looking to install the B&M Hi-Tek Super-coolers with Fan (#70298) on my 1991 Auto. Any feedback on the fittings required and best location? If any one installed the same I appreciate the feedback.
Thinking of having 2 of them one for trans fluid and one for engine oil.,. Thoughts?

TIA

 

For transmission fluid it seem to be a good choice. I would pick a more dedicated engine oil cooler.
Oil lines and cooler need to have a minimum of 7/16 diameter or #12 fittings and braided hose. I would suggest full flow hose ends for turns.
Your choice would have 3/8 restriction at cooler inlet and outlets.

 

Thoughts? Waste of money !!! Are you road racing ? If not Amsoil 100% synthetic is all you need. Engine oil at 200F to 230F is perfect. Trans at 200F just fine. Just my humble opinion after 40 years ! greg

 

I have been toying with doing the same thing on my 1968 C3. Sorry BlowerWorks, your points are valid ones and I agree with you but I have a 427 running 12.25-1 compression ratio and with regular antifreeze coolant it hits 260* oil temperature which is plain too hot for the engine to stay.

I have been planning adding an oil cooler w/fan behind my drivers side gills. This location is wide open on the early C3's and could be made workable on a C4 on the drivers side for oil and the other for transmission fluid if you really wanted to.

I added another reservoir to my Power Steering system bumping it up in capacity about 2 times. I have done a lot to the car to make it more manageable. It has a BeCool Aluminum Radiator with dual Spal Fans being controlled by a DeRale PWM Electric Fan Controller. My fuel system is insulated from the tank to the carburetor and the fuel pump is also controlled by an Aeromotive PWM Electric Fuel Pump Controller. My coolant is 100% EVANS NPG and I have a Snow performance Water/methanol injection system to keep the combustion cooler and finally I just ordered a new J&S Safeguard that I will be using to monitor my timing and adjust any cylinder that is knocking without upsetting the rest of the engine. The engine does not run anywhere as hot as it used to but I still, have some final systems adjustments before I am done. This was an engine that was built to make lots of HP the old way, squeezing the poop out the air and igniting it.

Any better ways to keep a BIG old Chevy 427 big block cooler? I have coated headers and a chambered exhaust so the gasses exit easily. I really wish I had an electric water pump... I really really wish I had Air Conditioning in my C3.

Good Luck with your transmission cooler! Heat will destroy your transmission and the power steering system, why do so many people have to replace the power steering racks so often? Heat plain and simple, it attacks and hardens the seals and kills the system prematurely.
Heat is BAD, Cooling it is GOOD!

Best regards,
Chris

 

Thanks all.
Do I need to upgrade the alternator if I installed the kit? Since I also have an Audio system with amplifier?
I know the stock alternator is 105Amps (correct me if I’m wrong) what would be the upgrade?

 

You will have determine maximum electrical load you have now the and what fan will add. Probably not.

 

Depending on what oil you're running 260, while scary, isnt as much as a problem as one would think. Plus if your coolant temps are in the 210-220 range... 260 is about right. We were always told 30ish degrees plus or minus of coolant temp for oil temp is acceptable. If you run synthetic or a pretty good conventional you're okay. But I would like it to be 20 degrees cooler. My 84 gets up to 260 on oil temps on hot days.

I've heard that ceramic coating the combustion chambers helps a lot... As far as temps, we have a pontiac 400... those run equally as hot as BBCs and the only way it cooled down was adding back in the clutched mechanical fan and using a pusher EFan for when stopped. you have a bit more room for fans though, best we could do was dual 12s and that didn't work. It had a 15 inch one that was okay but the 14 inch spal has been the best. The mechanical fan is pretty serious though. Car hits 160 about a minute after you start it... just runs hot.

 

That's a first.

 

Hello There 84 4+3

The problem is that the engines's coolant is very close to the engine oil temperature. The 260* temperatures came along with coolant at 250-260 which is dangerously close to the boil over mark. I then experimented with the RED LINE Water Wetter products and even with an aluminum radiator the temps were still over 240*. This is when I removed the mechanical fan and replaced it with the electric fans and their shroud. The electrical fans worked better but I have problems with the controllers and the sound of the fans running at full blast. I did the switch from standard Anti-freeze/coolant to a product that is made by EVANS NPG. It is a non-aqueous Propylene Glycol and it won't boil over until it hits above 375* F and uses no pressure in the cooling system so that reduces the wear and tear on the hoses and other parts and it won't freeze until -40*F.

