Thermostat or No Thermostat?

[Marcohotrod]

Just for fun, what year is your 360 block? I understand that the early blocks (pre 75) had larger water jackets and thus thin cylinder walls. Just curious.

rumor has it the early blocks had thicker cylinder walls. I run the small , 5" ? , moroso aluminum drive pulley , stock 1970 340 radiator, mechanical fiberglass fan, no shroud and she runs at 180-209

 

[justinp61]

Years ago when I built my Dart I started with a 340, aluminum heads, 11.4-1, factory pulleys, new copper radiator, new standard pump, Black Magic electric fan with a Painless fan controller. It ran hot so I bought a generic aluminum radiator from a local roundy round shop. The fan wouldn't work with the new radiator so I bought another thinner electric fan that supposedly moved 2800 cfm. It still ran hot, a new Flow Kooler water pump and it still ran hot.

I was ready to pull the engine and someone suggested that I try a belt driven fan and shroud. A buddy of mine had a like new MP viscous fan kit that he made me a deal on. I had a shroud for a 26" radiator that I cut down and made fit the aluminum radiator and fan. No more over heating, on cool spring or fall days it ran right on the 160° thermostat and didn't get over 180° on hot days or at the drag strip.

The same set up was used on my 408 and is now on my 434. The only change is a smaller diameter crank pulley that I had to use with the Innovators West aluminum damper. Even with the smaller drive pulley it runs cool. I've ran 6.40 with this set up and see no reason to change.

 

[72bluNblu]

360 .40 over, stock pistons, Eddie heads, Air Gap manifold, medium Eddie cam, headers aluminum radiator and electric fan.

I always have an overheating problem when the temps get over 85°. Not driving down the highway, but as soon as I slow down or wait at a light. The radiator is in excellent shape, no crud or anything. New 13psi cap too. I took the thermostat out last year thinking it would help but it doesn't. The electric fan is 16" high flow (2400 cfm) and goes almost top to bottom but not side to side.

Thoughts? Ideas?

I may have missed it, but what size is the radiator? Not because it's the problem, just because that controls the size of the fan you can use.

A 2,400 cfm fan is pretty borderline for moving enough air. The fact that the shroud doesn't cover the entire radiator is a problem too, you're only cooling the part of the radiator that the shroud covers with the fan. It also depends on how the fan is wired. If for some reason it can't pull 100% of the power it needs, it isn't putting out that cfm rating. It should be set up off a relay with pretty heavy gauge wiring.

I run a Ford Contour dual electric fan on my Duster. That works with a 26" radiator, and covers the entire shroud. It's capable of 3,500 cfm on the low speed setting, and ~5,000 cfm on the high speed. It does a great job of cooling my .060" over 340, which has ported iron 308 heads, a lunati 60404 cam, 9.8:1 compression, headers, air gap intake, etc. Most of the time the low speed is all that is used, although a few times I've had the car out in the 110*F heat we get here on occasion the high speed has kicked on. The fans on my car are controlled with a Dakota Digital controller, with a dual relay set up.

My install is here [URL="https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/my-new-74-duster-or-why-i-need-a-project-like-a-hole-in-the-head.198098/page-3#post-1970313646"]My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head[/URL]

If you do have a 22" radiator still, you can look into using a Ford Taurus electric fan. It will fit on a 22" radiator, and although it's a single fan it does have two speeds, and will move substantially more air than your current fan. I prefer using OE electric fans vs. aftermarket, they were engineered to go 100,000 miles or more on a car that has a factory warranty. With aftermarket stuff, some are good, some are definitely not.

 

[famous bob]

I have fuel injection also, a FiTech. Put you can vacuum either place!

not on a fast 2.0, has to be on the appropriate nipple to the pressure regulator.

 

[7milesout]

I know this is an old thread, but I think the problem is due to the .40 over bore. With a .40 over bore, your new displacement is 435 cubic inches. A 435 cubic inch engine will make a lot more heat than a 359 cubic inch. That's a heckuva bore!

I jest of course, I realize you meant the engine was bored 0.040".

 

[SLC Duster Dude]

I know this is an old thread, but I think the problem is due to the .40 over bore. With a .40 over bore, your new displacement is 435 cubic inches. A 435 cubic inch engine will make a lot more heat than a 359 cubic inch. That's a heckuva bore!

I jest of course, I realize you meant the engine was bored 0.040".

Pesky zeros always causing problems. LOL