Hi,

New guy here…

I have a 1967 Convert w/ 400 - T400 - AC (Texas car)

The engine is recently overhauled and it had a BeCool radiator on it. The temp is manageable at 195 during an 80 degree day just cruising easy.

I would like to put a stock HD radiator in the car along with the stock shroud and new Thermostatic clutch for the fan.
The previous owner could not get the car to cool down even with a locked 7 blade fan with a Desert Cooler radiator (brass/copper) with full shroud and no AC condensor.. He ran the timing at 6 BTDC along with 93 octane fuel with octane booster.

While working on the car to do some detailing, I removed the water pump as there was something clanking inside it. Turns our that the clanking was a pair of baffles that were rattling around inside.

After looking over the baffles, they appeared to be pretty restrictive. I have never seen these before and I am curious on a number of points:

1) Are the baffles supposed to rattle?
2) Can either of the two baffle plates (or both) be eliminated for better cooling (flow) ?
3) If the baffles are to stay, is there anything I can / should do to keep them from rattling? From pictures I have seen, there looks to be some sort of gasket around the perimeter of the baffles / plates - can I use RTV instead?
4) I have read the FAQ and used the search engine here. I am curious if there are any other tid-bits to making these cars run cool.

I appreciate any help you folks can give me! Since I lost my job 2 months ago, this car will probably end up being sold to continue keeping a roof over our heads. I hope not though...

Not sure about those rattling plates , BUT I can tell you my experience w a Texas Car still in Texas , when I bought it 2 yrs ago it ran hot...usually 220-230F and crept up in uphills...The foirmer owner had re-placed the orig. 350 w a 400...he installed an elec. fan to try to keep it down...I found out it was missing the "X" fillers ( between radiator support and nose) ,also it was missing one of the masticated fillers , replacements now are rubber....I already had the filler underneath....then I removed the electruic fan that now was just restricting air...now it runs cool, yesyterday in 98F weather it ran 195F on freeway at 75-80 mph , got up to 200-205 F at 90 mph...at a VERY LONG redlight it crept up to 210F ,but back to 195 again driving 50 mph...
I think you got to
1) make sure you have all the fillers
2)make sure you have a thermostat, without one water will run too fast thru without getting cooled
3)make sure radiator is clean..no restrictions , and 4) possibly those rattling baffles have something to do with it too...

And to me ( no expert) it seemes those rarttling baffles are broken off??and could be removed , but I think that means the water pump is broken , the baffles are prob. blades that should make the water flow..?
Bjorn

Hi Randy, there should be two "plates" or baffles, and two "tubes" with rubber bushings (that fit in where the water goes in and out of the ports), that all fit in between the water pump and the housing, sandwiched between, and should all be held in place, and should not rattle.

If you have all the components in place, and they are in good shape... there is no reason it shouldn't run at the right temp. There could be some air pockets in the cooling system (driil two small holes in the T-stat to let the air escape) the timing could be an issue (any pinging under load?) Carb running too lean? Do you have the front end baffels all in place as Bjorn mentioned?
Try a different T-Stat? These are just some of the issues you may run into as the cause of a hot running motor?

Try some water weter or similar product to help when all is said and done. After you find and fix a problem.

Good luck, I hope you don't have to sell it either! Where in the twinn cities are you? I lived in Bloomington and Burnsville for some time.

Brett - 67 Drop Top 455!

definitely buy a new pump. it will come with a gasket. make sure all your fillers are there, as mentioned. it couldn't hurt to throw a new thermostat at it. and fill it with a 70/30 mix of water/antifreeze. water cools better than the green stuff. and do a flush before you do your final fill. if one of your pump baffles corroded away, who knows what else might be floating around in there.
added note-distilled water is less corrosive than tap.

Another thing to check is make sure the fan your using is pulling enough air. Mine runs anywhere from 160-190 with an original ram air flex fan (or so i was told thats the fan i got) I used other fans and they dont pull enough air.

Hi Guys - thanks for the welcome and the help.

A little background on myself may be in order. I am a displaced (laid off) Information Technologist that is also a certified journeyman mechanic and racecar fabricator (my current and only vocation).

Now to address your messages:
Bjorn Sefeldt
* All of the filler panels and the "X" panels are there and in great condition.
* Thermostat is a 180 and has tested fine.
* Radiator is a new Desert Cooler - I can only assume that there are no restrictions in it.
* Water pump is new OEM - the plates did not have the rubber O-ring on them to keep them from rattling.

1stgenbirdman - Brett
* The 69 and later (from what I have read) use a different type of plate that requires O-ringed tubes to the timing chain housing. The 67 motor I have has no provision for the tubes although the port on the passenger side of the inner plate mates up with the hole through the housing to the block.
* Timing shouldn't be an issue if it's set at 6 BTDC. I will try different settings and note the results.
* Water wetter - may end up giving that a try too. I have a couple bottles in the trailer.
* I live in South Minneapolis not far from Minnehaha Park and the Mississippi river. I hope I don't have to sell it either but it's looking more like it has to go..

sixstarved - Scott
* Pump is new and seal is good. I made a new gasket from high density hardboard (USPS Priority Mail envelope).
* Corrosion - no real sign of corrosion. As I said earlier, this engine only has about 1500 miles on it. The steel plates were in real good shape.
* Coolant mixture - I typically run a 50/50 mix because it gets so bloody cold up here I want the extra protection. Also, that mixture has a substantially higher boiling point.

All - here is what I have done or am in the process of doing;

Water pump - I cleaned and re-installed the plates and sealed them in place with high-temp RTV since the rubber seals that they are supposed to be captured in have disappeared over the years. I now completely understand their function to allow a metered amount of coolant to be cycled from the block into the water pump and pushed back into the block - regardless of thermostat position. The plates also channel the output of the pump to the block. The WP itself was cleaned and re-painted, re-installed with a new gasket. It is the good HD 8 bolt unit with the cast impeller.

Radiator - I have removed the BeCool aluminum radiator and will be installing the Desert Cooler. 16# radiator cap. Factory shroud will also be re-installed.

Fan - the NOS Fan clutch will be installed. The clutch had been eliminated with a locked hub that would force the fan to spin at all times - this may be required if I cannot get it to cool down.

Heater core - hoses will be connected / they were blocked off before.

Timing - I found the distributor to be loose when I went to remove the cap and wires for inspection. I have no idea if it was ever tight but the engine ran well - it is possible that he set it at 6 degrees and never tightened it down!

Pulley - It has a HUGE pulley that actually is larger than the diameter of the crank pulley. I am sure the car would benefit from a smaller pulley. Any ideas where to find one?

Thanks for your help and insight guys! I am constantly amazed at the friendliness of fellow gearheads on the internet!

you hit it when you said big pulley. that problem just came up recently, with basically the same response.
next time the pulley may be the first thing questioned.
actually, last time it was. by the poster. i think. was that you davey?

Randy -

There is a guy here who goes by the handle "Jusride" who has a number of pulleys, and he's a great guy to deal with. However, there are a lot of different pulleys out there, and you need to make sure you're looking at the right one. You need to know the number of grooves you need (1 or 2) and the depth. (There's deep and shallow.) If you have one of each side-by-side, this makes perfect sense. Talk to him and he'll be able to work your problem out with you. He's right where you are in the pulley hunt.

Q