First Generation Firebird-L Mailing List ......................................................................... I had a nearly new, completely stock 69 400 years ago. I live in AZ. I never had any overheating problems even running the AC in the hottest days of summer except that on REALLY hot days (110 F) at idle it would creep up to about 230. The car was an automatic with the thermo-fan clutch option. I replaced that with a flex fan and the temps dropped about 10-15 degrees but the flex fan was terribly noisy and after a couple weeks I put the clutch fan back on. From what I know now what I should have done was to buy a new HD clutch for the fan. I also had to have the radiator rebuilt about every 2 - 3 years, as one of the seams had a weak spot and the same spot would always start leaking. I think the best thing today is to put an aluminum radiator on them. I can't think of any reason why mods would make the engine run hotter then stock at idle and that's where I always had high temp problems.
________________________________ From: Brent Block <[email protected]> To: First Generation Firebird-L <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 7:43:37 AM Subject: [FGF] cooling question (Why do most of us have this issue?) First Generation Firebird-L Mailing List ......................................................................... But Mark, ... it was just getting interesting. The subject of our cars overheating has come up several times over the years and yes everyone has their own theory on the resolution which is most likely based on what worked for their own situation. What has not been discussed is why the Poncho motors tend to have this issue and our Chebby and Ford buddies don't seem to have these problems. Is this an inherent design flaw with our engines or are we creating our own issues with mods made to our engines. Ex: boring out the blocks thinning the cylinder walls, removing items that assist in cooling etc. Any ideas? When I first fired up my engine it would continue to heat up at idle or in traffic until the rad would boil over. My resolution consisted of the following. * 16 lb rad cap * 195 Thermostat * 50/50 mix antifreeze/water * Fan shroud * Lower air dam * Upper X panels (standard on 400 & AC cars) * Larger flex fan installed 50% in,50% out of shroud * Correctly adjusted timing * Lower rad hose with internal wire (prevents hose from collapsing under high flow) * Rodded, flushed and flow tested rad. * New water pump and internal plates installed correctly. * Air lock issues.(Still amazed at how a small amount of trapped air can cause overheating) Even with all this she crawls up to 200-210 at idle or highway speeds and drops right down to 195 when cruising under 60MPH Brent Block 68 350 Coupe StAlbert, Alberta, Canada http://firstgenfirebird.org/show/closeup.mv?CarID=378 Subject: RE: [FGF] cooling question Everyone has an opinion, I think we have beat this dead horse enough :) Mark Lueker 308 SYSTEMS Inc. 970-282-7006 www.308systems.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Submissions to Firebird-L: <[email protected]> Unsubscribe from Firebird-L: <[email protected]> Help: <http://FirstGenFirebird.org/firebird/Firebird-L.html> Classifieds: <http://FirstGenFirebird.org/ubb/> Owner Pictures: http://FirstGenFirebird.org/show/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Submissions to Firebird-L: <[email protected]> Unsubscribe from Firebird-L: <[email protected]> Help: <http://FirstGenFirebird.org/firebird/Firebird-L.html> Classifieds: <http://FirstGenFirebird.org/ubb/> Owner Pictures: <http://FirstGenFirebird.org/show/>
