Keeping a V-8 Conversion Cool

Another quick tip…

I’m sure most of you know that the ultimate coolant is pure water. Antifreeze raises the boiling point, but actually decreases cooling system effectiveness by at least 20% with a 50/50 mix. If you are lucky enough to live in a temperate climate, the best thing you can do is drain that 50/50 mix and run straight water. To raise the boiling point, just go to an 11 or 12 lb. cap. That will raise the boiling point from 212 to about 245 degrees. You need a shot of corrosion inhibitor, but it’s better to use Hyperlube Super Coolant, or Water Wetter (they both contain inhibitors). I use 90% water, and 10% antifreeze with the Hyperlube product. In real world testing it lowered my coolant temperature about 10 degrees over a plain 50/50 mix. It lowered it to the point that I had to adjust my fan to come on later so I could get the thermostat to fully open! If you live in a cold climate, use a hydrometer and make a mixture that is only strong enough to protect you at the lowest expected temperature and add the Hyperlube to it. It will make a worthwhile difference, but much less impact than running pure, or almost pure water.

Anyone have any theories why the po mounted the fan way in front of the radiator instead of against it?I drove it for 30 minutes straight ,95 degrees outside ,never above 40 mph, in traffic
 the whole time. It got up to 195 to 200. The fan is on a switch, I turn it on at 195. I'd just like to run a little cooler.Would I be better off removing the mech fan and putting the elect. one against the radiator.Thanks.
https://2img.net/h/i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt341/chainsaw_album/econofan001_zps7fde5ec9.jpg

i have an electric fan with the switch in the thermostat housing.  it goes on at 185.
my question is who can i get a 165 from?

This unit is cheap and it works great:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400217129736?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Thanks 66,
I'll look into that one.

Great Post 66E, just getting back into finishing my 65 P/U with a 302 V-8.
I have the Champion 3 row, will have to check to see the tube size compared to the 2 row. I have the electric fan and was going to use it as a pusher, but after what I`m reading, a puller would work best. If so, are you saying to ditch the mechanical fan on the water pump? Either run one or the other? I do believe a fan shroud would also work best, no? I have a good external aluminum cooler to be hooked up for the trans.
My question is that I was going to build a tunnel from the back of the doghouse thru to the front of the bed to help keep the doghouse area cool. I live in South Fla., with high humidity and will be running A/C in the truck. Do you think running a small fan thru this tunnel would help push more volume of air thru? Thanks again for your input.
Art

Indian640 wrote:Great Post 66E, just getting back into finishing my 65 P/U with a 302 V-8.
  I have the Champion 3 row, will have to check to see the tube size compared to the 2 row. I have the electric fan and was going to use it as a pusher, but after what I`m reading, a puller would work best. If so, are you saying to ditch the mechanical fan on the water pump? Either run one or the other? I do believe a fan shroud would also work best, no?  I have a good external aluminum cooler to be hooked up for the trans.
    My question is that I was going to build a tunnel from the back of the doghouse thru to the front of the bed to help keep the doghouse area cool. I live in South Fla., with high humidity and will be running A/C in the truck. Do you think running a small fan thru this tunnel would help push more volume of air thru?  Thanks again for your input.
                                                                                                 Art

Pullers do work more efficiently, and you will be best off if you run only the electric fan and ditch the mechanical unit.  The critical part is the fans CFM rating.  You need something that will deliver at least 3500 CFM.  In South FL you should be able to get away with running 10% antifreeze and the Hyperlube Super Coolant additive.  As far as a fan shroud, they are great if you can get one to fit, but most aftermarket fans at a high CFM rating cover about 90-95% of the radiator core anyway.  If you go with the Taurus conversion, it will have the fans and shroud that can be made to work with a little fitting here and there.  The tunnel is almost a must with a V-8 as there is simply not enough space around the engine to provide a good path for the air to escape the doghouse.  I vented mine with a tunnel, but I didn’t use a fan.  It is good insurance, and if you go the fan route, don’t go too small.  I would look at a 2500 CFM minimum.  The most important part of keeping the V-8s cool is to never let them get hot in the first place, because once they do, bringing them back down is extremely difficult.  180 degrees is where they need to be – they can safely climb to 190 in extreme heat, but that’s as high as they should ever go.  To keep the heat in check, a belly pan and engine timing are two of the most important items on the checklist.  When you fit your belly pan, there might be quite a bit of space between the bottom of the pan and the Champion.  If you take a length of sheet metal, cut it to the right dimensions and bend it into a “v,” you can rivet it to the pan to fill the void.  Without a deflector, the majority of the air goes under the radiator and defeats the pan’s purpose.   Most of this is just trial and error.  It can get frustrating when trying to get it all sorted, but the V-8s can run cool, it just takes a bunch of time and money like anything else on these old road warriors!

Thanks, I`m thinking in the right direction then.  When you say a "V" on the belly pan, as an extension, how far up should the tip of that "V" be in relation to the fan core? 1/3 rd, 1/2?
      Also, what are your thoughts for the a/c condenser location, as I was thinking it will be mounted in front of the radiator. Probably should find another location with an additional fan?
Another question is I`ve seen alot of people put a panel (vinyl or aluminum) at the top of the doghouse to the radiator to help with air flow... any good?  Do you have a link for the purchase of the Taurus set up?
                                                                 Thanks for all your input!     Art

Indian640 wrote:Thanks, I`m thinking in the right direction then.  When you say a "V" on the belly pan, as an extension, how far up should the tip of that "V" be in relation to the fan core? 1/3 rd, 1/2?
      Also, what are your thoughts for the a/c condenser location, as I was thinking it will be mounted in front of the radiator. Probably should find another location with an additional fan?
Another question is I`ve seen alot of people put a panel (vinyl or aluminum) at the top of the doghouse to the radiator to help with air flow... any good?  Do you have a link for the purchase of the Taurus set up?
                                                                 Thanks for all your input!     Art

The sheet metal “V” you fabricate is mounted to the inside bottom of the belly pan.  The height depends on the distance from the bottom of the pan to the bottom of the radiator.  What you are trying to do is make something that will block the airflow from going under the radiator.  When you mount you radiator and pan, and look thru the grill, it will be obvious that there is quite a bit of room between the two which needs to be closed off to work efficiently.  Using a panel from the top of the radiator mount to the front of the doghouse will keep the majority of airflow going thru the radiator core.  I don’t know how much it will help, but any edge you can come up with is time well spent.

On the condenser, I didn’t want to block the airflow into the radiator core, and there is not much room to fit it in there anyway.  I went with a remote mounted condenser that fit nicely on the passenger side between the frame rail and the inner rocker panel.  The mount bolts thru the frame rail.  I didn’t want to weld angle iron from the frame to the inner rocker panel, so I used some 1/8” flat stock and .065 wall ½” square tubing. It let me mount the unit at a 45 degree angle, and it’s easy to remove for any future serviceability issues that may come up. It made for a clean install that is rock solid.

As far as the Taurus set-up, that will take a trip to your local junk yard.  If you search this site, there are several threads on installing it.  Hope this helps!

Very much!!! Thanks for sharing all your trials and errors and your time spent. Art