Overheating and an electric fan

[Grizzly]

I participated in my first parade with the 67. It was fun showing off! All of the other Vettes in the parade were much newer and no one else had side pipes.

I had two problems from the slow moving parade, a clutch that was getting pretty hot and slipping and and engine into the red zone. Don't know if I can do much about the clutch, but the engine overheating maybe can be helped.

Any of you put an auxiliary fan on the engine for parade work? How about on the front where you can't see it as much? I also thought about making some sort of blocks so I could hold the hood open a little. How about that water wetter stuff? The car normally runs way below the 210 degree marking on the gauge. Oh and it was about 75 degrees that night.

I always heard that big blocks were a problem, but I thought a 327/300hp would not be a problem.

 

[Tom Bryant]

I did a couple parades with my '67 big block and decided it wasn't worth the torture. The clutch would get so hot I was afraid to take it out of gear because it was almost impossible to get back in. Then that led to shaking leg symdrome from the heavy clutch I was running. I used a Coke can to prop open the rear of the hood. Lets out a lot of hot air and stays put.

As I said before my clutch free play would dissapear with the excessive heat build up, not slip. I thought of adjusting some extra clearance in the clutch before the next parade to avoid this but then I decided that it was much smarter to leave the big block in the drivway while the parade was on.

Tom

 

[IH2LOSE]

Nothing is worse then being in a parade and having your car laydown on you!

I dont know how long your parade is but I do parades also with my 427 vette the longest one is probably an hour between waiting in the stageing area to completion and have never had the car go into the red area.My wife will also drive our 67 deville in the parade with a car load of people and the a/c going and it dosent run hot

At 75 degrees and your car is getting into the red zone may be showing a weekness in the cooling system.The first thing I would check is that the gauge is registering correct as compaired to the engine temp.just shoot the thermostat housing with an ifared thermometer and see if it matches the gauge reading.

Good Luck

 

[magicv8]

How old is the radiator?

 

[ctjackster]

I am shocked, SHOCKED to hear of a C2 running hot in the course of parade duty!

Seriously, the C2 internet forums are chock full of run-hot posts, parade duty notwithstanding. I have been a contributor in those topics too. (In stop and go traffic on a 75 degree day would have been enough to push my 65 into the bad zone). To me, propping the hood is way down on the lsit of things to try, your car is on active display, having the hood seriously ajar is not too attractive. Some have tried fan clutch eliminator devices (I have one, it is a solid flange-post-flange piece that puts your fan in direct contact with your crank, LIC has one, among others), I also know many have had success (usually when installing an aftermarket A/C kit) with auxiliary push or pull elec fans, Dewitts sells them, for example (note the mushroom factor there though, as you may be upgrading that alternator).

And, it all comes down to a basic radiator-function question - you should always go to the root of the problem before hitting it with band-aid solutions. Is that rad old, or a poorly-performing brass replacment? Is your system flowing, have you drained it out completely (opening up the two block drains) and refreshed it with the CORRECT mix (no more than 50% antifreeze) lately? How are the belts, are they tight and in good, unglazed condition? Is your fan appropriate? (Another thing you might try is the A/C spec seven blade fan, replacing the stock non-a/c five blade fan, or one of the many higher flowing GM fans out there).

Of course, you can always do an emergency Bubba (I have gone this route too) and run the defroster at full fan, full hot for a cheap "extra radiator" source when desperate . . . .

 

[Grizzly]

New aluminium radiator, belts, fresh antifreeze. Never thought about the AC fan, that might be a good thought and not much of a mushroom factor.

Since I have no other overheating problems I think I can rull out the waterpump and thermostat, agreed?

Running defroster full on in a coupe would require me to have an ice pack!

 

[ctjackster]

I once drove for four hours in 85 degree heat in a 76 Chevy LUV pickup (don't ask) with defroster blowing full hot (windows fully cranked down, of course) in order to make it home from someplace I should not have been . . . you gots to do what you gots to do