I REALLY REALLY don't want to loose my engine side panels, but it looks like I'm going to have to do something to get more air flow. It's no problem on short trips, but I've been doing 1-2+ hour runs and when it's 80+ degress doing 70+ on the highway, the temp climbs pretty high and stays there. Not only does the motor run hot, but even with all the insulation I added and air holes sealed up, I can feel the warmth. It's never overheated, but I want to try everything possible before I start cutting holes in my side panels.
I heard there was a bigger fan that will bolt right in to the same mounts as the stocker, but that's not going to help on the highway. BTW, I'm already using water wetter and swapped over to a 180 stat.
Did you seal up the massive holes at the lower firewall corners ? If not you can probably feel a bunch of hot air entering above the door latch area that effects interior temps.
In regard to engine compartment temps, you might consider hood and side panel louvers or vents. I have some on my car and ideas for other alternatives if you care to discuss.
Regards,
Tim Whittaker
Last edited by Tim Whittaker; 06-18-2012 at 03:59 PM..
Yup, when I installed my hood and side covers, the engine temp went up 15-20 degrees. All I've done is pore in some "Cool-It" coolant additive. That dropped the engine temp about 5 degrees. That was just enough for my stock 4.6 DOHC to stay under 205 degrees even on a 95 degree day here in the Carolinas.
The larger CFM fan is the way to go to reduce idle temps. FFR has one on their parts web page.
Yes, I've sealed the gaps between the frame and the body near the kickpanels. I really like the clean look and really don't want to carve it up to put in louvers or vents. But that may be only way to allow enough air flow. It's supposed to be around 90 here this week so maybe I'll take the panels off and run it just to see how it performs.
I couldn't find the fan on the FFR parts page Rumbles.
If the louvers are mounted on the inside, you really don't see them that much until you are aft of the cowl. They are facing forward inside and serve the same function, they just don't protrude above the surface and disturb the line.
I'm placing 4 rows on my hood and will post pictures. The ones ( 1 row ) on the side panels can be seen on my build page.
I'm going to copy Olli's approach, if he doesn't mind, and cut my side panels down on a diagonal line while maintaing my side graphics. Got an extra set of panels and will try my idea when I get back to Az.
I put the cobra style side vents in mine and with the stock coyote it runs cool the fan hardly ever turns on l think it stays around 190 but can't remember for sure but the vents didn't make a difference on the engine temp but did help the inside of the car temp I haven't sealed up nothing yet on mine yet but intend to on the final build I found that the floor boards are the worse I brought some stuff to wrap the exhaust pipe I also got a wrap made for the mufflers
I'm also concerned about engine bay and cabin temperature. I made some exhaust heat shields for under the car. I insulated the firewall with heat insulation. I still don't thinks that enough. With a 8 cylinder motor inches away from the firewall I don't know what else to do to avoid the heat issue in the cabin.
I haven't driven the car yet, but has anyone taken engine bay temperatures with the hood and side panels on?
The other issue I don't like is placing the air filter right behind the radiator (modular build). All that hot air coming from the rad cant be to good for air intake temperatures and power.
Well I pulled the side panels off and it stayed at 210 yesterday and it was 93 degrees. But it started to creep up with the A/C on at a stoplight. I think the stock fan isn't adequate with the A/C condenser in front of the radiator.
My friend Pat B with a FFR 33 locally here swapped the fan with one of these (I'm checking with him to verify which one) and he said it made a big difference.
These 4.6 DOHC motor are weird because the Tstat is located on the INLET to the engine. So if you have a 190 stat going in, you will always have at least 200-220 comming out. I think a future mod will be to relocate the stat to the outlet of the engine and get rid of the bypass (although the stat will need bypass holes so it can monitor the engine temp as it circulates during warmup)
I'm also finding the round overflow tank is inadequate for the all aluminum engine, they expand and contract alot. The coolant fills the tank, but when it cools off, it sucks the overflow dry. Might need two of those.
With no windows, keeping my feet cool has been an issue, there's plenty of air movement around my head. So, I redirected one of the A/C vent down to my feet. That works awesome!! I think I will be tackling the windows soon, between the blower whine, exhaust note and wind noise, my head is ringing after a couple hours on the highway.
"....between the blower whine, exhaust note and wind noise, my head is ringing after a couple hours on the highway..."
