Tess:
What I want to know is how water was used in engines from the 30s -- were they water cooled,
air-cooled, etc.? Did they have thermostats? Was there anything special about cold weather?
Yes, cars back then were water cooled, just as they are now. I remember my Dad telling me about
owning a car back then. They didn't have ethylene glycol for antifreeze. They did have antifreeze,
but it was just alcohol. It kept the water in the cooling system from freezing in the winter. But
it also evaporated from the coolant quickly (and I presume leaked out of the cooling system as a
vapor via small leaks). And so, by the time summer arrived, all of the alcohol would be gone and
the owner would have to remember to add more before next winter. The glycol we use today, along
with dramatically lowering the freezing point of the coolant, also raises its boiling point. So our
engines can run hotter and more efficiently. It appears the thermostat was patented in 1938. I'm
not sure when it was first used in production cars. My impression is that they didn't have quite
the handle on cooling system design back then that we have now. The Ford flathead V8, a very
popular engine starting in 1932, was notorious for overheating. So here is the owner, driving along
and notices that there is steam coming from under the hood. He pulls over, takes a look and sees a
plume coming from the radiator cap. Next he opens the cap and the hot, pressurized water in the
system flashes into even more steam when the pressure is released. I'm sure lots of people got
scalded.
You know, now that I think about it, you don't even need to go that far back. My first car, a 1972
Plymouth Fury Station Wagon (4,825 lb. land-barge), overheated as soon as the temperature got above
75 degrees. So even in 1972, Chrysler STILL hadn't figured it out.
Nice to hear from you!
Rich Wagner
Montrose, CO, USA
'82 GTV6
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