The vinegar is soaking in the engine now.  I filled her with white vinegar and ran it until it was hot, then shut her down.  I've read that I should leave it in overnight.  So that is my plan.  I checked the temps on the radiator after it was warmed up (almost over-heating) it was 200F+ on the passenger side, about ~170F in the middle and 190ish on the driver's side.  Those temperature ranges seemed to run vertically the full height of the radiator.

In the morning, I'll hook up the shop vac attachment and garden hose and run her through with well water.

I disconnected the hoses to the heater core and bought a new hose and just bypassed the heater core so I can clean that separately.  Here is what  I found in the original heater hose when I cut it off my poor cooling system!  The hose on the engine side of the manual valve was literally solid with blue-green goo!

Nate - Madison, Wisconsin

 

56 Ford Customline Sedan

 

Thanks Guys, I'm heading out of town this weekend for some relaxin' and fishin' up north, so I won't get a chance to do more experiementing.  But I will as soon as I get home and keep you posted.

I called a radiator shop in Madison today to ask about "rodding" a radiator and the guy wouldn't answer me.  Instead he told me to feel the radiator when the engine is hot to see if there are cold spots, then he also said to pull both hoses, put my hand over the lower hose opening and fill it with water.  Then quickly remove my hand and he said the water should shoot "straight" out, not fall like a water fall.   If it doesn't shoot out then it is clogged.  All good advice that you all have already told me and I plan to do, but didn't answer my question about rodding.

I asked again about "rodding" and he again didn't answer, just told me to feel for cold spots and also check my radiator cap.  I can't quite figure how a malfunctioning radiator cap could cause a car to overheat?

I've been keeping an eye on the lower hose, the spring is good enough that I can't collapse the hose with my hand, so I don't think the hose is collapsing.  Maybe tomorrow night I'll get a chance to feel for cold spots, then I'll run the vinegar through too.  See what happens.

Nate - Madison, Wisconsin

 

56 Ford Customline Sedan

 

Bill - When I got my car home from the (almost) original owner - the lower rad hose would collapse, because the internal spring was rusted to wire fragments and scattered throughout the block, thermostat and upper radiator tank. I found rusty wire at every location you could imagine.....

With little or no budget money - I'd still try the vinegar first....

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Marvh, that collapsing hose is often from no thermostat at high speed, causing a partial vacuum behind the flow and has been cause of many high speed over heats also. good point.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

Another thing to check is your bottom rad hose is not collapsing. A customer installed a new lower rad hose on his pickup once and it heated within minutes after driving and would not heat at an idle.

It wasn't until I goosed the engine that I saw the hose completely collapse. The new hose did not have the wire inside. Installed a wire from a used hose and problem was solved.

marv

Nate,

One question you asked that hasn't been answered is whether the water would overflowfrom the top when running water through the system. I can definitely say that it will overflow. Usually you have to turn the flow down to keep it flowing without coming out the top. I agree with the comments given already. You have a blocked radiator. As Bill says, save yourself some grief and time, pull outthe rad, get it rodded clean and then you have removed the rad from the list of possible problems. Having been sitting years it will be full of crud. What Marv said about the heat crossover is smething to consider once younhave crossed terad off.

Regards

Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!

Nate, i noticed you have manual heater tap on top of intake, it is important to open it and flush any buildup out of that water system before radiater reinstallation, at least thats how i would do it. good luck.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

Nate:

If the thermostat was in place during your flow test, then the water would back up and come out the filler neck.  If you had no thermostat, then you really do have a restriction, probably the radiator as others suspect.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Nate, i was actually referring to sending rad out and have the lower tank removed , dipped in chemicals, usually rods are pushed through each core to remove stubborn debris, tank refitted and pressure tested, it is a normal procedure. While thats away, flush the block with hose through all openings in turn. At least you know the rad is unblocked and block is free as possible from junk and system should work efficiently.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

I'm not sure how the system works on your sedan - but there may be a valve in the exhaust that forces heat to cross over under the carburetor in the intake - as opposed to the cross pipe at the front of the engine. When the valves get bound up - and they don't allow the front passage to open and work - it cooks the top of the engine pretty good.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona