cooling issues

I posted on moparts about the problems Im having with my 66, if anyone happened to read it.

The engine is a freshly overhauled 060 318, 9:1 compression ratio, mp 268/272 .455 cam, shortie headers, running a 600 cfm carb., 302 heads pocket ported with 1.88/1.60 valves. It has maybe 4-5 hours running time on it. It has a 180 robertshaw thermostat (that is verified to be working correctly), 8 blade 4 3/8 inch impeller with an anti cavitation plate. Stock 22 inch radiator, recored with a "high efficiency" 2 row core, stock shroud, 7 blade 17 inch thermal clutch fan. New hoses, heater core etc. 50/50 coolant water mix.

Engine runs at 220F whether driving or idling. I checked the inlet and outlet temps on the radiator, 215-220 in, 195 out. Obviously the radiator isnt cutting it.

My question is: would trying various sized restrictors in place of the thermostat tell me much ? Or am I pissing my time away. My thought is that maybe the water pump is pushing the coolant thru the radiator too fast ?

I am leaning towards that not being the case, but if anyone has any thoughts about my next move I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Right now I am thinking a new Aluminum radiator is the way to go.
Author: admin