It will be summer in Florida soon.  My 55 TBird doesn't run hot unless I get caught in traffic.  As soon as the car moves it cools back down to 170-180.   I have an older stock radiator, a 170 degree thermostat and a multi blade stainless fan.  I'm thinking about installing an aluminum radiator and electric fan combo to help with summer driving. Will this make a difference?

Better cooling while moving indicates a lack of air flow. Maybe just a high quality electric fan on your radiator will solve your problems. I use a Cooling Component fan/shroud on my flathead-powered '38. It turns on at 195 degrees and immediately begins to cool down, no matter how hot it is outside. 

My '55 Fairlane acts like yours. It has stock radiator tanks with a new 3-row core (copper/brass). I'll probably put a Cooling Component fan on it, too. I'll be following your thread to see what you do and the results. 

See Ted Eaton's post in the Aftermarket Cylinder Heads & other new parts about the new spacers for the '55-57 Thunderbirds.  I just purchased one, and it looks like it will solve the water flow issue at low engine speeds.  Might not need the new radiator and electric fan.  I am trying to get rid of my fan and wiring to clean up the engine compartment.   Joe-JDC 

JDC

Here’s a link to an older thread, and it contains a link with more info. Several different solutions. If the stainless fan you’ve got is what I’m guessing, it’s part of the problem.

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic131114.aspx

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Over heating at idle indicates  a coolant and / or airflow problem.  Seeing as it is a bird, it is probably a coolant flow problem.  No one has actually tested one of the spacers that Joe mentions but if it works as advertised, it is exactly what you need.

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic135031.aspx

Other solutions are to eliminate the pump spacer and then space out the fan.  A smaller diameter pulley may also help.  That will speed up the pump and fan. 

You can observe coolant flow by getting the engine up to temp with the radiator cap off and observing coolant flow.  If it is only a trickle or nothing at all, then coolant flow is definitely contributing to the problem.





Lawrenceville, GA

Here's a photo of the fan setup in my 55 TBird.  It was this way when I bought it.   I hate this fan.  My car has a manual transmission and it sounds like a windmill when I run through the gears.  As you can see I have the heater disconnected.  The thermostat in this car is a new 170 degree with the large opening that I bought from NPD.  The car runs right at 170 degrees running down the highway.   When I get into heavy traffic the temperature starts to creep up.  So far no big problems, but I'm worried about this summer.   We have long lines at some of the car shows which could be a problem for me.

The radiator looks stock to me.  It doesn't leak.  I replaced the radiator cap with a new unit.  It doesn't overflow when I park it in the garage.  I run 50/50 antifreeze and water.  I am willing to do whatever it takes to improve this issue.   I can have the radiator core rebuilt or buy a new aluminum radiator.  I don't have a problem with an electric fan as long as it's not too noisy.  What do you think?

I can't remember if the Florida 'bird is a stick or an automatic? When I ran my car (with the factory cooling set-up) with the radiator cap off and the auto-trans in drive held by the brake - the low idle performance of the water pump was practically NIL. You couldn't see any movement of the fluid in the upper tank, even when I knew the thermostat was wide open. Simply switching to a smaller diameter fan pulley will work wonders for this situation. Getting rid of the factory T-bird spacer and then moving everything ahead, back to the proper fan / shroud / radiator spacing would also help a lot.

I ended up with a seven blade fan on mine - but I also fitted a Hayden clutch to cut the fan speed when it wasn't required.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

This car has a manual transmission with O/D.  I'll check the coolant flow at idle the first chance I get.  Where can I buy a smaller diameter fan pulley?  What do I ask for?   How much space do I want between the fan and the radiator.  Sorry for all the questions.

What's with the radiator upper hose moved to the left side?  I can see where the original fitting was removed and the hole filled in.  Maybe done for an air conditioning compressor installation?  If there isn't some kind of baffling inside the top tank, the water may be only circulating on the left part of the radiator.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

I never noticed that before.   The car came to me that way.   I see from photos of other TBirds that the hose should be on the right.   Anyone have a clue why this would have been changed?   Any reason I shouldn't install an aluminum radiator?