I spent the afternoon trying to clean the water jacket in the Bugeye
with Permatex Radiator Cleaner. This stuff is technically sulfuric
acid. I drained and flushed the radiator and engine and then filled
with clean water leaving enough room for the Permatex stuff. I started
the engine and got it at a fast idle per the directions and poured in
the acid. I was then instructed to let it run for 30 minutes and NOT
let it boil. So, I replaced the radiator cap and put a large floor fan
in front of the radiator. After 30 minutes I stopped the engine and let
the fan cool the engine down some, then removed the radiator cap and
flushed the system again. I drained it and filled it with about 20%
antifreeze and water.
Time for a test drive. This was about 5 PM and the temperature
outside was about 80 degrees. Good conditions for a test. I headed for
Redlands on surface streets and when I got to the spot that I overheated
a few days ago, the water temp was 185F. This was about 10 minutes
driving. I kept going and encountered some traffic and traffic lights,
the temp went up to 195F in this stop and go traffic. I was getting
brave so I decided to take it on the freeway. Off we went (my son as
copilot) on the 10 freeway east at 65 mph. The water temp dropped to
195 and stayed there for a half hour. By the end of the half hour I was
on a long incline of the 215 freeway headed for Barstow. About 10
minutes of this incline and the temp rose to 200F, so I turned around
and headed back home which was downhill. After 10 minutes of downhill
it went back down to 190F. As soon as the freeway leveled out, the
water temp went back up to 195F. There it would cycle from 195 to 200F
after an hour of driving. As soon as I got off the freeway, the temp
stayed at 200F and about 5 minutes after this I pulled into my driveway
and stopped the motor. The engine went to the 212F mark and a couple of
ounces of antifreeze peed out the overflow tube.
Believe it or not, this is an improvement, but I have just
reconciled myself to the fact that the supercharger operation is limited
to OAT of 75F or lower. If I want to drive this car in the summertime,
it will have to have the S.U. H1s on it. Not so much hot air being
shoved into the engine that way and the car will operate cooler in the
high temps. I'm not saying this is a defect in the supercharger. I
believe there is something going on inside this engine that is beyond me
to find. The cleaning of the water jacket today helped some with heat
transfer so I am heading in the right direction. The next test will be
to put the carbs back on and try the car under the exact same conditions
and route I traveled today. Oh well, gives me something to do.
Mike MacLean Supercharged? 60 Sprite
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