the tricks are
1) is to get your engine to run at one temperature within a very narrow band, and
2) to get the inlet air temperature swing also normalized, and then tune it for that.
Even if you could get your engine down to 180, as soon as it gets to 190, it needs a new tune, and at 200 again a new tune, and at 210, yet another tune.
You cannot tune a carb and a distributor to deal with a 30 degree engine temperature swing, never mind with inlet air temps that can vary from ambient to 200 to 300 or more degrees.
I gotta tell ya, if your carb is sucking hot underhood air, it's exactly normal for the idle-temp to rise like a run-away nuclear reactor.
The best change I made, that rendered all other changes to the also-rans category, was cutting a hole in my hood and sealing the hood to the carb.
The Second best change, was to install a thermostatic clutch on the fan, and adjust it to come on at 207*F. The Hi-flow T-stat is stamped 195, but the hottest point on my thermostat housing always ran 205, so I assume the stat is defective, but-um, it was new in about 2002, and has always been consistent, and so, it's staying.
Running a solid 207*, my 750DP runs 72/80 jets, and it ain't rich. She even ran that 93mphTrapspeed, above, with those jets and with 34* timing, and on 87E10.
Here's what my cooling system looks like:
First the major players;
> hyper pistons installed loose with somewhat "baggy" gaps.
> the engine runs alloy heads, and the SCr has been adjusted variously between 10.7 and 11.3, currently at 10.95
> Fresh cold air to the carb
> a factory rad off a 1973 Dart 318 with A/C. She's a 26" but running in a 22" core-support.
> I run a Milodon 7-qt roadrace pan with the sideways bump-outs, and the oil level is kept between 5 and 6 qts..
>The Milodon Hi-flow pump has 8-vanes and the anti-cavitation plate. I bought it for the bigger driveshaft and HD bearing, so I could mount the biggest daymn
> 7-blade all-steel fan, with hi-attack angle blades, and
> on a honking big Ford pick-up truck Thermostatic clutch.
Then the minor players;
no oil cooler, and no condenser
a hi-flow stat, molded hoses including the anti-collapse spring in the lower one, a restricted bypass, and 50/50 water/antifreeze.
Engine doesn't care about Idle-timing.
87E10 gas, 100% of the time, even at the track.
And, here's the unconventional thing, my pump is slightly underdriven.
I just want to re-iterate;
this 367 went 93 mph in the Eighth, at 3457 pounds, spinning most of the way, if not all, running at 207*F, on a "hot" summer's day. Hot around here is very rarely more than 100*F
In four runs, I never shut it off . Didn't need to.
This 367 idles on 14* max. and at just 5*, it will idle right down to 550rpm, whilst pulling itself around the parking lot, on a hot day no less. and
BTW, I run a 7 pound cap, on my 1973 radiator, on which, even the patches have patches.
I am not afraid to drive this car anywhere any time, and in the trunk is a rudimentary toolkit and a few spare parts, I mean, the kit has been there already for over 20 years, so it can stay there. Also in there is the 600Vsec, that once got me 32 mpgUS, that I bolt on for long trips.
BTW,
lest you think that big 7-blade fan will suck your engine power into the basement consider this;
1) with a Thermostatic clutch, it never runs full-time, unless maybe at idle with the car stopped, and
2) anytime the car is moving, there will come a speed when the air ramming thru the rad is sufficient to turn the Thermostatic fan off, after which, it is more or less freewheeling
3) and when it's freewheeling, it's costing you just about nothing
4) unless the belt flips off, it could save you a Big-Dollar engine-rebuild, thus giving you
5) 99% peace of mind always.
What's that worth to you? a couple of horsepower at idle, maybe 5hp at 20 mph. By 30mph, ram-air is coming on line, and the power required to turn the fan is dropping, and when equilibrium is reached, it will be darn close to zero, Trapspeed is unaffected cuz the darn thing was already off-line, probably before 40 mph.
I only ever notice my fan at idle.
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I run my 367 at 207* for a reason, and it's been that way for over two decades, and I'm not about to change it.
My engine does not live on a dyno. It's actually mounted in a car and at one time, was my DD; yes, a 400Plus hp torque-monster.
Will the engine make more power on the dyno running cooler?
Sure.
Does that make a big deal once installed and working traffic, or cruising the hiway, at under 3000/3500 rpm?
Not hardly.
How often is the engine of a street-driven muscle car at the power-peak, and WOT?
Well for most of us, running automatics,
Top of First gear is it, and the tires are usually still spinning, so, a few hp more or less is not a deal-breaker.
Top of Second is gonna be deep into speeding territory, and a few hp lost at 80/85mph is not gonna bring tears to my eyes.
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>So tell me, Mr. NewbombTurk;
Running at 207*F, Just how much power is my 230*-cammed 367 leaving on the table? wait, don't tell me.
Rather;
ask me if I care, cuz she already has more power than the chassis can deal with.
Oh if I'd only known about running at under 180*F, just think about how much more rubber I could have burned ................................. lol.