I keep ear plugs in the car all the time when the hardtop is on. With it off, the car is quite a bit quieter. Even so, on a longer drive I usually plug my ears. A good set blocks a lot of the noise but still lets you hear what you need.
Generally according to my ear guy, the longer your ears ring after a 'noise event' the greater the damage done to your hearing.
My neighbor was a WWII bombardier and already noticed hearing loss when he first returned from the war. By the time I knew him he was nearly completely deaf. I asked him once if his ears rang after a bombing run and he said, "Oh yea. Sometimes it was so bad I was nearly sick to my stomach. Sometimes my ears would ring for a couple of days after a mission."
Even when I raced, I wore ear plugs. I could actually hear the tires better with plugs in, over the engine noise. They're cheap and work wonders. On long trips in a noisy car or truck I find it less fatiguing if I wear ear plugs.
Just my 2 cents.....
__________________
Tom #007 Street Rod; #2911SP Challenge Racer (Sold, 06/2010) V.I.R.U.S. (Very Immature Racers of the United States)
I am interested in feedback on fan. I am leaning toward the higher cfm one but it is almost twice the price of the 3000 cfm. I am seeing my temps creep up with my 351W if driving slow or at stoplights. It is 90+ in Indiana right now. Haven't went past 210 but don't like that. I have my temp sender at back of block. I have the full shroud and I mounted the fan with rivnuts and screws but bottom two will still be a pain to access. I only want to do this once if I decide to swap fans.
Yup, the '33 is loud with the hard top on. I've added the tail pipes, weatherstripping and probably 80 lbs of sound dapening materials. It's much better now, but I still wear ear plugs on long cruises.
"....between the blower whine, exhaust note and wind noise, my head is ringing after a couple hours on the highway..."
I keep ear plugs in the car all the time when the hardtop is on. With it off, the car is quite a bit quieter. Even so, on a longer drive I usually plug my ears. A good set blocks a lot of the noise but still lets you hear what you need.
Generally according to my ear guy, the longer your ears ring after a 'noise event' the greater the damage done to your hearing.
My neighbor was a WWII bombardier and already noticed hearing loss when he first returned from the war. By the time I knew him he was nearly completely deaf. I asked him once if his ears rang after a bombing run and he said, "Oh yea. Sometimes it was so bad I was nearly sick to my stomach. Sometimes my ears would ring for a couple of days after a mission."
Even when I raced, I wore ear plugs. I could actually hear the tires better with plugs in, over the engine noise. They're cheap and work wonders. On long trips in a noisy car or truck I find it less fatiguing if I wear ear plugs.
Just my 2 cents.....
Thanks for your concern Tom and Rumbles, but it's not really that bad, my ears aren't ringing (that's why I put a smiley face) But there's enough noise going on plus it make the A/C much less effective that it just makes putting the windows in that much more sense. I just haven't had a change to do it.
The overflow tank that comes with the kit is way to small to use with a 4.6.I found one on E-Bay for $35.00 free shipping too.It's 3"X16" and holds 52oz.I filled it up and ran the engine till the fan came on.It only went down about 2 to 3".Should be good to go now.
I have 351W 40 over with aluminum heads. I am running full shroud on radiator. 180 thermostat. I am using the switch in radiator fan comes on no issues. Have a manual override switch to turn on when I want. Temp still creeps up slowly in slow moving traffic. Not seeing it get above 210 very far but I dont let it. I am avoiding that situation until I am comfortable the cooling will stabilize below the 210 mark. I think a higher CFM fan will keep it in range I am comfortable with. I too need a bigger overflow. Mine pushes all the fluid out of the small one we received and then sucks it empty. I have to add about 8 ounces to fill radiator back full. so I think the 52 or 56 one would cure since the FFR one is 26.
Are you guys using my Radiator shroud? It should help at low speeds to draw more air through the radaitor. Probably wont do much for highway speeds.
Mike
I was looking at a hot rod (street rod really) that had a tight fitting BBC a few weeks ago. He had constructed two pretty large sheetmetal blast tubes that pulled in air from under the bumper. He said the tubes helped a bunch. This evening I was under my new Ford Explorer and had to remove a cooling duct to get to the oil drain plug. It had a warning stamped right on it that it MUST be in place for proper cooling.
It might be worth a look. I'm not sure if this is standard or part of the trailer towing package. It pulls right off with 3 thumb screws.
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