junkyard 396ss coolant advice

[Greg Hermann]

>
>it has a mechanical lock-up-in-4th 700r4 with 4:10 richmond ring& pinion in
>a 10(.5?)"  housing, a 1900 cfm 16" electric fan, 2 core radiator from its
>original 350 4bbl.  the thermostat is a 195 degree, the fan kicks on at 180
>deg+ via a 1-wire copper thermostat and adjustable dial in the radiator
>intake.
>
>I'm curious if anyone can comment on said cooling configuration, the
>radiator likes to dump out the recirc hose when i shut down the motor.

 the
>mechanic who installed the longblock tells me the small radiator warrants
>the higher thermostat to keep the coolant in the radiator cooling longer
>before it kicks into the engine.

This guy doesn't have a _CLUE_ WTF he's talking about!
>
>yet another mechanic tells me to take the thermostat out entirely,

This one is in worse shape yet!

 still a
>third tells me that the smaller radiator warrants a higher temp and both
>mechanics are right, depending on the size of the radiator.

And he's just as bad off as the other two!!
>
>according to mechanic#1, who replaced the intake and carb, he leaned out the
>mixture, so it doesn't "dog out" the new longblock.

See above! You definitely don't want to wash the bores with raw fuel, but
on a 3310 (the list # for a 750 cfm, vacuum secondaries) Holley, the
problem with rich usually lies with the large size of the pvcr's (power
valve control restrictions), and _NOT_ so much with the main jets! Betcha
this dude doesn't even know WTF  a pvcr is!

 this just smells
>suspicious in light of all its ferocious cooling deficiency.
>
>i haven't even got 100 miles on the new motor, would hate to boil it, anyone
>else's experience would help.  do i just need a new 4-core radiator?

This would be a really good start! The other thing you want to do is be
sure that the water pump pulley to crankshaft pulley diameter ratio hasn't
been dorkomaticked by this jerk! If the water pump isn't turning fast
enough, it ain't gonna cool properly. A good direct drive or clutch drive
fan with a PROPER shroud would be another good idea. The electric fans
don't begin to move as much air as the mechanical ones, sounds like your
electric one might make a decent booster for a good, properly shrouded,
mechanical drive fan.

 or
>should i be suscpicious that mechanic#1 is lining up his next longblock
>replacement revenue at the  expense of my new rings and bearings?
>
>I'd like to solve the issues with the coolant so i even have an engine that
>could bear soem fun stuff, like an efi project. apoligies if its too far off
>topic.

Run, don't walk, away from all three clowns! Stay with a 195 stat, but
probably best to replace whatever you have with a Robertshaw (Auto Zone has
them). The Robertshaw stats shut off the bypass flow as they open the flow
to the radiator. Stants, et al, do NOT usually do this! Makes a BIG
difference to low speed cooling.

Greg


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