how much of a difference would a ram air hood and 2 14 inch electric fans make on my 69 custom, on horse power and cooling.
The ram air helps a little...I don't know about immediate hp gains. The engine does want cool, dense air, though, and the ram air is one way to do it On the electric fans, I feel the stock system can be made to function really well. What cooling problems do you have? Cooling down a 455 is one of my pet interests on these cars. Let us know what the problem is, someone here can definitely solve them
i really dont have any issues w/ the temp, i just want more HP, i have been told that the ram air and the E-fan would help out, tell me what you guys think. thanks alot
462CID, Howdy, I see from your post that you have expertise on cooloing these 455V8's. I took my '76 Electra Ltd., to Mayo Clinic back in 1997, and going thru the Chicago Loop, on my return to Ann Arbor. The smell of coolant was detected during the stop and go traffic. When I got back home and checked the car over the next day I saw the waterpump was leaking out the weep hole and went to Murrays, where they replaced the pump for free, because of the lifetime warranty. The new water pump had a very different impeller. It was a stamping similar to an alternaror fan. The old pump had a nice scrolled casting that was not the same as the replacement. This car would never overheat. But it started running hot and the fan clutch had failed and replacing it stopped the overheating. But this car still runs hotter than it always had. I had the radiator recored before the rest of the problems. It's OK now, but not the same as before. I have also had several waterpumps replaced. The first one let go in the service write-up area at Ann Arbor Buick! They seem to be the Achilles Heel of my 455. Why? I checked the specs and had the dealer check them, they weren't too tight. Is this a common thing with the 455's? I remember when we bought the car new, that the engine heat coming out of the sides of the car was much more than our previous Buick 455's. Just an observation.
