67 318 running temps in the summer

-
65Butterface

65Butterface

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2023
Messages
24
Reaction score
23
Location
Arizona
Hoping the community has some wisdom to lay on me. I have a 65 Dart Wagon. It has a 67 318 in it. It was running 210+ when the outside temp started getting above 90 degrees. I just put a cold case aluminum radiator with 2 row 1.25" cores and a flex a lite 3000cfm 16" fan. Still ran about 205+. Today I put in a high flow water pump from Flowkooler and I changed the intake gaskets to block the exhaust crossover. Running a Mr Gasket 160 thermostat. It seems to stay about 195-200 on the freeway at 3100 rpm and cool down to about 185 just cruising in town. Pulled the thermostat out and no change. I have tried OTC flushes twice before swapping to new rad. I dont know if I need to keep looking for a problem, or just accept 195-200 when its 100+ outside. I appreciate any help. Thanks

20240818_170231.jpg


20240818_170225.jpg


20240818_170220.jpg
 
IMHO,

Your numbers are normal.

Your engine running 195 - 200 proves that a 160 deg thermostat does not lower the engines temp.

If it was me I would ditch the al rad. Get a copper brass that is designed for AC / HD cooling. Then add a fixed or thermal fan.
 
That's the widest two row core I've ever seen. Here's something you may try. I did this on Vixen. I got probably 10-15 degrees out of it. I made some baffles out of plastic corrugated sign material to fill in the spaces on either side between the back of the grille and front of the core support. This forces more air through the radiator. I plan on filling in some of the spaces between the back of the valance and the K frame underneath, too. My car doesn't run hot, but I prefer it to run as cool as possible. Anything you can do to force more air through the grille will help.
BAFFLES.JPG
 
Last edited:
Your car is a disaster, it will never run right. Call me anytime and I'll trade you for a 69 FormulaS shell, and the numbers matching 340 block. Great project car.
Yes I'm kidding.
I can tell you how to fix it for good, but it will cost you several hundred dollars in parts. It will run so cool, you'll have to put some cardboard in front of the rad with that 160 stat, just to warm it up.

BTW,
I like your car, a lot.
I had a 65 myself back in the Early70s with a 340 in it, Well, it was an early 340 block, with 69 318 everything else. It worked gangbusters until I burned the trans up. I was about 20 at the time.
 
Last edited:
Does the fan not fit on the engine side? As a pusher it will be less efficient since it’s also partially blocking the incoming air. Which may be why you’re running hotter on the freeway when you should have more air coming through the radiator.

How are you switching the fan? Or are you just running it all the time?

Do you know your pulley diameters or the pulley ratio on the water pump?

eekvonzipper said:
Electric Fan? Bleh...
Click to expand...

Done properly they’re more efficient, free up horsepower and can provide more than enough airflow.

That said, lots of people don’t set them up properly.
 
RustyRatRod said:
That's the widest two row core I've ever seen. Here's something you may try. I did this on Vixen. I got probably 10-15 degrees out of it. I made some baffles out of plastic corrugated sign material to fill in the spaces on either side between the back of the grille and front of the core support. This forces more air through the radiator. I plan on filling in some of the spaces between the back of the valance and the K frame underneath, too. My car doesn't run hot, but I prefer it to run as cool as possible. Anything you can do to force more air through the grille will help.
View attachment 1716291452
Click to expand...
I'll try blocking more up front
 
72bluNblu said:
Does the fan not fit on the engine side? As a pusher it will be less efficient since it’s also partially blocking the incoming air. Which may be why you’re running hotter on the freeway when you should have more air coming through the radiator.

How are you switching the fan? Or are you just running it all the time?

Do you know your pulley diameters or the pulley ratio on the water pump?



Done properly they’re more efficient, free up horsepower and can provide more than enough airflow.

That said, lots of people don’t set them up properly.
Click to expand...
Doesn't fit as a puller unfortunately. Only got 3 inches of space. Fan runs off a painless kit with 180 on/160 off switch. Pulleys are just stock pulleys
 
I agree about electric fans being "good enough". The problem is, most everybody buys cheap pieces of CRAP that just don't move air. You need an electric fan that moves close to or over 4000 CFM to really do the job. Just go on the Summit site and use the filters to see what fans cost that move that much air. They ain't cheap. People buy cheap hoping it'll work and it rarely does. Nothing wrong with bein cheap. Heck, I'm a total cheapskate. I have to be on a fixed income. The trick is knowing where not to cut corners and the cooling system is one of those places. If you're decent at fabbing something up, the Ford Taurus electric fans really move some air and can be had pretty cheap in junkyards. Lots of guys have had success with them and similar.
 
65Butterface said:
I'm considering just running the mechanical again with the electric
Click to expand...
I wouldn't. What ends up happening is, a lot of times they can actually interfere with each other's flow and you end up worse off. But you won't know until you try.
 
