Can of rusty worms

[Ironbuilt]

This OER alum rad looks like good quality with 2x1" tubes. Nothing scary came out of it while flushing upside down. Unless 22" is undersized for this <500hp RB, it should be fine. The fan is about 85% inside the shroud at about 3/4" from the rad surface. With the shroud being 2.25", I think the fan needs to move back about 1/4". While there is suction in front of the rad, it isn't as strong as I would expect. So I dropped a spare spacer off to a machinist here to cut it down. If he gets it done today, I should have it all back together tonight and test.
Using an IR gun, the drop in temperature across the rad (top to bottom) was only about 25 degrees, but the bottom and top rad hose were hotter than the rad by some 15-20 degrees rising to 200F. That's why I think air was trapped. After the head swap, I filled the system level to the ground and didn't let it run long enough with the cap off to move the air out. The rad cap at 16psi may not be right either so air can't escape until the pressure rises above that. I noticed the top rad hose under a lot of pressure as well as I forgot to 'burp' the hose. The second go around I corrected this, but I think I have jack the car up a bit to help displace the air in the block when I refill it tonight.

Also, I installed the pertronix2 ignitor and eliminated the orange box and ballast. Set up was easy but I had to hand file the bracket to permit the proper gap of .030 as the nut that tightens the plate would hit the bracket that holds the pick up, forcing it out which widens the gap.
The new taylor sparkplug wires fit much better than those sloppy MSD wires.

I wish you luck with the thinner spacer. I think you should consider a radiator cap in the 7psi range, 16psi seems too high.

 

[khryslerkid]

I wish you luck with the thinner spacer. I think you should consider a radiator cap in the 7psi range, 16psi seems too high.

15lbs - 16lbs is normally factory. I've never used anything less.

Biggest thing that I hear when someone refills their cooling system, is they put the cap on before the thermostat opens. Thats the worst thing you could do.

Leave the cap off while the engine is warming up and watch for flow in the radiator. Feel the thermostat housing and top hose as it heats up. Have the heater control on hot to allow circulation in the heater core. As soon as the thermostat opens you'll see movement of the coolant across the tubes in the radiator tank. If its a cross flow you'll see coolant pouring out the top tubes in the tank.

Top up the tank if it needs more and let the t-stat open again. (Adding more coolant can cool it down enough to close the t-stat) Watch for circulation again and then, if the level of coolant is right, you can place the cap on.

Certain engines are known for air pockets and require bleeding at the highest point in the cooling system. Most of these are the newer engines and they might even have a bleeder installed at the highest point. I remember the four cylinder ford engines haveing a terrible time getting the air out of their systems.

I've never found any Big Block Mopars having this problem unless the t-stat was defected or there was a blockage.

 

[Glenwood]

Well seems better. Had a machinist cut down a spacer which moved the fan back 1/4" and there is a noticeable improvement in airflow. I had to block the rad to get the stat to open lol. Coolant is flowing well too so hopefully all of the air is out. Test drive tomorrow!

 

[Glenwood]

Test drive to a local car club meet was fine as was a two hour drive to moparfest. Temperature stays at 195 on the highway at 3200rpm but crept up to 205-210 when idling for any length of time in the afternoon. I think the 22" rad might be a bit small for this engine so I will probably add a pusher fan.

Before i moved the fan

After

 

[Glenwood]

Meanwhile, felt the ride height was a bit too low. The front was approx zero, so I adjusted the tbars to approx 1.75". Yhe old bars are probably due for a change as are the leaf springs. Even with relocating the perches, the 275s rub on both sides a bit when the car dips. So I added leaf helpers from summit. They raised the rear about 1.5"-2"

and the ride was quite nice.

Had to remove the small leaf as it is shorter than the helper leaf. Used a ball joint press to compress them.

 

[threewood]

Glen that is looking sweet! Glad you got the temp issue straightened out for the most part,the pusher may just do the trick. My car had a similar creeping issue in traffic so i swapped out my thermal clutch for one of the newer short HD versions (Hayden 2947) and it seemed to do the trick. Even driving around in 108 degree temps it will get to 195ish or 200 if I am running it hard and that's it.

 

[Glenwood]

thanks Mark. I've been experimenting with different fan combos this week, just for fun. Swapping the fan ranks way up there for my least favourite things to do! There just never seems to be the right angled wrench for the job.
I've been looking at clutch fans and I'm not sure I will get much better airflow with a 6 blade clutch type over the 7 blade solid I'm using. I've read the 5 blades that were discontinued worked well, but are hard to find. They seem to have a large pitch which would help. The 2947 looks like it will just fit but may be too close to the rad and about 5/16" +/-. Don't know how effective they are that close.
One combo I tried was a large flex fan I have. It has 3" deep blades and I used a 1.25" spacer which kept it about 1" from the rad. It worked great and I had to block the rad to get the motor hot enough to open the 180 stat. I just don't trust them, so I put the 7 blade back on with a 1" spacer. I even tried it with 1/2" spacer but it moved the fan about 75% out of the shroud and about 1.5" away from the rad, which was ineffective.
To help with highway temps, I punched out 4 holes in the shroud with my electrical ko punches and covered them with some thin rubber flaps. I want to see if the improved airflow will bring down the highway temps from 195 to 180sh.
I think a pusher fan will help on those hot days in traffic and I will likely add a 16" fan, unless I just install a dual puller set. In either case, I will have to replace the alternator with one that will provide better voltage and current at low rpms. Probably a wiring upgrade too depending on the alternator capacity. More work for the winter!

