Re: 1934 1104 running hot

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2009/7/7 15:02:27

Yes, you've got some problem as the car should run under nearly all conditions at the temperature of the Sylphon, 160-165 degrees. Has the engine been recently rebuilt? If so, running a bit hot for 1000 or more miles isn't unusual. If the engine wasn't rebuilt, has the block at least been cleaned internally with chemical cleaners? Or the side jacket removed and the block cleaner? Did the car sit idle for many years?

The radiator would be the more-likely source of the problem if it's a single source, but let me ask some further questions. Is the water flow blocked off between the jacket and the oil cooler? If so, and some have done it by just adding a blank plate, you interrupt most of the water flow to the block, that must be open to permit the cool water to flow into the oil cooler, and then exit it to the rear of the jacket.

Your problem could also be compounded by several other items, how about ignition timing? Fan belts a matched set or at least both doing about equal work? Belts the right width so they ride on the sides of the pulley and not the bottom? Overly restrictive exhaust system? Dragging brakes?

I'd have the radiator flow rate checked, Packard's specification for similar radiators in the 10th series Super Eight was 30 gallon/minute for a new radiator, and 24 gallons/minute the lower minimum limit for a used core.