Coolant
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2024
Posts: 27
Likes: 4
From: Puyallup, Wa
Coolant
My 70 LT-1, since I purchased through a dealer I don't know what coolant is in the car currently. My toyota i use the toyota stuff and the green prestone in my 89 mustang. What would be a good coolant for the Corvette?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,411
Likes: 1,821
From: Apple Valley, MN
At the risk of getting too deep in the weeds, there are essentially two basic types of automotive coolant - the older types with Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT) and the newer types with Organic Acid Technology (OAT). You should always avoid mixing the two types because they each can degrade the other.
Back in the day, almost all engine blocks and heads were cast iron. Today, aluminum is the preferred choice for many manufacturers and the coolant industry has adjusted product accordingly. Many today offer a “universal” product but with anything that is a one-size-fits-all, there are compromises made.
You aren’t going to harm the car with any once choice of coolant. If you don’t know when the coolant was last changed, get it flushed by a reputable shop and enjoy your car.
Back in the day, almost all engine blocks and heads were cast iron. Today, aluminum is the preferred choice for many manufacturers and the coolant industry has adjusted product accordingly. Many today offer a “universal” product but with anything that is a one-size-fits-all, there are compromises made.
You aren’t going to harm the car with any once choice of coolant. If you don’t know when the coolant was last changed, get it flushed by a reputable shop and enjoy your car.
Is my vette stock?? HAHA
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 20,212
Likes: 9,352
From: Im not allowed to tell you
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
green is fine....unless the whole engine is aluminum...as noted above
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 4,759
Likes: 1,647
From: Fairfax Virginia
I remember a set of BB Factory Aluminum Cylinder heads for sale at Corvettes@Carlisle that were original to an L88 or L89 made at the Winters Foundry with little snowflakes on the castings. I flipped them over and I saw the problem right away.
The heads had been eaten away by using the Old Green anti-freeze that was left in for too long. There was a huge hole in one of the castings and the only way to save the head would have required massive welding and machining. The heads were so damaged that not many people would have risked whet they were asking for them. It was sad to see how the damage had made the aluminum soft and it ate it away.
The heads had been eaten away by using the Old Green anti-freeze that was left in for too long. There was a huge hole in one of the castings and the only way to save the head would have required massive welding and machining. The heads were so damaged that not many people would have risked whet they were asking for them. It was sad to see how the damage had made the aluminum soft and it ate it away.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 13,238
Likes: 7,828
From: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
2025 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist- Modified
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Cruise-In VIII Veteran
Green prestone. If running aluminium heads, intake and radiator, put a anode in the rad and a ground wire from rad to good clean ground, Done.
Racer
Joined: Dec 2022
Posts: 301
Likes: 87
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