 

[Glenwood]

A few pics

Flex fan

1/2" 7 blade ineffective

 

[Mike67]

Glen your car is beautiful!
I just wanted to throw my .02 in, I dont think your problem is your fan, I think its your shroud.
I think the way its designed is not utilizing the entire exchanger area being it only about an inch +/_ off of the face except where the blade sits.
Just from what Ive dealt with, electric and mechanical fans, those that do not have a shroud that tapers back at an angle seem to prevent adequate air movement around the edges. Not saying they wont work, just that they inhibit max performance of the radiator
You have a lot of flow right in front of the fan but everything else is somewhat static.
You can buy a cheap (<$20) anemometer online and checkflow across the face...
Good luck!!!

 

[Glenwood]

Thanks Mike. I had thought about tapering of the shroud when I designed it, but I couldn't figure out how to design it that way. I know it would have created a smoother, more direct path for airflow, but it seems many shrouds with electrical and mechanical fans don't have tapered shrouds either. So I figured I'd give this a try. It is much better than without a shroud, but I think this 22" rad with 1" tubes may be near it's maximum capacity with this motor during the hottest days. I also thought if I made it a bit deeper, it may help too, but space is limited on these early B's and the power steering pump tends to be an obstacle.
Does anyone know what are the different size crank and fan pulleys are available or were made? Currently, my crank and fan pulley are 6.5" dia and I have a 7" fan pulley. It would be ideal if a 7"+ crank pulley was available to increase fan and alternator rpms.

 

[Mike67]

Thanks Mike. I had thought about tapering of the shroud when I designed it, but I couldn't figure out how to design it that way. I know it would have created a smoother, more direct path for airflow, but it seems many shrouds with electrical and mechanical fans don't have tapered shrouds either. So I figured I'd give this a try. It is much better than without a shroud, but I think this 22" rad with 1" tubes may be near it's maximum capacity with this motor during the hottest days. I also thought if I made it a bit deeper, it may help too, but space is limited on these early B's and the power steering pump tends to be an obstacle.
Does anyone know what are the different size crank and fan pulleys are available or were made? Currently, my crank and fan pulley are 6.5" dia and I have a 7" fan pulley. It would be ideal if a 7"+ crank pulley was available to increase fan and alternator rpms.

Heres the formula for making a square to round if you have a brake. We used to make them years ago when I did HVAC work..you can subdivide more brakes @ less of an angle and it will give a smoother radius or use 3-4 just ro get there. Its a pretty short transition so its not to big of a deal. You want to make sure your transition matches the run/rise you need if any ( is your fan centered in the radiator length and width wise?)
The video is pretty good to understand how to layout.
https://sheetmetalworld.com/sheet-m...torials/5962-how-to-develop-a-square-to-round

 

[Glenwood]

Well I may not have much of a problem after all. I sealed up gaps with a rubber hood seal and a rubber strip between the rad tank and support. Didn't make a significant difference on the highway as it stayed at 195. Or so I thought.
i previously tested the 180 stat which opened around 185-187 according to my digital probe. Idling with the cap off, flow started at about 185 but the damn stewart warner elec gauge reads 195. More testing indicated the gauge is off by 10 degrees. Funny thing is driving at 60mph & 3200rpm, it stays at 195 (or really 185), but drops to 185 (175) cruising at 2000rpm.
The car still climbs a bit while idling outside though but not as bad as I was lead to believe. I installed a 14" elec pusher fan but the cheap 80watt fan does not help much. I plan on buying a derale or flex a lite fan, once I upgrade the alternator. It does not charge at idle with too much loading.
Also tried running on constant vac on the carb but it didn't work well while idling.

Also noticed the timing mark jumping around and my new timing light display is faulty! What a pain. The shaft has several degrees of play when I rotate the rotor. Not sure if that is normal or if the slot is worn. The distributor is a reman unit.

Otherwise, the 64 drives nicely and has lots of torque.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

When you turn the rotor it moves the mechanical advance in one direction only. If it kind of clunks the shaft or oil drive is worn.

 

[Glenwood]

some new pics outside for a change!

 

[Glenwood]

I thought I'd add a few updates although haven't had a lot of time to work on the 64 over the winter.
Decided to check the iron rockers for known issues and sure enough they were wearing prematurely. Crane took them back through Summit, but it took a while to get a refund. As it happened, Mancini had roller rocker sets in sale at the time and was nearly a wash. Lucky.

Shimmed the shafts to center the sweep amd measured for pushrods. The sweep is a little wider than recommended by B3 but I'm happy with it. My pushrods were fine to use with only a quarter turn difference. Nothing to lose sleep over.
Fired her up and lots of oil up top. Quieter than the irons it seems.

 

[Glenwood]

Ordered an advance plate and spring kit from FBO. Now my mechanical advance is more accurate. I found the FBO plate to be off 2 degrees though. The engine seems to like 16 initial and 18 advance starting around 1800 to all in at 2500.

 

[Glenwood]

Finally got around to converting this old breather. My welding is getting better I think.

 

[Glenwood]

Needed to cleanup the wiring harness after adding the electric fan, pertronix ignition amd upgraded alternator. It was becoming a mess. So I unravelled the harness and cleaned her up!

 

[Glenwood]

Can't find the finished pic...have to add that later.

Also decided to replace the door window sweeps. The cat whiskers are not a perfect match and required some tweaking. Turned out okay. I had to drill holes for the staples.

 

[Glenwood]

We had one or two sunny days, so I had a chance to take a drive. The car is running well and seems pretty responsive with the changes and 670 holley instead of the 750 eddy. Still waiting for the rain to stop for more testing!