Spark Advance versus Overheat

The vacuum break must ride the disk at all times, or the ignition will become erratic. The idle or cruise hi vac will not remove the piston from the disk if set properly. Been there, done that. As a racer, I once removed the piston and had trouble finishing last.
 
I ran a Champion Radiator in my 52 F1 239 for years, never overheated, got hot but never went volcanic. That includes the Arizona summers. Chap
 
chap52 said:
I ran a Champion Radiator in my 52 F1 239 for years, never overheated, got hot but never went volcanic. That includes the Arizona summers. Chap
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Yeah, but it is dry heat. (old Arizona joke)

Most users of Champion radiators agree that they work fine, and I am sure I am not the only one running a hopped up engine. It's a mystery that I will eventually solve!
 
Tinker said:
Cooling capacity does make a difference. Not to say reduced would not work.


Put two pots of water on the stove at the same heat and time. One is 1 cup of water, One is a 2 cups of water. Which to boil first.


Same if...If you put two 55 gal drums plumbed on the front of your car, you'd be highly unlikely to ever overheat. Maybe timing, block restrictions, over bore,...etc. Certainly a radiator that is restricted would not help.



No matter the temp sensor, even if they can be restrictive in summer or high heat ambient temps.
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Naturally 1 cup will boil faster, but before long the second will boil also. Practically speaking, if a radiator has a little more water than another one, if the engine is producing too much heat, both will boil within a short time of each other.
 
Unless you need something custom and/or have original tanks and sheet metal that you want to reuse, I'd get a Walker or Brassworks radiator. I had my original 32 radiator re-cored, cost me $900 -- my main reason for doing it was that I wanted the look of the 100% original tanks, side metal frame, etc.. I had it done locally (was in a hurry). they did a decent job, but my bet is that Brassworks would have done an even nicer job . . . but I'd be paying for shipping both ways, would need to wait a bit, etc..
 
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flatjack9 said:
Naturally 1 cup will boil faster, but before long the second will boil also. Practically speaking, if a radiator has a little more water than another one, if the engine is producing too much heat, both will boil within a short time of each other.
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Pete you could say that the volume of ford was designed for a specific amount. Reducing it won't help. But to say previously that it doesn't matter is not productive. Not by you mind it. That qt might be enough to get you through traffic. Granted everything is working.
 
I am a believer in the vacuum gauge.
I don’t have any experience with Pertronix so I am not sure if this negates gauge use.
What reading do you get ?
 
My vacuum at a slow idle (550 rpm) is around 15 with a little dither. At a more comfortable 650 rpm the vacuum is still around 15 with no dither. I know that vacuum is lower than the advertised normal of 17, but I am running a Schneider 248f cam; pretty mild but the duration is longer and I expect that to lower the vacuum at idle. As far as the Pertronix, it is just a substitute for points, and does not affect vacuum or overheat issues.

I have had too much going on lately to tinker with the car, but later this week I will get back into this overheat challenge.
 
Have you retimed the car since you put the Pertronix in? I installed one in a 350 SBC I had in a boat years ago and when I tried to start it, it backfired a couple of times, hydro-locked, and broke a rocker arm (one of those cheap aluminum rollers Speedway used to sell). I double checked everything over (thinking I had crossed a couple of plug wires) and everything was correct. The only thng I could think of was that the Pertronix somehow had an effect on the timing. I retarded the spark, and the engine started and ran pretty decent. After I put my timing light on it and moved the timing so the light was flashing on the pointer properly, the boat ran great and I never had another problem with it. I don't know exactly how those crazy electronical things work, but I definitely had to reset the timing after I installed the Pertronix. (And bought another rocker arm.)
 
tubman said:
Have you retimed the car since you put the Pertronix in? I installed one in a 350 SBC I had in a boat years ago and when I tried to start it, it backfired a couple of times, hydro-locked, and broke a rocker arm (one of those cheap aluminum rollers Speedway used to sell). I double checked everything over (thinking I had crossed a couple of plug wires) and everything was correct. The only thng I could think of was that the Pertronix somehow had an effect on the timing. I retarded the spark, and the engine started and ran pretty decent. After I put my timing light on it and moved the timing so the light was flashing on the pointer properly, the boat ran great and I never had another problem with it. I don't know exactly how those crazy electronical things work, but I definitely had to reset the timing after I installed the Pertronix. (And bought another rocker arm.)
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The Pertronix decides when to fire the coil depending on how its' sensor sees the bumps on the cam. That relationship could certainly affect timing. After rebuild I set the timing to 3 degrees advance on the distributor adjustment. It started and ran great (except for the overheat issue) so I have not messed with it since then. Next thing on my trial and error method is to check the vacuum advance damper on the distributor, to be sure it is not in too tight. Then I am going to go full advance on that adjustment to see if it pings. Back off from there if necessary.
 
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