Over Heating

A

arefftx

Member
I have a 29 Roadster that recently has been over heating after running for about 15 minutes, recently drained & refilled radiator with 50/50 runs well and sound great just overheats, engine is hot radiator cover is hot & starts steaming. Any ideas or suggestions?
 
Fill radiator to near top then run engine till its hot. With engine running, look in radiator and see if water is circulating well. If not, does it have a thermostat that someone put in it. If so, check that first. Put it in boiling water on stove and see if it opens wide at about 160-190 degrees. If not, replace it. Make sure your lower radiator hose is not kinked closed. If it is, replace. If water is not circulating in radiator and there is no thermostat, then look at replacing water pump. You may also need to flush and clean whole system.
 
Be sure your ignition timing is advancing enough above idle. Retarded timing or a lean carburetor mixture can cause overheating also.
 
I'm not aware that there is a thermostat , I was told by someone that if the water pump is moving it is OK.....does that make sense? I will check the lower hose , flushing system was a thought I had! Thanks for the suggestions
 
It sounds like this issue started recently.

What is your previous history with the car?

Has it been sitting for a long period of time?

How old is the radiator?

Is it an original round tube core or a modern core?

What is the date of engine block production?

Any engine modifications or bone stock?
 
Great Question..,.
I am a new inexperiencedowner!
The car had 1983 plates on it, was told it had been in storage.
The 1st three 5 mile trips I made were trouble free, now the overheating every time it runs!
The motor # indicates it is 1930....some other items such as tires indicted 1930 (19")
All original motor.....no add ONS or motifications
Radiator is originall style
Hope that helps!
Alan
 
If you have a 1929 body then you will have a 1929 radiator. If the radiator is an original factory issue (not likely but possible) round core in good cosmetic condition it may be marketable to someone building a show car. If it’s an original there is the problem.

Even if it had a new core at one time it is now at least 38 years old! -1983 plates/storage
 
One of the unseen problems with old radiators is that after thousands of heat/cool cycles, expansion and contraction of the metal, the tubes no longer touch the fins in places. Tiny, tiny gaps form and heat is no longer properly transferred from the tubes to the fins…..
 
Are you actually overheating? Place the probe of a dial meat thermometer into the coolant through the neck of the radiator and see for sure what the temperature actually is. You might just have too much coolant in the radiator and it is pushing the excess out as the coolant gets hot and expands. You only need enough coolant to cover the tubes at the top of the radiator. Many new owners of Model A's try to keep the radiator topped off and it will look a lot like over heating as the excess coolant is pushed out.
 
Utopia Texas makes a good point about radiator fins. If the fins are not tight the radiator will not cool.
 
90% of cooling problems are caused by a plugged radiator. 90 % is just my number.
Don’t fight all the band aids. Buy a new core and enjoy your car.
 
Not sure what retorqed head means? What does that involve?
Is there any way to determine if the old radiator is due for replacement?
 
Retorque = Retighten head bolts in proper sequence. Usually a blown head gasket will show up with lots of bubbles in the radiator when its running, sometimes accompanied by oil in the water or antifreeze which you can see when cold as the oil will float on top of the antifreeze in the radiator. Pulling off the bottom hose to drain in a bucket will also readily show any oil.
 
Good afternoon...Cars that sit for long periods end up with lots of scale in the water system in the block and head. If the engine and radiator are not flushed out before the car is driven again...the scale will be pumped into the radiator and plug it up. At this point the first thing to do is to remove the radiator hoses and flush the engine and the block/head from bottom hose to top and then flush the radiator as well. Many times this is enough...if you live in an are that gets to more than 90 degrees in the late afternoon in the summer, a larger radiator from one of the major suppliers might be necessary, You can google 'torqueing a Model A Ford Engine Head' and watch it a couple of times and it will be easy to do. Generally an A likes it head torqued once a year...Ernie in Arizona
 
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