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Series 2 running hot

husky drvr

Platinum Level Sponsor
Ugh. I'll drive it for a while. See what happens.

Dan,

Before you start tearing your engine apart, you should try to determine if your radiator core tubes might be blocked. A quick, easy test is when you run the engine up to operating temp, you can shut the engine down and lightly spray the radiator core with water. Then observe the pattern of the way the water dries from the core. If the core is open and working, the core should dry evenly with no streaks. If there's a portion that dries much slower than other portions, then those tubes are blocked to some degree.

Because your problem is seemingly almost immediate, as opposed to a slow build to high temps. It seems likely the radiator is unable to shed its heat load from startup. And/or a H2O temp sending unit issue of some type. Blocked passages in the block should tend to be a slower phenomenon of causing a higher and higher heat load that the radiator is unable to shed.

Another thought is your sending unit might not really have a good ground due to how it's mounted. The indicated temp is determined by small changes in resistance. You could try to add an additional ground path between the sending unit body and the engine to test if a better ground changes the indicated reading. I'm only suggesting this as a guess.

HAGD,
 

Dan Cooper

Gold Level Sponsor
OK to finish this out--I carved away at the fan mounts, I moved the fan switch probe to the upper left hand corner of the radiator where coolant enters from the head, I flushed it again, and I installed the 160 degree thermostat. I checked the dash temp gauge sender spot with a pointer thermometer, and it is accurate. I had pushed the distributor out by 180 degrees when I pushed the new cam into the motor from the front, so the timing was way off. I timed it correctly off of plug wire #4, and trimmed the idle mix screw (downdraft Weber), and it runs pretty nicely now. The car now spends most of its time between 185 and 195, and never gets above 195. The fan switches on at around 180, and keeps the car cool at slow speeds. So I think I have solved the cooling problem. Hooray and thanks for the input everyone.
 

Alpine 1789

SAOCA President
Diamond Level Sponsor
Glad you have it solved and, as always, happy this community could help. I don't want to hijack your thread, but since the original problem seems resolved...
I had pushed the distributor out by 180 degrees when I pushed the new cam into the motor from the front, so the timing was way off. I timed it correctly off of plug wire #4,
My distributor is off as well, and has been that way since I rebuilt the engine 20 years ago. There have been discussions here since then about how to avoid the problem, but I never felt it worth the effort to pull the pan and fix it. But, I have always continued to use the #1 plug wire when timing the engine. Does it make a difference? The car runs great, but have I been doing it wrong all these years?
 

Dan Cooper

Gold Level Sponsor
I pulled the valve cover to confirm that the TDC corresponding to the mark on the pulley was in number 4 (closest to the firewall) rather than number 1. Then I timed the BTDC for the spark at 1K rpm, vacuum disconnected, for number 4. The timing was way advanced when I timed it from #1. You might want to check it out.
 

Dan Cooper

Gold Level Sponsor
Yes of course. But my pulley has a TDC mark and then a series of 5 degree marks as stock. Nice to use those rather than remarking using a protractor or disc.
 

Alpine 1789

SAOCA President
Diamond Level Sponsor
Thanks. At least for now, I will leave well enough alone, as my car is running very nicely. I'll try #4 next time I fiddle with the timing.
 

husky drvr

Platinum Level Sponsor
I'll try #4 next time I fiddle with the timing.

Jim,

It shouldn't matter because #1 and #4 have the same fixed mechanical relationship to the timing marks due to the design of the crankshaft. The firing impulses for 1 and 4 should line up on the factory marks. One rotation would fire 1 and the next rotation should fire 4. Cylinders 2 and 3 would be 180* away from the factory marks.

If Dan C. found a difference in the firing impulses for 1 and 4, then his pulley is loose, inertia ring is slipping, or possibly an inductive timing light is indicating the incorrect firing pulse for some reason.

Hope this helps,
 
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