I will be installing the radiator and adding the coolant this weekend. Is there any special sequence to filling the radiator with coolant?

I don't know about special sequence, but if running a stock set up, the top of the fuild should be down about 4" from the top of the radiator. Without an expansion tank, you need to leave some room for internal expansion of fluid or it will puke out the overflow tube. I learned this the hard way soon after picking up my 400 'vert. Correct level is a lot lower that you would be used to based on modern cars.

Thanks,

Harold,

What coolant are you going to use?
Remember that new stuff available.

I was just going to use the green Prestone. Is there something else better?

if you have AC use 50/50 , water /coolant...if no ac , use 30% coolant....cools better

There are the new waterless coolants like Evans NPG. Experts swear their engines run cooler and there are no corrosion risks.

That's what I run in my 'birds and have not had any issues.

I've read about these, but $200 for coolant seems a little steep. I saw Jay Lenno advertise for them. If I had his money I would buy that.

Evans NPG

Saw a great article in Pontiac HP mag. Worth every penny!
Save you money and time use this stuff. Your car will stay cooler.

http://www.highperformancepontiac.com/tech/hppp_0901_pontiac_engine_cooling_system_upgrade/

Still need freeze protection up here in the winter, (unless you store your car in a heated garage.) Monday night's forecast is something like 22º below 0!

Evans has plenty of freeze protection. Rated to -40.

Expensive. But long term savings because (in theory) it's permanent. Unless you crack the system open for something else you'll never need to replace it again, compared to the 2 year program with regular green stuff.

Of course if you crack open your system you're gonna lose some and have to buy more.

There's no time like a fresh build when everything is new to put it in. But once you add anything else to the system, even for just a test run, you're in for a heck of a pre-flush procedure...

Read up on the science behind it. This stuff is "coolant" the rest is just "antifreeze".

IF you crack the heater hose where it is attached to the head and fill untill you see some water coming out you may be able to eliminate an air pocket or two. I left out my thermostat for the first run when I reinstalled it im my car just to get all the air out. Then put the thermostat back in when it cooled.

Personally I use 50/50 anti freeze/water a good brand will give you corrosion protection and cooling. It has to be changed for new every couple of years. Even if I had Jay's money I don't know if I'd spend that much on coolant.

I also use 50/50 anti freeze/water I agree use a good brand and it will last a few years.
I Left my thermostat opened and filled it up from the opening and it seemed to get most the air gaps out.
Installed the thermostat just before break-in.

normal cooling system runs on mixture of ethylene/propylene glycol and water typically 50/50 in a closed/pressurized system.

The high pressure in the system increases the risk of parts failures and the water causes oxidization.

The Evans product from looking at their patents runs at lower pressure and doesn't use water (glycol based) - so no oxidization and reduced risk of parts failure from pressure. Only thing I didn't find in the patents was how the heat transfer of their product compares to traditional cooling solutions...

Still pretty interesting...

Agree, very interesting.
They seem to tout the high boil point as the main advantage, allowing engines to run with a higher coolant temp without boil-over. I don't want my coolant to be hotter than it is now. I'm on the edge of detonation as it is. Evans Q&A site says they typically run hotter than the same cooling system with a 50/50 water antifreeze mix. But if I could get the same heat transfer at near atmospheric pressure as I do with my coolant at 10 pounds I'd use it, if the thermal expansion wasn't so high that I would need a larger overflow tank. I think air in the cooling system causes a lot of the overheat problems.
I'm not saying the stuff isn't any good but the magazines and Jay are paid to sell products so you kind of have to take their praise with a grain of salt.
I may try some one day and compare it to the 50/50 mix I use now, if it works as advertised I'll be on this site hailing it myself.

Sorry to hijack this post. Being a novice it seems that I learn of something everyday that I hadn't thought about.

In regard to air pockets in the cooling system, is there a proper procedure to bleed or burp the system of air? I searched the forum but came up empty. I stumbled upon something on the internet about leaving the radiator cap off and running the engine for 15 mins, but I figured I would throw it out to you all for advice/input.

Thanks!
Bernie

That's how I've always refilled anti-freeze/coolant on mine after a drain/flush. Don't know if it's 15 minutes or not before it is obvious that it is full and time to put the cap on.

Thanks for the guidance Jim.

Bernie

Since mine only gets run in summer months, only use water. Hate the sticky feel of coolant if any maintenance needs done. Plus having to get rid of it.
Every fall drain radiator and remove plugs on cylinder case. Then run a few min's jic.
As far as filling/burping , i drilled two 1/8 holes in stat. And also leave cap off till up to temp. Then add to "full when hot" mark.

x2 for Jim

I would not run with 100% water as that just guarantees corrosion. Also, I would flush it with antifreeze if you want to empty it in the fall. Water caught up in the block could cause a heave when the water freezes.

If you leave cooling system empty then you have air and water creating corrosion inside your engine all winter.

Think it's better to leave 50% solution in the engine cooling system. I started my engine in the spring and fall for more than 30 years and never had a leak or engine failure. Just a body panel corrosion problem

I too would rethink the practice of running straight water in the system. When you drain down, you draw air into the system and the parts that dry out will loose part of their protective passive corrosion layer. When you refill, you will fill with oxygen rich water even if it is DI water.