cool flathead with skip pumps

Lots more factors involved. What thermostats are you running? How's your radiator? Electric fan or stock fan? etc etc etc.

I used water pumps from The Hot Rod Company. Very satisfied. My 8BA runs between 140 and 160 with the stock fan and radiator with 180 degree t-stats.
 
I don't think anyone could guarantee how much cooler your car would run with Skip's pumps. I do know that I got an honest 15 to 20* temperature reduction on my '35 with a basically stock engine when I installed Skips pumps. His over flow check valve also stopped the coolant loss problem that I had on my car but this may not work on your car's cooling system. J.M.
 
GreenMonster48 said:
Lots more factors involved. What thermostats are you running? How's your radiator? Electric fan or stock fan? etc etc etc.

I used water pumps from The Hot Rod Company. Very satisfied. My 8BA runs between 140 and 160 with the stock fan and radiator with 180 degree t-stats.
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If you are running an engine 140-160 degrees with a 180 degree thermostats you need to check your temperature gauge or your thermostats
 
GreenMonster48 said:
Lots more factors involved. What thermostats are you running? How's your radiator? Electric fan or stock fan? etc etc etc.

I used water pumps from The Hot Rod Company. Very satisfied. My 8BA runs between 140 and 160 with the stock fan and radiator with 180 degree t-stats.
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Hmmmm........... Now let's figure this out. The engine runs at 140-160 with 180 t'stats. So they would never open. Looks like you don't even need water pumps. How are you measuring the engine temp??
 
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I have a pair of Skips water pumps in my V12 Hot Rod and my temperature is 170 with my electric fan. I live in Phoenix and when the temperature is 108 stop and go traffic.

Frenchy
 
Thermostats don't do anything to cool these engines they only make them run above the rateing of the stats. The problem with any modern stats that fit in a 1932 to 1948 engine is the flow opening when the thermostat opens is to small and restricts the flow of coolant through the radiator. There are stats for 1949 to 53 engines with large flow opening that do not restrict the flow. Prestone makes a number 330-160 that will work good I believe they made them for some of the Hot Rod suppliers also. G.M.
 
I put 190 degree stats in my 8rt before going on the new englang tour, the temps were alot more stable- no up and down on every hill. But the best part was I picked up at least 1 mpg for the trip. The oil stayed very clean, 1000 miles and no color. When I got stuck at a toll both, the temp went up to 210, but it didn't puke, and went to 190 when we started moving again.
 
If you noticed the temperature going up and down on hills with a 190 thermostat you were not driving in warm weather. With a 190 stat the temperature would be over 190 all the time and in 90 degree temperatures over 200. I like my engines in the old Fords running at 170. Ford used 160 or lower stats. G.M.
 
I have known skip for over 25 years and have his pumps and they are the best. If skip you are not happy with skips water pumps you can't be satisfied.

sp1ke
 
Ever since Henry came up with the flathead V8, there were cooling problems. He had a whole floor of engineering folks trying to design a pump that would solve the problem, or at least help. If henry's staff could not solve it, how could some guy in florida do it. Now I can see how a better distributor can be built today with all the knowledge about electronis, but this is a mechanial pump. The only difference I see in skip's pumps and henry is skip added an extra blade and made it to fit a little deeper into the head. If this is a great idea, why did henry not come up with it.
 
oldford said:
Ever since Henry came up with the flathead V8, there were cooling problems. He had a whole floor of engineering folks trying to design a pump that would solve the problem, or at least help. If henry's staff could not solve it, how could some guy in florida do it. Now I can see how a better distributor can be built today with all the knowledge about electronis, but this is a mechanial pump. The only difference I see in skip's pumps and henry is skip added an extra blade and made it to fit a little deeper into the head. If this is a great idea, why did henry not come up with it.
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It's common knowledge, based on the experiences of the people who use them, that V8 pumps with 8 curved blade impellers flow nearly twice what an original flowed, that sealed ball/roller bearings allow a much tighter fanbelt pressure to be used thus preventing slip, and that the ceramic seals allow use of a pressurised system greater than 4lbs without blowing the coolant all over the ground.
Henry and his staff didn't get everything right.... witness his frail transmissions and rear ends.
 
I have yet to see more than a few degrees better cooling with Skips pumps. Rest assured my engines are built stock and quite correctly. Skip does do a nice job rebuilding them and I would not hesitate to have him do another pair. However, to get the 20* (better cooling) as advertised more needs to be done than simply replacing the pumps.
Simply pumping more coolant (volume) through the radiator does not necessarily mean you'll get a cooler running engine. The coolant does in fact require a certain amount of time within the radiator for the heat to dissipate.
Simple rule of thermal dynamics...
 
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