Using the NPG coolant my temperature went down 220-230 range and on the road it drops down to sub 200*. The closeness of the oil temperature to the water temperature numbers indicates I will need a external cooler to reduce the oil temperature. Using Synthetic oils the oil temps are not a big problem but I would like to drop them to about 190-200 and help extend the life of this engine. If I had half a brain I would remove the pistons and drop my compression ratio a bit but the compression makes the car more exciting. My GTECH Pro says that it is making way more than 500 hp and that was before I added the Snow performance Water/Methanol injection system. That system should drop my combustion temperatures substantially while giving me 115 octane equivalent fuel to keep the engine happy.

I have heard the horror stories about the 400 small blocks running hot. You should try the NPG if it is a real problem, it is not cheap but it works great. I have no detonation pushing 36 degree total on my 427 and it runs circles around other vehicles. With this set-up and my stock 3.36-1 rear end I was still able to beat stock 1970 LT 1's and even a fully restored L 89. I had to do everything I could to cut a good light without going into the 12 second range on the 1/4 mile track. I was able to turn 13.01 to keep my spot on the track. Had I tried hard I would have been limited to 1 pass after breaking the 12 second barrier with a convertible with no-roll bars or my hard top. The track day was in mid July and it was HOT, roughly 100 ambient and that takes away performance. My Gtech says that I am consistently able to get below 3 seconds in the 0-60 mph runs and that on a good cool day I should break into the 11's without too much trouble. I have a set of carburetors for this engine, in the winter it has a Edlebrock electric choke equipped 750 cfm carburetor, in the summer it runs a A.E.D. 850 CFM Custom built Holley which flows over 1100 cfm. I have a brand new Speed Demon 850 and a spare Holley 750 double Pumper built by AVANTI Carburetors.

160* in "about a minute after you start it" is way too hot, way too fast. Have you done any major work to the engine or is it still stock? On your 1984 C4, it gets up to 260 as well? If you had aluminum heads that would be bad but since the 1984's came with iron heads maybe it isn't so bad. Have you considered what GM did to the later Corvettes like my 1988 C4 where they put a pusher fan in front and the puller behind the radiator, My C4 rarely gets above 210 even in the summer as the AC keeps the fans going all the time. Do you have an aluminum radiator by any chance? They really help!
I am sure you have heard this before but how is the space between the radiator and the condenser? If there is anything there it makes problems for the cooling system. If you do have aluminum radiator you might try cleaning it with COIL CLEANER for out door A/C units as it removes the corrosion and lets the aluminum transfer heat more effectively. It also really helps the Condenser as well, try it.. Just don't get it on painted surfaces.

I spoke to Tom at DeWitts Radiators and he told me that he could make a radiator for my car that would make it run in the below 200* range, that is another $700 I don't have I am going to wait and see what happens when I test my water/Methanol injection system. I plan on using as much as I need to reduce the temperatures. Not having any pressure in the cooling system is unusual but very handy, finding a zero pressure radiator cap is a bit tough.

Coatings inside the combustion chamber were before this Engines time, my next rebuild will include this for sure. The idea of putting a oil cooler in my left gill and let it vent out the gills themselves makes a lot of sense as it can run all the hot air out the side of the car. I am not sure about the right gill yet, I might just have both fans run after shutdown to cool off the engine compartment. My engine runs hot enough that the heat rising off the headers is cooking the paint on the hood of my C3. The problem is that the hood is one of the 80 made for 1968, it is a stock L88 Hood from a documented L88 that was destroyed in the early 1970's. I am going to resort to insulating the underside of the hood over the headers, frequently when I drive in the warmer months I will just open the hood to let out all the heat so I don't cook my expensive parts. I would like to not have to to do that.

The only bad side of using the NPG for me was when I was testing it and a nut bounced off the engine fan and punched a small hole into the radiator, for the next three miles all I could think about was how fast the $40 a gallon anti-freeze was pouring out. When you have an older BB engine that holds gallons of coolant inside it's cooling system, it gets expensive. You can't put any water in this system or you will have trouble.

Thanks for your thought and ideas! They are greatly appreciated. I wish you the best in cooling down your Corvette. I put a 1978 Indy pace car spoiler on my C3 and that made a huge difference, on the C4 be sure the entire air dam is still there and make sure it stands up to the wind speeds as I have seen some damaged by curbs that fold up when going down the highway. You need to encourage all the air you can to go through the cooling system on the C4's.

