Yep Car runs hot!

[lifeis4living]

Engine gets hot at cruising speeds now car is finished. All good at idle, thermo cycles on and off. Driving under permit at moment and cant get car to get a RWC as she sits at 230F and I have to limp home.

I posted a while ago but again here are the facts:

Mild 302 Windsor
2500 stall convertor
160 deg thermostat.
3.55 gears
Re cored 20" vertical inlet outlet with an old air products 16" thermo.
Under driven wp pulley ( only just realised while doting the i's crossing t' as engine builder has asked). Have verified correct timing with 2 separate timing lights. Engine builder has suggested returning to a shrouded mechanical fan to expedite registering car.
Questions
1. Go 24" factory style cross flow as opposed to 24" vertical inlet and outlet?
2. Change pulleys to factory wp over drive ratio?
3. Can I change from passenger side with backing plate wp outlet to a drivers side using same timing cover. Car is LH drive.
4. Use a 180 deg thermostat
5. Is it running lean and how would I know?

As always thoughts and help appreciated.

[hybrid]

Have never understood under driving the water pump. That's the first thing I would be changing.
What speeds are we talking about with cruising?

Once the car is over 60kph or so, the fan should not really even be required.
Best ways to check if it's running lean are either wideband O2 sensor, or EGT probes (not really viable).

[lifeis4living]

Cruising speeds around the 60-80km and and I have even taken trans cooler away from front of radiator. A neighbor who just finished his Cleveland XY said he had same problem and his fix was to go back to factory over drive wp pulley.

Now that I understand what pulley ratios mean I'm with you don't get it, especially in a mild car like mine. But I was naive and got sucked into thinking aftermarket parts must be good now I know better. So next I will buy a set of single groove factory pulleys. I have my old w/p 3 groove to try but cant find the crank pulley.

[Husky65]

If it's fine at idle and not cruising I'd say your radiator/fans are ok. Water pump and timing are the go to right away. Underdriven pulley is no good. What water pump is it too? Positive the head gaskets went on the right way also?

[hybrid]

Cruising speeds around the 60-80km and and I have even taken trans cooler away from front of radiator. A neighbor who just finished his Cleveland XY said he had same problem and his fix was to go back to factory over drive wp pulley.

Now that I understand what pulley ratios mean I'm with you don't get it, especially in a mild car like mine. But I was naive and got sucked into thinking aftermarket parts must be good now I know better. So next I will buy a set of single groove factory pulleys. I have my old w/p 3 groove to try but cant find the crank pulley.

Yes people do it because they think it will give them more power. My guess is it's negligible. On a race car that is always doing lots of RPM it might work out OK, but on a street car it's a bit of silliness. I thought it was only H*lden guys that did it

[lukep6470]

Steam hole related?

[lifeis4living]

Water pump is a cast iron Airtex. So nothing special. I have checked and double checked timing, with 2 different timing lights along with conferencing with engine builder....16 degree initial and it has 32 degrees max at approx 3000rpm on the ICE ignition.

When I tarted this project I was none the wiser and bought the pulleys cause they looked good and needed single groove. Im not expected the stock cooling system to do amazing things but not fail miserably either.

S0omething I was wondering in today is even though the fan is in a shroud with flaps at either corner could the rest of the flat surface be cause air to rebound and create dead air around the radiator? Putting the old mechanical one on could answer that question.