Cooling capacity

V12Bill

V12Bill

Well-known member
I looked up the cooling capacity for my 1950 V8 F1 pickup, and it was 23 quarts according to the Shop Manuel. I installed 2 gals of antifreeze and 1 1/2 gals of distilled water and the fluid came up to the cap of the radiator. I thought there must be one heck of an air bubble in the system, so I started the engine and warmed it up. Naturally the fluid expanded and started to run out the overflow. I caught the excess for later use. When the engine cooled down, the level is just below the fins of the radiator.


My question is, is 23 quarts correct or is this a misprint that should read 13 quarts?
 
Was this cooling system completely empty or might there have been some residual? Hot water heaters generally only hold about a quart. There were also a lot of H series 6-cylinder engines. A recored radiator or an aftermarket replacement may not have the capacity of an original if any of that applies.

I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it has cooling problems. Plugged tubes may be a problem in a radiator. I had my hand me down 1951 Mercury block cleaned out years ago by a chemical strip shop and he got a gallon coffee can full of wire and core sand out of that block.
 
My system was bone dry and I have no hater. sorry about the double posting, my first posting took an hour to appear.
 
Thermostats closed? Pull the thermostats and replace the hoses and see what you get. You can always partially drain it and replace the stats.
 
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