Best Regards,
Chris
a.k.a. ctmccloskey

 

That's pretty much what I said when the guy said it to me... I'd imagine most of the heat transfer happens on the cylinder walls anyway.

 

The 84 only runs in the 230 degree range on coolant temp. The engine oil creeps into the 260 range when stopped. While driving even on the hottest days though I'm in the mid 180s which is my stat temp.

On the pontiac, a lot of the exhaust port is in the head which I'd guess is why they run hotter. 160 is quick but I don't necessarily trust the gauge. I do the feel test on the rad hoses to make sure they're reasonable. According to the gauge the hottest it gets is ~215. Which is reasonable.

As for you running 260, that's danger zone on coolant no matter what you're running. the last motor I had that went to 260 needed the block and heads decked like crazy... (also the 400) thats... uh scary hot. I knew the big block c3s were hot but not that hot. (Lol I had to.)

 

When I was building this engine I was aware that the compression was going to be a "Challenge" to say the very least. I did use a specific head for the Closed Chamber that I was looking for. My pistons are the original L88 type and have sections that rise and fit into the cylinder head. I used good head gaskets and so far the compression's real problem is making the heat. One of the people I spoke with regarding headers told me that the original ceramic coating would not last on this engine due to it's compression and they were right. The first 5 inches or so of the tubes were overheated from the heat. After inquiring as to how to make my exhaust look better they gave me the name of a company who sprays the coatings on the exhaust systems used in NASCAR where they use a high temperature coating inside and out.

If I remember correctly wasn't the problem with the 400 from the thin walls of the cylinders making it that big a displacement? I will never forget as long as I live the first time I drove a Pontiac GTO "The Judge" after years of German under powered cars. I stomped the pedal to the floor and that car did a 270* turn in a cloud of smoke. I WAS Impressed to say the very least. My C3 has a problem with traction, it gets very little.... I don't know what tires will help me without breaking half shafts and such.

I have a new Moroso Oil pan that holds 8 quarts and has the trap doors inside of it. I already have a crank scraper in the engine. I hope having more oil will help my engine stay cooler. The only things left would be to install a small radiator on my right gill and have a fan push air over it and use a separate 12 volt water pump to make a second cooling circuit on the car that can circulate and cool the car after shut down. That would work but would require me installing a second battery most likely.

The 1984 Corvette is a cool car, you are very lucky to have a nice one. People used to HATE my 1968 when I went to Corvette Shows because it is the first year of a "new" body style and "everybody": wanted a mid-year back then. I have owned this C3 since 7/19/1991 so I have had it a good part of it's life has been in my hands. I learned a lot about the 1968 C3 because I had to, owning one. The folks at Corvettes@Carlisle blew off our 25th anniversary when we came up. I tell people the 1968 C3 is the "Rodney Dangerfield" of Corvettes.... "They get no respect". Now they are becoming cool again, I am glad to see it finally. Like your 1984 there are a lot of one year only parts made for the 1968 C3 and that makes life difficult when seeking certain parts. I bought my car for less than $7k and it has appreciated quite a bit since then. It was an L-71 with a bunch of options including the hard top. When I bought it, the original intake manifold and carbs were gone. It is still a 4 speed Convertible with mucho HP and FUN to drive.

I will never forget the spanking I gave to a buddy with one of the Cobras that Carrol Shelby "Forgot" he had until the late 1980's. The car had the 427 side-oiler with a four speed and he was giving me so much grief that I took him to a place and we had it out, My Corvette beat him in the turns and in the straightaways..... That little Cobra had a tighter turning radius but I have horsepower and power steering. He should have been able to run circles around me with the low weight of the aluminum bodied Cobra but the horsepower differential was all that really mattered. My little C3 was sure proud of that day even though the guy never paid me his bet. He COULD out stop me, that much I will give him.

What kind of Pontiac do you have?
It has been a pleasure speaking with you! What part of New Jersey are you in? I was born in Plainfield, N.J. but never lived there.

Best Regards

 

I think you have the sbc 400 and poncho 400 mixed up. The sbc did have thin... siamese bore walls.

I'm from jackson, but was actually born in dix hills long island. Go figure lol.

As far as the pontiac, it's a 67 Firebird. It was my uncles car before he passed and I now take care of it for my aunt.

My dad had a 77 vette and loved it to death. When he got the 84 he considered it a downgrade in every metric but still appreciated it. It is what it is at this point. I love them all the same lol.