copper/brass aftermarket radiator, so I hear you on that one.
Thanks for jumping in here. :)
In 98 when my dad passed away, I got his 95 Dakota. He bought it new and the 2 row brass/copper radiator was marginal at best and the temp would rise when sitting in traffic with the AC on. It finally crapped out and a single row aluminum unit with at least 1 1/4 tubes went in. It was used even but it does a great job and the temps never rise no matter how long it gets stuck in traffic! Always read that the large tube units do a better job and this made me a believer.
 
In 98 when my dad passed away, I got his 95 Dakota. He bought it new and the 2 row brass/copper radiator was marginal at best and the temp would rise when sitting in traffic with the AC on. It finally crapped out and a single row aluminum unit with at least 1 1/4 tubes went in. It was used even but it does a great job and the temps never rise no matter how long it gets stuck in traffic! Always read that the large tube units do a better job and this made me a believer.
I recently had to replace the one in my '04 Ram, one of those aluminum/plastic jobbers that started leaking.
I was surprised that it wasn't more substantial than it was - a pretty thin deal, really. It does a ridiculously good job, too.
 
I recently had to replace the one in my '04 Ram, one of those aluminum/plastic jobbers that started leaking.
I was surprised that it wasn't more substantial than it was - a pretty thin deal, really. It does a ridiculously good job, too.
I'm dreading the day I have to replace the one in my 97 diesel lol. Those dang things ain't cheap! I've never seen a radiator this big in a pickup before.....
 
Yeah well take a look at a semi-truck radiator, have to use a cherry-picker to pull one out!
 
Finally back at it for a bit tonight.
I've got the Carter off the car, looking through it:
149895719524451090624.jpg

Oh yeah, someone has been in here monkeying around for sure....
One of the cover screws is a flat blade looking one (see lower left in pic) and the accelerator pump lever didn't even have a retainer clip on it, so it could pop out at any time. It also was in the middle hole in the lever.

The floats are nowhere near adjusted right, either.
 
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Well, I didn't need to see this:
1498957538550824146319.jpg

"REMAN". :mad:

Ok, out comes the magnifying glass to read jets and rods.
Here's what is in it right now:
Primary Jets: .107
Primary Rods: .075x.047
Secondary Jets: .110
The step springs have no color on them "natural", so I'll call them silver.

Gee, those jets seem ***-backwards....

What actually is supposed to be in an Edelbrock 1407:
Primary Jets: .113
Rods: .071x.047
Secondary Jets: .107

The carb also has a "35" accelerator nozzle/squirter in it. That doesn't sound right either, although I can't find what should be in the 1407.

This all definitely explains the off-idle stumble the car had, at least.
Advice on what I should put back in it for jets, rods, squirters and such?
Going to set the floats at the proper 7/16" as well.
 
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Nobody, eh?
I've gone ahead and ordered all new Jets, rods and pump nozzles to put it back to "stock" 1407 specs.
Hope that works...
 
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Look up "1968 roadrunner needs something", theres a link for edelbrock setup&tuning.
 
FWIW, my car came with a 1411 Edelbrock which is the "Economy" 750 cfm model and it ran like ****. Lousy idle, stinky rich and adjustment made no difference. I opened it up and found the floats were off, fixed that and changed the rods and jets to match the 1407 "Performance" version, also added a wood composite spacer. Made a big improvement in all around performance. I always wondered why they even made a 750 cfm 4 barrel for "Economy" !!
 
FWIW, my car came with a 1411 Edelbrock which is the "Economy" 750 cfm model and it ran like ****. Lousy idle, stinky rich and adjustment made no difference. I opened it up and found the floats were off, fixed that and changed the rods and jets to match the 1407 "Performance" version, also added a wood composite spacer. Made a big improvement in all around performance. I always wondered why they even made a 750 cfm 4 barrel for "Economy" !!
Lordy. It's hard to find a manufacturer of anything that cares to do a good job anymore, seems like.
It's no small coincidence that the Edelbrock Performer series carbs are almost the exact same price as the Holley 4160 (3310) series, I suppose - they're both your basic vacuum secondary square bore "entry level" carbs - but it appears the $350 or so they run isn't enough to ensure decent manufacturing quality.
That's sad.

