Gramma's Car: the new project!

[njsteve]

I swapped the thermostat and it runs at pretty much the same temperature - 190. I did test the thermostat on the stove with a thermometer and it does start to open around 160.

The funny thing is that the car runs cooler the faster you drive it! It pulls like a monster with those 3.08s from 35 to 100 mph. It pegs the factory 100 mph speedo in nothing flat...and the coolant temperature drops, the faster you go. At 100 mph the temp dropped to 170. (Allegedly, of course) ;-)

I think I need to swap out the 1975 100 mph speedometer for the rally gauge 160 speedometer. At least I wont worry about snapping the needle off.

[Xplantdad]

Awesome...allegedly!

[njsteve]

I took gramma's car out today for a 117 mile cruise with my son. Mostly highway speeds. It was about 70 degrees out and at 75 MPH the temp was around 170. It moves up to around 190 in traffic but immediately resets to 170 when the car is moving again. The car cruises so smoothly with those 3.08s that my teenaged son fell asleep half way through the trip, even with the loud exhaust!

It did use around 3/4 of a tank, too! I think it gets around 8 MPG (highway). Your actual mileage may vary.

When we got home I changed the oil and filter as we just hit the magic 1,000 mile mark on the new 455.

[earntaz]

Originally Posted by njsteve

I took gramma's car out today for a 117 mile cruise with my son. Mostly highway speeds. It was about 70 degrees out and at 75 MPH the temp was around 170. It moves up to around 190 in traffic but immediately resets to 170 when the car is moving again. The car cruises so smoothly with those 3.08s that my teenaged son fell asleep half way through the trip, even with the loud exhaust!

It did use around 3/4 of a tank, too! I think it gets around 8 MPG (highway). Your actual mileage may vary.

When we got home I changed the oil and filter as we just hit the magic 1,000 mile mark on the new 455.

If she is getting hot in traffic, you may want to check the thermo fan -- could be fubar ... TAZ

[njsteve]

Today I drove the gramma car to my buddy's gas station and we evacuated the A/C system and refilled it with R12. It now blows cold at 34 degrees! The coolant temp stays around 190 with the A/C on full blast.

I was thinking that the new heavy duty thermostatic clutch fan I bought last year must kick in around 190, hence the proclivity to run in that temp range at low speeds. Are the clutch fans adjustable to get them to kick in earlier?

[earntaz]

Just my opinion -- if you have replaced the fan clutch and the temp stays around 190 ... thats OK. TAZ

[njsteve]

I did a little research and it turns out that modern replacement fan clutches are set to engage at higher temps than the originals, so they can be used on a larger number of modern car application. You can adjust the thermostatic spring engagement temp lower if you move the outer spring starting point counterclockwise by a small amount. This thread deatils it: http://www.forums.maxperformanceinc....=776003&page=2

The first photo is the spring in the original factory location. The center valve only moves about 45 degrees to engage the internal valve and lock the clutch. I tested the spring with a head gun and a infrared thermometer and you could see the spring lengthen and turn the inner valve as it got hot around 190 or so.

Second photo shows the spring moved CCW to the left of the retaining location. When heated with the heat gun, it engaged at around 160-170 degrees. You can't just leave the spring like this as it will not disengage the valve if it is not retained in both directions of travel.

I fashioned a retaining clip out of a wiring retainer bracket so it encompassed the circular mount area as well as inside the circle through the original slot. I then used JB Weld to keep it in place.

The last photo shows another person's similar clip but on a rectangular mounting location on a different clutch.

Now, as I wait for the JB Weld to fully cure, I guess I'll give Gramma's car a well deserved wash, claybar and wax since I can't remember the last time I cleaned the outside of this car.