1957 thunderbird cooling thermostat

[ford289ci]

I have a 57 thunderbird that was running hot I replaced the thermostat with a model (from mr. gasket model #4366 160F) which is packaged for a big block mopar but is the correct size for a 55-57 tbird (63mm) It is a wide mouth thermostat. I also purchased a new water pump and 7 blade fan (prestige in santa fe springs). The car runs much cooler. Driving in 102 + stop and go traffic for 30 miles, it didnt lose and coolant. I have a heavy duty 4 row radiator. I was considering purchasing the waterpump from casco. If you go on their website they did tests, with several combintations of large and small thermostat openenings as well as standard water pump, water pump with the baffle and a casco high flow water pump.

The 2nd best combo is the large thermostat no baffle, but the best combo is the high flow water pump. flowing a few more gallons thru the radiator at low rpm per min. However I have heard that actually it could run hotter flowing more water thru due to water not having enought time to cool down in the radiator. Does anyone have this Casco water pump? it has a addition on the impeller which appears to fill the area the spacer creates.

[timtron]

I dont have a 312 in mine, but I do have some experience with cars that wont cool well. I have heard (from the same place as you) that the high flow pump does helps the 312.

But what you said at the end is very true that the cooland needs to stay in the radiator to effectivly cool, as heat transfer needs time to work. Think of it like having a hot electric burner on your stove, or a hot exhaust manifold... you can tap them quickly and feel the heat and not get burned, but rest your hand on one of them and its burn city.

Which brings me to the 160* thermostat you are using, its one cooling step above a "racing washer", which is primary used in drag racing aplications where getting to optimal temp fast is perfered, then 10 to 13 seconds later the motor is turned off, no real need for multi situation cooling over long periods of driving.

The Temp of a thermostat is the temp that the tstat closes, allowing the the radiator to transfer heat out of the coolant. If you are using a 160* tstat once your operating over 160* the stat will be open and wont close unless temp drops below 160* which isnt going to happen unless the car is turned oss, and you have effectivly installed a "racing washer" or restrictor plate.

It seems backwards but a 195* will often cool better as it has an opportunity to cycle.

I have a 460 in my 57 with an electric puller fan only, the stock radiator, beefed up but stock size and a large heater core mounted in front of the radiator (out of sight) in line with the heater hoses, giving an extra gallon of capicity and a 195* Tstat. And it would run between 197 and about 212* in normal conditions, and was slow to recover.

Last week I had to replace the rad hoses, so I decided to try a cooling additive, I used 3 quarts of antifreeze (as eth gly) doesnt cool as well as water but it does have anticorosive properties and boils at a higher temp than water, and freezes lower, so I like a small amount for a car that lives in a garage at night (im in california, not much freezing here). And used purple ice from royal purple as the parts store was out of water wetter, and now it runs below 180 and I can watch the temp drop as rpms go up, pretty amazing i think. Its almost too cold now.... oh well, I guess I can live with that

Just my $0.02

[jfs57]

Recently got a 57 T bird from an estate. Frame off resto with engine rebuild in 2003-04 with an auxiliary electric fan. Not knowing when the cooling system was serviced last, I had my garage flush the cooling system, put in antifreeze and the Mr Gasket 4367 180 degree thermostat. First time I drove it after that it overheated big time, to the point it couldn't be driven due to coolant loss. Not sure what thermostat was in it originally and the mechanic didn't think to look. Anyone have any suggestions?
160 degree thermostat? No thermostat? Add some purple ice or water wetter type of product? The few times I drove it prior to the cooling system service it ran at about 190 as per an aftermarket temp gauge.

[paul2748]

If it heated the first time you took it out and the only thing (besides coolant change) was to replace the thermostat, I would look at the new thermostat to see if it operating correctly. You can do this by heating it up in a pan of water on the stove using a meat thermometer to check the temperature. New stats have been known to not work correctly.

How good is the mechanic - any possibility the stat was installed backwards?

Was the radiator serviced (cleaned) by a radiator shop? If not, check to make sure that it gets warm all over. A cold spot could mean a blockage.

The fact that it had an auxiliary fan means it had a overheating problem before you got it. A clean system should not require an extra fan. I have a 56, 4 blade fan, wide mouth stat, stock radiator and do not have any cooling problems. The only other thing that I did was to install a plug in the bypass hose. 50/50 mix of antifreeze.

Originally Posted by jfs57

Recently got a 57 T bird from an estate. Frame off resto with engine rebuild in 2003-04 with an auxiliary electric fan. Not knowing when the cooling system was serviced last, I had my garage flush the cooling system, put in antifreeze and the Mr Gasket 4367 180 degree thermostat. First time I drove it after that it overheated big time, to the point it couldn't be driven due to coolant loss. Not sure what thermostat was in it originally and the mechanic didn't think to look. Anyone have any suggestions?
160 degree thermostat? No thermostat? Add some purple ice or water wetter type of product? The few times I drove it prior to the cooling system service it ran at about 190 as per an aftermarket temp gauge.

[HeadacheGuy]

If it didn't overheat before the cooling system service I would suggest that they didn't get the air out of the system. A colder thermostat only slows down the heating process. It does not cure it. Make sure all of the air is bled out of the system before you condemn the thermostat. Also make sure the radiator cap is holding pressure as if they have not sealed after it was installed. If it does not hold pressure it boils at a lower temperature.

[jfs57]

Returned to the garage and they determined the 180 thermostat was not opening until 200. This was a Mr Gasket 4367 wide mouth 180. They thought there might also be an air pocket in the system which should have been bled out. They replaced the 180 with a Stant standard 160 with a 1/4 inch hole drilled in it and it now runs fine with the aftermarket temp gauge topping out around 180. Still not sure if they bled the system of air when they replaced the coolant. Anyone know the proper procedure for a 312 for future reference? I also now have a brass plug with a 1/8 inch hole drilled in it for the bypass hose but am waiting to see how things go before adding that.

[paul2748]

To get the air out, I first turn on the heater so the coolant will flow through it, eliminating any air pocket there. I also let it run with the radiator cap off till it warms up. This gives the air a chance to bleed off.. It always seemed to work.

Originally Posted by jfs57

Returned to the garage and they determined the 180 thermostat was not opening until 200. This was a Mr Gasket 4367 wide mouth 180. They thought there might also be an air pocket in the system which should have been bled out. They replaced the 180 with a Stant standard 160 with a 1/4 inch hole drilled in it and it now runs fine with the aftermarket temp gauge topping out around 180. Still not sure if they bled the system of air when they replaced the coolant. Anyone know the proper procedure for a 312 for future reference? I also now have a brass plug with a 1/8 inch hole drilled in it for the bypass hose but am waiting to see how things go before adding that.

[HeadacheGuy]

car is old enough there isn't a real special procedure to bleed but when I have one that gives me trouble bleeding I pull a high heater hose and fill it till it runs out. We also use a large funnel with a radiator cap adapter that makes the fill point very high and run it until the thermostat is well open before pulling the funnel. The next best step is to let it cool after driving it and recheck it cold. The air has usually found the top at that point. The fill funnel I am talking about I got from a tool vender but the regular auto parts houses have them and they are cheap. If you really get one that is hard to bled you can jack up the front end of the car to force the air out of the top of the cylinder heads but 312 / 292's just weren't that difficult. Glad they got you fixed.