TOPIC: Cooling the tri five generation

BFS57 · July 24, 2016, 07:57:27 PM

Hello;
I have a 1957 chevy that has always had heating issues.
Well, this very topic came up on a Chevyy site I belong to and one member answered about his cooling set up, which I am interested in changing to.
The engine in the car is a 355 FI power plant. (way more than my carberated 350) He has AC and is in Texas. His claim is that his car never overheats NO MATTER WHAT. His explanation is that he put a 2006 Toyota Camery radiator in it as well as the duel fans with shroud. Whats even harder for me to believe is that this radiator (after comparison of units between the v-6 and 4 cylinder) is out of a 4 cylinder car!
OK Roundtable Cooling experts, lend your knowledge to this equation!
I'm anxious to see if this set up works as good as hyped!. I saw a photo of it. He has the Front Runner pully system, which upon reading someplace makes the water pump spin 30 percent faster than stock. The fan configuration (2) is hooked in unison to come on and off at (whatever?) Tempurature.
OK! Let the knowledge begin!

Bruce

kb426 · July 24, 2016, 08:10:43 PM

The answer is the electric fans. Most are set to come on before the engine gets hot. It's easier to keep an engine cool rather than cool one that is already hot. I am a big fan of Cooling Components stuff. The fans are quiet and move lots of air. If you have an old radiator, it might need cleaning or replacing if all the fins are damaged. On my 51 Ford pickup, I'm using a 96 mustang shroud and fan that came from the donor vehicle. Works very well.

BFS57 · July 24, 2016, 08:50:41 PM

Quote from: "kb426"The answer is the electric fans. Most are set to come on before the engine gets hot. It's easier to keep an engine cool rather than cool one that is already hot. I am a big fan of Cooling Components stuff. The fans are quiet and move lots of air. If you have an old radiator, it might need cleaning or replacing if all the fins are damaged. On my 51 Ford pickup, I'm using a 96 mustang shroud and fan that came from the donor vehicle. Works very well.

Hello;
In my case, I have switched to one of those 3 row aluminum radiators. I did find out the the sum total of the tube volume (added together) is 1.89".
Whst you said would be true, except, another claim the owner of this set up made is that the fans "rarely" come on!
I know that in the toyota the fans work having one be thermo controlled and the other come on when the AC is turned on.
Another note, the two fans are not exactly the same! one fan has more blades than the other!
Recently, I changed my AC condenser to one of the newer styles with the big side tubes. This unit is very thin and really is effective in cooling the AC refridgerant! Might this be the case with the radiator too???

Bruce

kb426 · July 24, 2016, 09:26:57 PM

First item: fans aren't usually on when traveling at road speed,
2nd: some fan setups have high and low speed settings that are temp activated. Usually the trinary switch activates the fans and then are removed from the engine temp circuit. It's a common swap in the Ford world to get a taurus fan assembly and use on many swaps. It needs a 70 amp relay, though. On my 32, I'm using a Centech controller that feeds off the temp gauge. It is adjustable as to when it comes on. It also has a toggle switch that I connected to run the fan continuously. I do this at low speeds in town or at car shows. So far it has been great. This includes being at 9000' in elevation where there isn't any air density. If you find an oem shroud-fan assembly at a salvage yard, you might do this for very little money. As far as the radiator is concerned, most modern cars have less area that the older cars and seem to seldom have heating problems when maintained well. I see cars that pet owners let idle for hours with the ac on and they never get hot. I'm not a radiator expert as to now what is the best. I have used alum and brass with good results on both. They have all been new though.

BFS57 · July 24, 2016, 11:07:03 PM

Hello;
Sounds like my fans need to be replaced. I have a 3000 CFM on the rear side of the radiator set to 170 and a pair of 10" fans on the front of the condenser that come alive when the ac is on. (Also have a shroud)
Another interesting thing about this set up is that it "suposidly" fits the tri five perfect!
This whole thing is like a lot of "other "things that sound to good to be true! untill you actually go through the motions it's all here-say!
My car keeps pretty cool but when it gets to 180D the ethanol starts to boil in my carb and the engine runs like Poop!
Seems like I need some more investigation on this system. Lucky for me I have a friend that works at the local pick and pull that could get me this for little or no cost!

Bruce

Rochie · July 25, 2016, 07:42:18 AM

My 57 has had a 355 ci small block in it since 1997. When I first built the car in '76 I used the rad that was in it...a 6 cylinder rad out of a 67 pontiac. It's STILL in there. I run a mechanical fan and have built a shroud. The car has been to Victoria BC and back across the Rockies , the prairies all in 90 degree weather. The car never runs hotter than 200 degrees

Mikej · July 26, 2016, 03:29:27 PM

Quote from: "BFS57"Hello;
Sounds like my fans need to be replaced. I have a 3000 CFM on the rear side of the radiator set to 170 and a pair of 10" fans on the front of the condenser that come alive when the ac is on. (Also have a shroud)
Another interesting thing about this set up is that it "suposidly" fits the tri five perfect!
This whole thing is like a lot of "other "things that sound to good to be true! untill you actually go through the motions it's all here-say!
My car keeps pretty cool but when it gets to 180D the ethanol starts to boil in my carb and the engine runs like Poop!
Seems like I need some more investigation on this system. Lucky for me I have a friend that works at the local pick and pull that could get me this for little or no cost!

