Today was a nice hot day in Poway CA (96 F on my patio)
I took the Tiger out for a spin with my son. When we got back I left the car
idling in the garage. After 20 minutes the temp was 201; after 30 minutes
it was 205.
When the test started the garage was 96F, when it was over the temp was up
to 100F. Yes the door was open, and the tail of the car was outside in the
sun.
I then drove it around the neighborhood for a few minutes and it cooled
right down. Less than 3 miles of 25-35 mph with stops had the car back at
185.
I have a thermocouple mounted in the hot tank of the radiator. That is the
source of my readings. It also confirms that my dash gauge is way more
accurate than I would ever expect.
I am declaring victory in my battle against tiger overheating. (I have owned
the car for 22 months. So it did not give in easy)
Now I need to train myself to watch the scenery and not the temp gauge.
The combo that is working for me is:
Near stock 260 with 4 barrell and headers.
3 row radiator with surge tank connected to the cold tank on the radiator.
(Available from list member Rob Guera)
Stock Tiger radiator shroud
Derale rigid fan 17515
Water pump pulley from Ford Fairmont. (smaller in diameter, runs fan and
pump faster)
LAT hood
Edelbrock hi flow water pump
Horn block off plates
water pipe insulation jacket stuffed between radiator bottom and cross
member (stops a lot of the hot air that recirculates thru the radiator at
idle)
Cut out sheet metal strip that blocks off about 4 rows of the radiator.
Aluminum air ducting between lower valance and radiator core support. I
followed the instructions in Steve Laifman's "Cool it Buddy" article.
This ducting ensures that any air that enters the front of the car can only
go thru the radiator core. It also means that any warm air that wants to
recirculate into the radiator must travel forward to the inlets in the
valance and not just curl around the bottom of the radiator.
I can say that the water pump change made the most dramatic difference in my
car. Without the pump the car would overheat on the freeway and run warm in
stop and go traffic. The pump was the last thing I did, so I cannot comment
on how important all the other pieces of the sytem are. Without the pump
nothing works. With the pump and everything else, I have the problem
nailed. I leave it to somebody else to figure out if anything I did is not
worth much.
Erich
getting cocky and thinking about A/C
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