Re: 120 advise

Posted by JWL On 2016/8/15 16:39:55

wjames - The vent hole serves two purposes. First, it allows some small amount of coolant to circulate with the thermostat closed; and second, helps to prevent an air lock in the system when refilling it.

The 1937 115C and the 120C Packards are similar and have unpressurized cooling systems.

I have a 160F rated thermostat in my 1937 Six (115C). I would not recommend going to a higher temperature one. My Six's temp gauge registers about mid-gauge (180) regardless of ambient temp. It will move a little higher (195) if stuck in traffic, but quickly goes down once the car is moving again. It has never boiled over on me.

Also, since I do not have to worry about extreme low temps here in Austin I only run about a 25% mixture of antifreeze. This is enough to protect it down to about 0F and provide anti-rust protection. The less antifreeze used the more efficiently the cooling system will work. In New Jersey you probably need to use the max recommended mixture of 50-50 for freezing protection down to-34F.

(o[]o)