Bruce

papastoyss · July 27, 2016, 07:24:37 PM

Quote from: "BFS57"Hello;
Sounds like my fans need to be replaced. I have a 3000 CFM on the rear side of the radiator set to 170 and a pair of 10" fans on the front of the condenser that come alive when the ac is on. (Also have a shroud)
Another interesting thing about this set up is that it "suposidly" fits the tri five perfect!
This whole thing is like a lot of "other "things that sound to good to be true! untill you actually go through the motions it's all here-say!
My car keeps pretty cool but when it gets to 180D the ethanol starts to boil in my carb and the engine runs like Poop!
Seems like I need some more investigation on this system. Lucky for me I have a friend that works at the local pick and pull that could get me this for little or no cost!

Bruce

Concerning the carb boil, I have had good results w/ a 1" phenolic spacer &an aluminum heat shield under the carb here in hot & humid Tennessee.This carb boil is especially an issue w/ Eldebrock carbs due to the fuel being closer to the intake manifold. The Camry radiator is much wider than a Tri five radiator so some fab work will be needed plus the a/c condenser is an equal width so you would probably have issues w/ your new condenser not covering the fans. Parr Auto has a similar fan/shroud to the Cooling Components unit, I've used the CC unit on 2 cars in the past w/good results, I'm trying the Parr unit on my '57 project because it's less $ & I'm retired & broke now.

BFS57 · July 27, 2016, 08:34:54 PM

Hello;
I have a Cool Carb Technology heat shield under the carb and a heat spacer from Cool Carb Tech also. These are two sided aluminum with some kind of a layer of something in between.It's helped. But it still (I think) boiling in my carb.
The set up in my 32 doesn't have any such problem as the hot air can excape out the hood lovers on the sides!
Yes, I will check the Parr auto fan out. I've heard that you need a 70 amp relay to properly feed an electric fan.
I have a really nice digital fan controller with 2 40 amp relays in it. I wonder if I can just plug in a couple 70 amp relays in their place (replacement).
I really love driving my chevy, gotta get the heat under control. Just have to!

Bruce

enjenjo · July 27, 2016, 08:42:09 PM

Do you have vacuum advance on your 57?

BFS57 · July 28, 2016, 02:18:14 PM

Quote from: "enjenjo"Do you have vacuum advance on your 57?

Hello;
Yes, I do , but my distributor is a hei made for my engine by Dave's Small Body hei.

Bruce

enjenjo · July 28, 2016, 07:01:09 PM

Is it working? I have had several cars that would overheat because of a bad vacuum Advance. Are you using Ported Vacuum, or manifold vacuum?

BFS57 · July 28, 2016, 07:55:40 PM

Quote from: "enjenjo"Is it working? I have had several cars that would overheat because of a bad vacuum Advance. Are you using Ported Vacuum, or manifold vacuum?

Hello;
I know when the dist. was re-done everything was diled in by Dave and tested. Car starts like BANG! right now, runs teriffic.
I will re-look at the Edelbrock book to check on that.Should it be ported or straight vacuum? I'm thinking straight (manifold) is the way I have it now.
It seems like when the car is moving and it's cool outside everything is just fine but sit in traffic, gets ugly, but after moving a bit after, even on hot days, it does cool down, some.
I am not using a name brand fan, (supposed to be 3300 CFM) and the shroud goes around the outside of the radiator opening. Posting this, I had hoped to get some kind of info on the Toyota radiator, like how thick, total of tube volume, or such. But after watching a video on u tube of someone changing that particular radiator, I noticed that the new unit they used was very (like) translucent! you could see right through it! Which to me indicated it is very thin! The same as the newer condensers!!

Bruce

Bruce Dorsi · July 29, 2016, 10:05:38 AM

I just changed a radiator on a Toyota mini-van with the V6.

The aluminum radiator is 22" x 26" x 7/8" thick. ...It has a single row of tubes.

The plastic tanks at the ends of the core are also smaller than expected.

While I realize this is not a performance application, it has me re-thinking some cooling theory of the past.

Given that ambient air is the same temperature, and coolant flow is the same volume, this thinner core with smaller coolant volume seems like it should dissipate heat quicker than a multi-tube, large volume radiator.

The dual electric fan speeds are modulated according to need. ...At idle the fans are not turning. ....As the temp rises, the fans start running at slow speed. ....If more cooling is needed (such as a/c on) the fan speeds are increased.

BFS57 · July 29, 2016, 10:37:39 AM

Hello;
Thats what I am looking for! Im thinking this set up works because of "modern engineering!" The newer A.C. condenser I added is so thin that I'm sure that air passes right through to the radiator.
The person telling me about this set uo has a simple on at temp, off at temp cooling fan controller. I have a Davies Craig digital controller in my car.
The toyota radiator, becaude of thickness, is way easier to mount behind the front core support instead of in front where my (almost 3" thick) radiator lives now!
Please keep the info coming, I'm thinking we are on a roll to address one of the most common problems in Hot Roding!!

Bruce