Cooling system overhaul

[The Neck]

Hey everyone!

I've been working diligently per usual on my car and have crossed a few more items off the to do list, and in doing so found additional things to fix!

Since day one I was having issues tuning the carbs, getting it to run smooth, and even got stranded a couple weekends ago after a very interesting couple hours of driving with a climbing idle. The last week and a half I was having issues with getting any fuel to the carbs in the first place and decided to install an electric fuel pump today. Fired up and is running like night and day compared to before.

In doing this, and also putting some miles on the car, to date I'm up to 65 miles, I found many hairline cracks along the top of the radiator, as well as a voltage regulator that is making my fuel and temp gauges totally whack. I'm replacing the VR this weekend and just ordered one of the aluminum 3 core radiators off ebay as seen on the forum.

Since I'm going to be replacing the radiator, what else should I do while I'm in there? I'm going to get it up to operating temp again tomorrow and check for leaks around the tower, but wasn't sure if I should replace the thermostat regardless. With the new radiator I'd like to also install an electric fan, but I haven't made it that far yet.

Thanks,

Mike

[C.Costine]

For many years I have considered water pumps to be a wear item. As in maybe three during the life of a motor, or if you get a good long life out of a motor you will replace it twice. So I would take the expected life and if at say 40% change the pump while accessibility is good.

[The Neck]

I went ahead and stuck with the radiator swap out over the weekend. I bought one off ebay, and upon installation, the bottom two bolt holes wouldn't line up.

I also replaced the thermostat, and made new gaskets for the tower. It's all a relative mess, the PO used what looks like silicon sealant to help with the inlet plate as it's rough and not the flattest. I got everything together and found there to be a bit of a leak under that plate, applied The Right stuff, and am waiting for it to set now. I also began to strip out the stud nut that holds the tower in place, so I'm sure that'll have some sort of repercussion.

Funny thing about getting a car that's sat for 13 years, you fix one major thing like a leaky radiator, and either break something or find the next weakest link in the system.

Here's a link to the radiator, it was a breeze getting it in minus the two lower bolts.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ALUMINUM-RADIA ... 2749.l2649

[bossbob]

What did you do to resolve the 2 lower bolt holes? What else can you say about that radiator, do you have any miles on it yet?

[The Neck]

It's been a real treat actually. That radiator has been working out great, and I'm sitting at a temp of 190 the vast majority of the time. So far I've put about 20 miles on it and temps have been great. I also had to replace the VR to the temp gauge that weekend and I now have a functional temp and fuel gauge which is really nice.

I ended up leaving the two lower holes alone altogether. "weight reduction" one bolt at a time I'm telling myself.

As far as the coolant tower, I used The Right Stuff, and have no leaks. I know the studs are questionable, and have yet to have any leaks. I'm just gonna go with it for now and keep an eye on it. I've had zero overheating, zero leaks, no issues altogether. I took it out this weekend for about 45 minutes and it did great. Amazing what the electric fuel pump, new floats, new radiator, and VR will do.