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Those that have followed along as I resuscitate a former field find '68 GTX know the particulars, but in a nutshell:
'68 GTX, rebuilt '72 440 mild with purpleshaft 484 cam, headers, Edelbrock 1407. 4 speed, 3.55 gears. The car has been repaired/replaced/rewired stem to stern, mostly by me.
Six years plus into this, zero professional resto.
It's had more than one motor in it, this latest being bought with about 1,000 miles on it since the rebuild. Engine feels and sounds pretty darn good, just needs some fine tuning.
Got the carb pretty close, timing is in the neighborhood, dialing in on best vacuum. You can tell the engine has some grunt to it.
The car came with a 22" radiator support from the factory. It's manual brakes & steering. No a/c.
I put a new aftermarket generic 26" 3-core brass radiator in it some time ago; it has the clutch and 7-blade fan, along with a cobbled in shroud.
It all works and it's now roadworthy - but...
Last Friday evening, we took it out for its' first semi-long drive. Temps were in the low 80's.
As it went along at about 65mph, the temp climbed to a point that made me uncomfortable.
When we stopped to get some dinner, it barfed a little coolant out and the mechanical gauge wildly jumped up past 230.
(Background: the car has seen plenty of idling in the garage for extended periods, where it already got its' "seeks its' own level" out of its' system, I thought).
We ate, then headed for home. Same deal, the car getting hotter as we went and proceeding to run crappier as a result.
By the time I pulled it into the garage and grabbed a pan to throw under it, it puked bigtime, making all sorts of scary gurgling sounds as it expelled more coolant into the pan.
With previous engines, the cooling has been borderline ok (hot, but not puking hot). Now, finally with what I think is a good engine, it's apparently more than the cooling can bear.
I've decided to trash the whole cooling system - yeah, I know, but I'm this damn close to being done here.
I want overkill. I want the thing to struggle to make 180F. I want the total peace of mind that says it can't overheat - ever.
I've already decided to open up the radiator support to approximately the 26" dimensions.
Other than that, the whole mess gets replaced.
Please, PLEASE don't tell me to use what Ma designed for it - it isn't what she built, after all, not even close - and to be honest, I've already been that route.
Remember - overkill.
Oh, the oddball question?
I have removed both heater hose nipples from the water pump housing and plugged those threaded outlets. Can this be causing a cavitation or trapping of air? Should I rig a small loop between them?
Looking to finish this project off now, guys. My time is very limited and I just want it done before it becomes someone elses' problem.
Thanks!
'68 GTX, rebuilt '72 440 mild with purpleshaft 484 cam, headers, Edelbrock 1407. 4 speed, 3.55 gears. The car has been repaired/replaced/rewired stem to stern, mostly by me.
Six years plus into this, zero professional resto.
It's had more than one motor in it, this latest being bought with about 1,000 miles on it since the rebuild. Engine feels and sounds pretty darn good, just needs some fine tuning.
Got the carb pretty close, timing is in the neighborhood, dialing in on best vacuum. You can tell the engine has some grunt to it.
The car came with a 22" radiator support from the factory. It's manual brakes & steering. No a/c.
I put a new aftermarket generic 26" 3-core brass radiator in it some time ago; it has the clutch and 7-blade fan, along with a cobbled in shroud.
It all works and it's now roadworthy - but...
Last Friday evening, we took it out for its' first semi-long drive. Temps were in the low 80's.
As it went along at about 65mph, the temp climbed to a point that made me uncomfortable.
When we stopped to get some dinner, it barfed a little coolant out and the mechanical gauge wildly jumped up past 230.
(Background: the car has seen plenty of idling in the garage for extended periods, where it already got its' "seeks its' own level" out of its' system, I thought).
We ate, then headed for home. Same deal, the car getting hotter as we went and proceeding to run crappier as a result.
By the time I pulled it into the garage and grabbed a pan to throw under it, it puked bigtime, making all sorts of scary gurgling sounds as it expelled more coolant into the pan.
With previous engines, the cooling has been borderline ok (hot, but not puking hot). Now, finally with what I think is a good engine, it's apparently more than the cooling can bear.
I've decided to trash the whole cooling system - yeah, I know, but I'm this damn close to being done here.
I want overkill. I want the thing to struggle to make 180F. I want the total peace of mind that says it can't overheat - ever.
I've already decided to open up the radiator support to approximately the 26" dimensions.
Other than that, the whole mess gets replaced.
Please, PLEASE don't tell me to use what Ma designed for it - it isn't what she built, after all, not even close - and to be honest, I've already been that route.
Remember - overkill.
Oh, the oddball question?
I have removed both heater hose nipples from the water pump housing and plugged those threaded outlets. Can this be causing a cavitation or trapping of air? Should I rig a small loop between them?
Looking to finish this project off now, guys. My time is very limited and I just want it done before it becomes someone elses' problem.
Thanks!