I'm taking a chance here that this basic carburetor is usable, of course. Seeing what I'm seeing in it could either be a sorry-assed excuse for a "professional" rebuild, or the previous owners' attempts at tuning, who knows.
It is pretty clean inside, though. If the basic housings aren't warped and there's no vacuum leaks, I guess I can put it back to stock and get a decent carb out of it.
Maybe.
Fingers crossed.
I'm itching to see if all my cooling system work is going to be productive and this is holding me up.
 
I recently rebuilt a pair of 1405s that were supposedly only ran on the dyno once. (Wait till I see those guys again). Float levels were way off! Pretty cruddy inside but they cleaned up nicely and the cost of rebuild kits are better than the money for a new one. They're a good carb and worth the effort to rebuild, then you know what you have. You'll be ok going that route.

Before
20170531_161918.jpg

After
20170602_154951.jpg

20170607_221045.jpg
 
I recently rebuilt a pair of 1405s that were supposedly only ran on the dyno once. (Wait till I see those guys again). Float levels were way off! Pretty cruddy inside but they cleaned up nicely and the cost of rebuild kits are better than the money for a new one. They're a good carb and worth the effort to rebuild, then you know what you have. You'll be ok going that route.

Before
View attachment 442227
After
View attachment 442230
View attachment 442231
Once on a dyno sounds like, That the car was driven by a little ol' lady. Then you turn on the radio and punch the buttons and rap music comes out.
Bet you figured on rebuilding them anyway.
 
Ed what's up, any news.
Hey Fran, what a coincidence. Thanks for checking up on me. :)
UPDATE....
Well, the stars finally realigned.
I finally found a lull in all the action (work + health + weather + ok, nerves) and went out to fire the thing up this morning.

It has been back together pretty much for a while now; it just would have broken my heart to fail yet again, given what's going on with my health and all - so as much as I've been working my *** off for money AND around the place here, I've also been procrastinating as well.

Anyways, I doused the carb with some old gas from the can and jumped in and hit the key. She fired right off and after the usual pedal babysitting (no choke), settled right down to an idle.
I let it run a while....then it got to be 15 minutes and played with the mixture screws a little....then more idling....20 minutes pass and still no water flowing visibly in the radiator!
:wtf:
The dash factory gauge wasn't even up to the left side of the "normal" range and even the screwed up aftermarket gauge was reading 30 degrees cooler than before.
Of course, now I was worrying about things being "wrong" on the other end of the scale....
Keep in mind, I drilled 3 pretty good-sized holes in the 180 SuperStat before I installed it and I did see some burping at first, but finally I saw the water level start dancing a little bit at 25 minutes...
Figured it was time to hit the road, so I slapped the new Mr Gasket thermo-whatever radiator cap on it and took off.
I took the exact same route as last time the car was out (and overheated), a mixture of 2-lane and then 4-lane highways. I buzzed it up over 80 a couple times, let it cruise at 60 (3.55 gears, so like 3k on the tach) for a good while and....
the temperature actually dropped with airflow through the radiator. :thumbsup:
She had some extended time at the one red light we have on the 4-lane and didn't even get past low end of "normal" on the factory gauge, then dropped a couple needle widths once I took off again. :)

Oh....and she ran smooth with the corrected carburetor I had jetted back to stock.
Real smooth. Almost docile even.
Getting to where I'm really liking this clutch. :thumbsup:
Got it back up the ridge and pulled into the garage; this is where she usually pukes her guts, as the climb back up usually is enough to get her hotter.
This time....not so much.
Jumped out and took this pic of the radiator cap immediately:
radiator cap.png

That says something like 160. That's probably low, too, but I'll take it as further evidence things are looking good. :)
(I marked the 180 with a pen smudge for reference).

Conclusions:
1. Thank you God!
2. I think she's ok to resume local cruises and shows. That's the next step in her progress/diagnostics now.
3. She has a nasty drivetrain vibration over 70mph under throttle which clears up if you lift off the gas - I assume that's probably a u-joint?
4. I'm pretty darn close to closing this thread I think?!
*CROWD GOES WILD!!*

Ed
 
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