1950 ford 226 flathead running hot?

[Anonymous]

I just rebuilt my flatty 226. from top to bottom with new water pump,thermostat and had radiator flow check and cleaned.. The problem im having is at idle the temp seems to climb up to overheating but driving down road everything ok. Everything is stock. Any help would be great. Thanks. John.

 

[pedal2themetal45]

HI AND WELCOME TO THE BOARD..
Sometimes a new motor well heat due to close tolerances.. a couple of you coulds
1. maybe an electrict fan (mounted in front of the radator as a pusher)
2. go to a lower temp thermostat.. (160 or 170 deg)
3. make sure there isn't any air traped in the system. (dubble check the water level).
4. could be getting a wrong reading from gage due to its location. (ie.. stat-housing, back of block ect)..
Tim

 

[Anonymous]

I thought of the electric pusher fan but can not seem to find one 6 volt? Has the stock small 4 blade fan.Also temp. sending unit is in stock location on middle left side on cyl.head. If I let idle long enough I can start to hear water boil. Checked water level many times. Like I said before doe not overheat going down road, just at idle. This would not be a timing problem?
Thank you for your input.

 

[Fred]

Welcome to the world of flathead Ford ownership. A few questions:

1- Did you have your radiator rodded out (pull the tanks and run a wire down each tube) or just flow tested? My father's '47 pickup radiator passed flow testing with two cups of walnut shells in it.

2- How long does it have to idle to get hot?

3- Did you clean all the junk out of the water passages in the block? Flatheads are notorious for building up rust and scale in the water passages and for having sand in the bottom of the water passages left over from the casting process (it never got cleaned out at the foundery).

4- What thermostate are you running now?

5- Do you have a car or a truck?

These cars were not designed to sit in traffic for extended periods of time. To do this you need an electric fan (I know six volt fans are made, I need to check where). If you post this in the vintage six section you probably will get more specific responces. Keep us posted. Do you have any pictures of your vehicle?

 

[MustangSix]

Heating up at idle but ok on the road indicates an airflow problem A fan shroud or a more efficient fan should help.

Can you fit a thermal clutch fan? That would pull a lot more air at idle but would minimize hp losses.