1930 cabriolet overheating

M

mebeached

Member
HELLO EXPERTS I NEED SOME HELP! I have just finished restoring my Cabriolet and it looks great. It is funny I can rebuild the car but can not fix the overheating.
My problem it that water is surging out the overflow tube like a garden hose full streams surges. It does not take long about 15 min of running and over heats pumping out to much water.

I have had the radiator flushed and I used a couple flush ways off some of the threads from this board. The water looks clean and the white sock to catch
the trash just had a rust color tint no trash.

When i bought the car 3 years ago I changed the water pump with a new one b-4 ever driving the car as it did not run. The one that came out had the fins broken off but i did not do that to the new one. I do not know why I would need to do that ? It did not get hot as quick when the belt was slipping or not throwing out as much water.
Help if you know something that i can try!

Thanks:
 
The radiator core doesn't have enough tubes, or they are plugged.

Use a temp gun to check the tubes for cool spots.

Add a thermostat if you don't have one.
 
Hi,

First you should determine if it is overheating. Water coming out of the overflow tube is not always due to overheating. Is there steam coming out? If there is no steam then you are likely not overheating.

What are you using for coolant. Antifreeze will bubble and often overflow.

Where is the coolant level set when you fill the radiator? Where is the coolant level when the engine is warmed up? The level when the engine is warmed up should be just above the baffle.

Where is the top of the overflow tube? Is it towards the front or back of the car?

Take off the radiator cap and see what is going on at the top of the radiator.

Bob
 
tube is toward the back of the car . I fill it to just over the cores now it is spitting it out in streams about a gallon i would say. It is steaming out around the radiator cap also.

I got the cap off and put a temp probe in radiator and it checked 210.
i am not running a thermostat.
 
Were it my radiator I would remove it and take it to a radiator shop and have it rodded out. You may even need a new core. I would try to find a shop that speaks Model A. Reason being they will understand the need for the baffle and the need to align the brackets carefully so that the shroud and the hood fit properly. If you belong to a club ask some of the members for a recommendation.

The best thing I ever did for my Model A was to have a four-row core installed.

Tom Endy
 
Either get a temperature gun at Harbor Freight for thirty dollars and shoot the radiator to see if there are cool, (non -working) sections in the radiator or touch it at various spots and see if there are cool spots. If so go to a radiator shopthat deals in cars such as ours, or consider purchase of a radiator from one of the vendors.
If there is the appearance of hot on top, evenly, and cooler to the bottom, it might be some other problem causing your overheating.

Don't forget these cars sometimes pump more water than the radiator can pass at high speeds so most of us fill to below the bafflel in the radiator to permit extra room for this coolant so there is no overflow at higher engine speeds.
 
Thanks Bruce i think I will get a temp gun Harbor Freight is near ! It is good to know uust how hot it is getting. Sure dont want to fry the motor. I live in N.C. near the beach so temps are moving on up here.
 
Is your timing set correctly? Late timing will quickly overheat and engine.

Also try removing the belt, then fill the radiator to the fill neck. Now start the engine and goose the throttle several times. If you see any bubbles coming up the radiator neck then you have a leaking head gasket.
 
Ok so if there is a topic on this board that has been covered completely it is overheating. Search for all topics from me and you will find complete discussions on this subject. Almost always it gets down to radiator. Stop and come up with a plan. Take 1 step at a time by finding out what it is not you will find out what it is. Start with the radiator unless something is just glaring out at you.
 
TinCup said:
Ok so if there is a topic on this board that has been covered completely it is overheating. Search for all topics from me and you will find complete discussions on this subject. Almost always it gets down to radiator. Stop and come up with a plan. Take 1 step at a time by finding out what it is not you will find out what it is. Start with the radiator unless something is just glaring out at you.
Click to expand...

Tincup:
Is there a Model A friendly radiator shop in the Oklahoma City area?
I'm pretty sure I'm in need of a rod out
 
Just remember the basics. The Cabriolet is the hottest car that Henry ever made ! So the car is naturally hot just ask any Model A one! Wayne
 
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