hello i am new to the whole owning an older car my dad has had this car for about 15 years and i have always wanted it and he finally gave it to me for my 33rd birthday. not knowing to much about cars i have a few questions. this car is heating up to about 210 with a 160 thermostat and i have flushed and cleaned the radiator and put some water wetter in it to try to reduce the temp but it didnt work. my dad says not to run it over 190 but he has some health problems and couldnt fix the car and gave up on it, i guess. i love this car and would love to be able to get in it and drive it but im afraid of it overheating and messing it up. it has to original radiator in it which is copper does anyone think that switching to a alum. rad would help my problem? like i say i dont know much about cars but i sure would like to figure this out so i can just enjoy driving it and not have to worry about messing this beauty up. thanks guys
From another 73 GT owner in Oklahoma. Some will tell you that 210 is not really overheating.. How do you know the temp? Have a guage? Is it actually getting hot or just spewing from the possible weak cap? Would like some info about the car and there is a registery on here somewhere.. I'll post the link if I cone across it unless someone beats me to it..
well i dont really know what temp it is suppose to run and i do have a guage i was just going on what my dad told me. the other day i drove it down the road and back probably about 12 miles road trip and when i got back home and let it sit for a minute it did lose some water on the groud but im not 100 percent sure where it came from. but i thought it was from the overflow hose. the car has only had around 3000 miles put on it in the last 15 years and i was just concerned that maybe the radiator had rusted or something inside and was not letting it cool as it should. i guess the best thing for me to start with is a 180 thermostat and a new cap. i just dont know much about it and dont want to mess it up since i have wanted it for so long. just wanna take care of it. but u guys know way more about than i do. i just didnt know if rplacing the rad would help or not. my dad used to race it but i do not plan on racing it just driving it around here and there. he has unhook the heater and stuff and he said hooking it back up and letting the water run through the heater coil may help???he had electric fans on it when he raced it but he took them off after he quit. if i put a 180 thermostat on it should it run around 180??? any info would help. thank you
And being we are not actually looking at it it could need a radiator.. Anything is possible. We here tend to hope for the best and try logical remedies based on the info provided..
to the site from So. Cal. good luck with the radiator problem...hopefully the cap and thermostat will be a big help...
thanks guys im going to try the smaller most inexpensive things first then if that doesnt work i will try a new radiator but do you think i should go back with an aluminum one if i have to replace it or back with the brass and copper one?
I'm assuming it is a 302. I'd start with a new radiator cap. If the system is not holding pressure it could overheat. The next cheapest is the thermostat. After that I'd pull the radiator and take it to a radiator shop. They can rod it out and make it almost new. If it ran good with that radiator before, it should again. Also a shroud will help a lot if it does not have one. Welcome to the board.
I'm assuming it is a 302. I'd start with a new radiator cap. If the system is not holding pressure it could overheat. The next cheapest is the thermostat. After that I'd pull the radiator and take it to a radiator shop. They can rod it out and make it almost new. I just had one done here and it cost me $80. If it ran good with that radiator before, it should again. Also a shroud will help a lot if it does not have one. Welcome to the board.
to the board.... I'd go with what everyone has said. I just had my 302 cu in 3 core radiator rebuilt. Cools great now. I also replaced the thermostat & cap. And flushed it good...
Almost any car will leak out water after stopped if it is full of coolant and does not have an overflow catch tank. When the engine is shut off the water gets hotter for a few minutes and can overcome the radiator cap and pour out the overflow hose. The catch tank is supposed to hold that water until the engine cools off and sucks it back into the radiator. 210 isnt a problem but a 160 stat is too cool. If you want to get a new radiator for piece of mind then go ahead if you have the extra money laying around. Make sure you get a new cap too. And before putting in the new radiator give the system a good flush with the old radiator still in. This way all the old nasty stuff is out of system.
I believe that due to the fact that our cars came without a catch tank, the full leval is about an inch down from the top when filling. If you can save the copper one for less then do that unless you just want to have that aluminum one. Radiator is a radiator when the right one is being used.. Like Don mentioned also, a shroud is also a key factor. When I flush I remove the T stat..
