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Recommendations for overflow bottle, 70 Charger, 26" rad, a/c car?

Triplegreen500

Triplegreen500

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I don't want to go completely Appalachian-engineering here (gatorade bottle), but I do want to have some sort of an overflow tank for my Charger. It appears not to have had one from the factory, only a hose that tucks through a slot by a corner of the battery tray. Was there ever a bottle used on a '70 Charger that I could retrofit? Or should I just bite the bullet, drill a hole in a gatorade cap, and zip tie one to the core support?

The car did come from Gainesville, FL - home of the Gators - so a Gatorade bottle would be appropriate... :)
 
Summit racing. I think it is a Dorman part for Mitsubishi applications.

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I just use an old quart of oil container. Wedges perfectly between firewall and battery. It's been there probably over 25 years with no issues. Helps so no puking all over the ground in our hot Woodward cruise traffic every year. Hard to see but the over flow hose is going thru the cap here.

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If your cooling system is working properly and filled correctly you should not need an overflow bottle. Never fill above the baffle plate in the radiator and there is plenty of room for expansion in the top tank. In 1970 Chrysler did not use a overflow bottle. Yes I have had some of my old cars puke coolant before, but it has always been attributed to a problem.
1. Overfilled
2. Defective pressure cap
3. Partially clogged radiator
4. Water pump failure or leaks
Just remember if you are running a stock cooling system that any coolant above the baffle plate will leave the system.
 
I somewhat agree, but one big advantage of the overflow is no air in the system.
No air in the system has two advantages. One is reduced cavitation which is better for cooling. The other is reduced oxidation in the system.
 
I found this one at Champion Radiators. It's pretty compact and comes in a variety of lengths. It was reasonably priced, too.

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Billccm said:
I somewhat agree, but one big advantage of the overflow is no air in the system.
No air in the system has two advantages. One is reduced cavitation which is better for cooling. The other is reduced oxidation in the system.
Click to expand...
I agree with the "closed" system. However, just a "catch can" is not a closed system. That requires a cap that allows fluid out and back in, along w an inlet and outlet for the reservoir bottle. The bottle needs to be large enough not to run dry when the engine is cooling off and creating a vacuum as the coolant condenses. That ends up putting air back in the system.
 
Jegs and Summit both have economically priced generic bottles.
Mike
 
I'm using a simple $5 wal-mart water bottle.

My car does indeed cycle water into and out of the overflow, despite not having one from the factory.
Mostly when the AC is on.

The bottle I got was a 48 oz, smoked gray plastic one that almost looks like it could have come from the factory.
It even has graduation lines.

As long as the overflow tube is below the water line in the bottle, it is a closed system.

I did need to experiment a bit though. At first I was using a 32 oz bottle and that was not enough to hold the overflow if I kept it half full. The 48 oz works much better.

On my car that bottle fits reasonably securely behind the headlight bucket on the driver's side.
There is a ledge there and it's almost trapped. I haven't had to put any strap or bracket there and it's never tipped or spilled.

The only thing it doesn't have is a drain from the bottle.
Moving to a larger capacity bottle solved that potential issue.
(and also prevented any loss of coolant)
 
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