Donate the elec fan to the closest rubbish tip........
It is blocking air flow on the freeway.
Use a factory clutch fan & shroud.
Do NOT remove the stat. It creates pressure in the engine to reduce localised boiling.
Water pump should be 10-20% overdriven, ie pump pulley should be 10-20% smaller than the crank pulley.
More info here: www.stewartcomponents.com
 
65Butterface said:
Doesn't fit as a puller unfortunately. Only got 3 inches of space. Fan runs off a painless kit with 180 on/160 off switch. Pulleys are just stock pulleys
Click to expand...

Is it a 22” or 26” radiator?

Is it exactly 3” of space? And is that to the pulley in the center? The Ford Contour fan setup I run on my car fits a 26” radiator, and is about 3” thick at the shroud with the motors going back to about 3.5”. You don’t need much clearance on those, and they’re offset from center.

The other thing is there are several different diameters of stock pulleys, so if you somehow have a mixed set you may not have the ratio you need. If you measure the diameter of the crank and water pump pulleys that would tell you for sure.

65Butterface said:
I'm considering just running the mechanical again with the electric
Click to expand...

You should be able to just run the mechanical fan with a shroud. You shouldn’t need both, one or the other.

Dana67Dart said:
That means the fan is running 100% of the time as the engine will never get down to 160 while in use except maybe in the dead of WI Winter and a 160 thermostat.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I really don’t think that’s the best switch or thermostat set up. He’d be better off with a 180° thermostat, with the fans coming on at 195° and shutting off at 185°.

RustyRatRod said:
I agree about electric fans being "good enough". The problem is, most everybody buys cheap pieces of CRAP that just don't move air. You need an electric fan that moves close to or over 4000 CFM to really do the job. Just go on the Summit site and use the filters to see what fans cost that move that much air. They ain't cheap. People buy cheap hoping it'll work and it rarely does. Nothing wrong with bein cheap. Heck, I'm a total cheapskate. I have to be on a fixed income. The trick is knowing where not to cut corners and the cooling system is one of those places. If you're decent at fabbing something up, the Ford Taurus electric fans really move some air and can be had pretty cheap in junkyards. Lots of guys have had success with them and similar.
Click to expand...

I agree, 3,000 cfm is on the lower side of what will work. But it actually seems like the issue is hot at speed, so the fan is holding its own in traffic and slower speeds.

It may just be the fan, because it’s out front, is blocking or disrupting the airflow too much at higher speeds when it should be off.
 
Today was a victory with all the advice. I ditched the electric fan and installed the mechanical with no shroud. Cruised the freeway at 3100 rpm and never went above 175. Slow cruising in town never went over 185. And it was 100 degrees outside. I am more than happy with those numbers. Thats also with the 160 thermostat in again. Stupid pusher electric fan. Thanks everyone.
72bluNblu said:
Is it a 22” or 26” radiator?

Is it exactly 3” of space
Click to expand...
Its a 22 inch rad. Exactly 3 inches from core to WP flange.
 
I'm curious - 1967 318 LA? I thought they were still using up the last of the 318 polys in 67 and the LA 318 didn't appear until 68?
 
Poly in 67? Interesting. Here in Oz, we got all the US leftovers. The Val coupe sold here in 69-70 was a 68 US Dart. The last Poly here was in 1966.
 
Bewy said:
Poly in 67? Interesting. Here in Oz, we got all the US leftovers. The Val coupe sold here in 69-70 was a 68 US Dart. The last Poly here was in 1966.
Click to expand...
Here, the way Chrysler was most of the time, the engines went one more year in trucks. So, it's not surprising to see a 67 D100 with a poly for example. I know of two original 67 poly trucks in this area.
 
Last edited:
Newbomb Turk said:
You could get either in 1967. In 1968 you could not get a poly
Click to expand...
In 67 only a 273 was available in A bodies. You could not get a semi hemi in an A body

In 68 both 273LA AND 318LA were available.


67 casting dates does not mean it is a 67 318.

Under the front of the drivers side head there is a code stamped into the block

My bet is yours starts with a D = 68 model year

How to ID a Small Block Engine Block:

In this example the block was cast in 63 but the engine is for a V = 64 model year car.
Screenshot_20240821-213853.png
 
Dana67Dart said:
In 67 only a 273 was available in A bodies. You could not get a semi hemi in an A body

In 68 both 273LA AND 318LA were available.


67 casting dates does not mean it is a 67 318.

Under the front of the drivers side head there is a code stamped into the block

My bet is yours starts with a D = 68 model year

How to ID a Small Block Engine Block:

In this example the block was cast in 63 but the engine is for a V = 64 model year car. View attachment 1716292910
Click to expand...
Its not the original motor. Someone swapped it in at some point. It was an original 273 car. Not sure what the 318 is out of
 
Looking for the stamping as noted in post 22 will tell you a lot
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top