So the Suncoupe finally puked a little coolant yesterday.

I still hitting 210 on the highway pretty quickly. It cools a little when cruising at 40mph.
I bumped the timing up enough, it pings a tad when I mash it to the floor. I'm gonna back the timing off just a tad.
I guess I'll patiently wait for my TA high flow water pump.

 

I would flush the system add new 50/50 and don't forget to get the air out of the top hose, check the lower hose for the coil inside [ this stops the hose from collapsing ] good luck

 

There is no coil in the lower hose.
I've just ordered one.

 

I've changed to the OEM recommended 195 stat. New 3 row Champion aluminum radiator. Replaced the missing spring in the lower radiator hose.
Bumped the timing up till I heard it pinging a little at WOT.
Retarded the timing a little down from that.
This thing is still running at 210. I give up.
I'll throw the TA waterpump in the trunk for the road trip next weekend. Along with some 50/50.

 

Do you have a stall converter in the car? If so do your have an external cooler? How large?

 

Hey Larry, what’s a good radiator to get for a 70 455? And actually my motor is a 76 block with 72 top end. I still have the one that was in it. Don’t know what vintage it is buts it’s pre beat up. Thanks!

 

Mine ran at 210 with a 160* stat, a 185* stat and now a 195 stat.
It has a stall but no external cooler.

 

Do you have the correct pulleys on the engine? Maybe the water pump is not turning fast enough.

 

This one. Pricey but good.

 

Brian, in your original post you said " it recently started running hot around 210" which would lead us to believe your car normally runs cooler like maybe 190 or so. Your first stat was probably bad and like Hugger suggested in the third post a 160 is what you probably should have put back in. I'm not saying that's it but you've just about done everything else and 210 really isn't that hot but if your car normally runs cooler put the 160 in and see.

 

I tested the 160 and it's good.
I didn't always have a numbered gauge, just the factory H L sport gauge.
In my original post, I meant, for the first time puked a bit of coolant- which got me searching for a problem.
I guess the pulleys are the correct size. They look to be original sized to me.
I'm gonna throw some tools and a TA high flow water pump in the trunk and take the road trip.
The factory H L gauge always read the same in the winter or summer. I suspect the "Coupe never ran at anything below 200.

I called Champion radiator and was told the radiator I bought has 3 rows of 5/8 tubes.
I took a spin down the highway last night at about 70-75 MPH for about 15 minutes. Naturally it was at 210 quick and didn't go any higher.

So all in all,,, maybe its always been running this temp. Sometimes, I hate old cars.

 

Yeah, sometimes we all do. Are you hitting it with an infrared thermometer? I use those to check the temp all around the engine and radiator. You can point it at anything and instantly get the temp. Got them at harbor Freight for about $20 or so if you don't already have one. I don't trust gauges that much.

 

Yeah, I have one. Infrared to the stat housing always matches the AutoMeter temp gauge. Next time I get it up to temp, I'll check the upper and lower hoses too.

 

It was 70* here this evening. I was running the car in the garage and I notice the upper hose was pretty well pressurized. Temp was 210. I thought the new 195 stat was stuck closed.
I removed the thermostat (the 3rd one) and ran the car without a stat. Never went over 180 on a highway cruise.
When I came home I let it idle in the garage for about 10 minutes, it never went over 180. Still, the upper hose was still pretty well pressurized. 16lb cap.
Should the upper hose be that hard to squeeze? It's new.
I'm stumped. Days ago, I boiled the 160 stat that came in the car, it opened.

 

Back from the trip. 100 miles on the highway between 60 and 80 MPH, both ways, never saw temps above 190.