Overheating.... Sorta

Ok made it back to Michigan no problem I hauled it back on the uhaul seen someone in Nebraska with a blue 60s Ranchero if your on the site you have a nice ride.. So I've been driving it around town and I noticed that my water temp is rising when I'm stopped and when I'm driving slow I don't think it's my fan but if I need to replace it I will (good excuse to go to electric and pick up a few hp) coolant level is good and I'm thinking it could be my thermostat idk how big of a shock the climate has on it if any. anything else it could be??? I run around 200 normally and at a stop it will reach around 240 250 and cool off when I pick up speed down to 215 ish.

 

That's fairly high for a car with a 180* t-stat, so since it's cheap and easy to do, just go ahead and do it. In addition, make sure you have good airflow when idling, and that the airflow is not just warm, but hot, behind the fan.

 

Do you have a fan shroud installed?
If not, do that first.

 

X2 on the fan shroud. Will cool things down better than running just an electric fan.

 

Of course, the assumption is that he has one, but agreed, if not, get it done first, then the t-stat.

 

Yes I have a shroud

 

How's the fan clutch.

 

If you have a clutch fan, it should have what my boss Randy called 'fluid drag.' It should not turn easily when sitting static, even when cold. If it freewheels, it needs replacement.

 

I prefer a flex fan. The clutch costs more than the gas you will save during its life.

 

I have a aluminum flex fan i seen a video showing that a non electric fan can suck up to 30 hp so I'm looking for a reason to install one haha I'm gonna go up to auto zone in the morning and snag a thermostat if they have one where do I install it I didn't see it on the hose where the radiator hose goes into the block is it somewhere else or am I blind

 

A properly sized electric fan with a shroud that covers the entire core is, without a doubt, going to use less power than a mechanical fan, and probably a better job of cooling.
On the other hand, if your fan is 30HP you will NOT have a cooling problem. You could very likely ditch the radiator and go air cooled at that level of air flow. If a fan sucked up 30HP, those old 36HP VW bugs wouldn't have had enough power to run the lights.
Maybe 3HP at 9000 RPM is closer to the truth.

 

One more thing.
Check your timing. Retarded engine timing will cause heating at idle.

 

http://www.network54.com/Forum/215655/message/1066184641/Car+Craft+Cooling+Fan+Dyno+Test

It looks like a six blade replacement cost a bit more than 30hp, but THIS is a magazine test.

I have seen/heard similar results from different sources. FWIW, I do know when I exchanged my clutch fan/fan clutch assembly for a dual electric fan assembly I was fairly surprised how much my 472 liked less weight hanging off the water pump. It "spooled-up" faster, gave back a few HP, cooled better and MPG's were slightly higher. All in all it was a WIN/WIN/WIN/WIN for my application, the only drawbacks for me was initial costs and wiring required for a reliable install.

 

Much better explanation, thanks.

 

Since it's a '72, and you've never really said how yours was outfitted, the assumption here is you have point-condenser ignition. When points wear down, that changes the dwell, which makes a retard change in timing.

 

If you do have point-condenser ignition, make the change to electronic ignition. You'll be much happier for it.

 

FYI, when a "test" is done with just one product, especially in a magazine, it is usually referred to as an advertisement.
Considering that a 10HP fan generally draws more than 30,000 CFM, that would be moving in excess of 500MPH if passed through a space that small, I think it is reasonable to use that as an upper limit.

 

Did you read any part of the link/info that I posted concerning the Car Craft magazine article? Looks to me that they tested many different engine cooling fans, then posted "their" results, I guess you can say they "advertised" the results. Not exactly sure what a 10hp-30K CFM fan moving air @ 500 mph has to do with a engine cooling fan test, but that is another story unto itself.

 

Good information for NASA, you really need to get your meds ckd. Keep it in layman's terms, please.

 

Yes, I read it. Did you? All the way to the end?
Flex-a-lite did the tests at a performance shop and gave the results to the magazine.
This kind of advertising has been done by auto magazines since the first one came out. I see one done for Flowmaster at least once a year.

I will give you another thing to consider.
Consider all the low horsepower cars that were built, deduct 30-45 HP and some would end up with negative horsepower (like an early VW).
A fan cares not what engine is behind it, it requires the same amount of power to operate.

One more thing, put an engine like the one they used on a dyno. Start doing consecutive runs with some time between them. Change nothing.
Peak HP will be different on different runs. Ask anyone who has worked with a dyno, they will back me up on that.