PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS ADVISE....

A radiator and fans help, don't get me wrong. But a excellent water pump will do wonders. Seriously our cars do not get any real air flow so the system needs to flow very well.

I had cooling problem on my camaro.. switch radiators went to LT1 fans.... biggest change came with a Victor JR Water Pump. 140 bones...vs. stock pumps 40.00 bucks. But it made the BIGGEST difference in traffic and at HIGH SPEEDS. And I had a 11 to 1 compression engine.

Just so you know... I have heard about problems with 400 heads and not cooling properly.... steam holes as someone pointed out can be a issue.

 

I was going to order one today but their web site wouldn't let me. Guess I'll phone tomorrow!

 

1.There is a glitch with the order page, I'm working on that.
2.We will be at Bloomington for show specials, bring lots of cash!
3.Wetter water will work IF you follow the instructions. That means run straight water and WW and you will probably drop 15-20 degrees. Just as you would if you ran straight water and two bottles of red food coloring.
4.When it comes to DeWitts vs Becool I feel we are not even in that area. Our radiators are a true direct fit, that's why we trademarked the name, Direct Fit. We make five different models for C3 and they make one. We use press formed end tanks that look like originals, they use fabricated box tanks. Finally, we include a "hood relief" on the inlet tanks so you won't have any problem closing the hood.

 

I have the Be Cool system and it is one of the best mods I have done thus far.Here in Cali it gets over 100F in the summer and my car doesnt get much over 200F before the dual 11 inch fans kick on bring it back to about 190F.I added a good strong alternator {80 amps at idle} to handle the extra load.
I would recommend this mod to anyone.From what I have heard these systems can cool up to 700Hp engines.

 

Here's another post on waterwetter:
http://www.chevytalk.org/threads/sho...page/2#1229626

Brett

 

Tom'
Best damn radiator available!
I have your direct fit total restoration unit in my 67 327-350 hp and I now have NO problems with overheating.

1.You don't need water wetter - it doesn't work with anti-freeze guys

2.You don't need high flow aluminum water pumps either - too much flow is just as bad as too little flow. The design considerations are done in a science called thermodynamics and thermomechanics. The engineers spent alot of time and money engineering the total engine cooling system.

3. I have a brass/copper generic fit (used only 2 seasons) that I will bring to Bloomington for sale, will include a DeWitt's Shipping box as well, $100.

Don

 

Hey guys...

I'm reading this thread realizing that I haven't heard any suggestions on how to fix the cooling problem with stock mods.

I have the same problem when I run the a/c on my '71. The temperature goes up 20-30 degrees higher than without it on.

The stock car was designed to keep cool, running in the summertime heat with the a/c on. Somewhere along the line, our cars have lost that ability to stay cool.

I don't have the answer as to why, but I'm hoping someone out there does...

Thanks.

 

Hey guys...

I'm reading this thread realizing that I haven't heard any suggestions on how to fix the cooling problem with stock mods.

I have the same problem when I run the a/c on my '71. The temperature goes up 20-30 degrees higher than without it on.

The stock car was designed to keep cool, running in the summertime heat with the a/c on. Somewhere along the line, our cars have lost that ability to stay cool.

I don't have the answer as to why, but I'm hoping someone out there does...

Thanks.

Excellent point.

Could it be in the days in C3's were new, people didn't drive their C3's at 75-85mph for extended periods of time? Hmmm, some probably did but didn't complain about them running hot...

My '77 also runs hot on the highway with the a/c on. I'm sure this means that not enough air is passing through the radiator--I have a stock setup except for an Edelbrock water pump.

Didn't L-82's have a vent cut in the shroud to relieve air that's being blocked by the fan blades on the highway?

 

I'm sure these aluminum radiators weigh less and last longer, but I upgraded to a larger stock-type Heavy Duty Modine and my stock 350 with A/C wouldn't even think about overheating like the smaller radiator even in hot SC summers. It finally started leaking about 5 years later though, but worked very well until then.

 

I did a presentation in windsor last year on cooling and a major portion of the speach involved cooling misnomers and myths. I've read many theories, some of them on this forum, and you can't believe everything that people tell you, or swear by as the answer. Now don't get me wrong, that's not to say many forum guys are quite informed. It's just that so many people have these "theories" , gut feelings without any data to support the statements they make. Combine that with the power of the forums and myths quickly become fact and spread faster that a california fire.

What you could get with a question like this is a ton of theories, without any substance or data, on "exactly" what your problem is and how to solve it. Someone will tell you that you need to avoid black top roads, and don't follow the guy in front of you too close, or remove the front license plate, change the angle of the radiator, add this or that to the system, restrictor plates, and bla, bla, bla...

I am not going to say that I know everything, I don't. I am learning new stuff everyday. But I will tell you the true answer to your question and others, well...

I agree with you. New cars didn't come with a temperature limit and they worked fine in summer conditions. So what happened?

GM spends hundreds of thousands of dollars engineering things and testing data. Components are matched to do the best job possible. Then over the years (an different owners) parts are changed and components degrade. Radiators for example simply have a service life and need to be replaced. It's the same thing as bald tires, but not quite as obvious. I have a bone stock 80 with re-cored 3 row copper radiator and it never goes over 180.

Now how many cars have the original built engine? Many have re-built the motor and in the process we feel we know more that GM so we'll slip in an aftermarket cam and bore it out. The engine builder "feels" that if .005 clearance is good, then .002 is better and in the end the engines of today are nothing like the engines that came with the car.
And that is the answer to the question. Too many things are changed and we get so far away from the starting point that we can't figure out how to get back.

Here's a funny (true) story of a car I was involved with and a prefect example of how myths get started. The owner of this car purchased a "high flow" water pump and after installing it, it actually ran hotter. An "expert" mechanic told him that the solution to cooling problems were restrictors and he installed one and the temps dropped to normal. Now this guy tells everyone with cooling problems to install a restrictor because it solved his problem.