Hey everyone I am looking for ideas. I not really comfortable with the engine temperatures on warm days. I find it climbs on the gauge from the 3/4 mark to the 7/8 mark at idle in traffic or when I get on the throttle for a bit of fun. The car has a fresh 272 with 1000 miles on it and has a Ford-o-matic for a transmission and a 2 row radiator that was freshly rebuilt though the top rad tank was not soldered well so I had to fix it.

This is what I have tried so far.
 1. Fixed rad leak in top tank seam pressured to 18 lbs held pressure for 4 hours perfectly and the rad cap tested fine at 13 lbs.
 2. Put on a flex-a-lite fan to replace the stock fan.
 3. Put on a fan shroud it is not perfect as far as opening, but the fan is 1" from the rad and only half way into the shroud it will pull a paper towel into the rad in the front from 6" easily at idle.
 4. Increased the jet size by one number past stock to make up for today's fuels and I only run premium that has zero ethanol.
 5. Set the timing to 10 degrees BTDC.
 6. At idle the engine has a steady vacuum of 18 hg.
 7. Set the valves to 21 thou cold and you can hear them at cold idle then they quiet up as the engine warms.
 8. Engine idles at 500 rpm and has a very slight miss every so often, but seems fine.
 9. The engine has dual 2 1/4" exhaust with no warm up riser on the one side. 

Now any ideas the water pump was a rebuilt from Napa the rad has coolant 1/2" from top edge of rad cap the tank is slanted to the front and when it shuts down a couple tbsp of coolant vents. I am running a 60-40 mix of coolant and water. The thermostat is 190 degrees.  Am I worrying too much?

It sounds like you are using the stock gauge, which isn't useful for much more than noticing when something is out of the ordinary.

Get a laser or infrared thermometer and maybe even a proper gauge that indicates the temperature for the inside of the car.  You will not be able to determine if there is an issue until you know what the temperature is.

The infrared can be used to check the idle temperature.  Simply let it idle and check the temperature right behind the thermostat.  You really want to ensure that it stabilizes.  The temperature is not so much of a concern so long as it is not overheating.  The engine is not overheating until coolant is boiling out.  It may run hotter than you are comfortable with but not boiling = not overheating.





Lawrenceville, GA

Does it actually overflow at all?
Get an accurate reading of the temperature at the thermostat housing with the engine warmed up. The "high" reading of the gauge may not be indicative of the actual temp. One of the infrared hand-helds works good for this. 
Dump the flexible fan and get a real six blade with some pitch to it.
Check into reducing the water pump pulley size so you can move more water through the cooling system. At hot idle, with an automatic in gear and the brakes locked - usually not much water flow. 

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

You might also look into replacing the Rad with an Aluminum replacement. Available on Ebay. Very reasonable Price. I have One and very happy with it. Seems well made, fits good, and does make a difference in stabilizing Temp. I use a  Widemouth 170 Stat. Napa #6 THM6. Ebay item # 272960634233, The opening is bigger than regular Stat. More flow. .Others will suggest a "Robertshaw" type Stat. I have tried 3 of these and could never get them to work properly. This Napa 6 worked great right from the start. A Mechanical Temp Gauge is far more accurate than the original Dash Gauge. I drilled and tapped behind the Thermostat Housing on the flat part of the Intake Manifold for the Sender.

  

My 55 TBird ran hot idling in traffic.  I replaced the stock radiator with a three row Champion aluminum radiator.  I also removed the stock fan and installed an electric fan in it's place.   The whole package cost me less than $350.   Now I don't have to hear the old "wind mill" fan and my car runs 170 degrees in hot Florida weather.  Best upgrade I ever did.

All great ideas everyone. I will check with my infrared tester and consider a smaller pulley.

Anyone know of what pulley and where to get it on line?

If You measure your Diameter You should be able to find One on Ebay. Many of the Ford V-8 Pulleys can Interchange. Just check the Height from inside the Pulley to the end of the "Snout" sitting on a flat Surface. If You know what Diameter Yours is someone on the Site may have a smaller One. 7" seems to be a popular stock Diameter. Try and find One 6 1/2 or 6 3/8. Put an ad on the Classifieds Section..

  

At 1000 miles Id say it should be settled in...but? . As others have said check with a good gauge and infrared . Thermostat would be best at 180, but Im sure what you have is fine.



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

I followed Greenbirds advice 6 yrs ago with a smaller pully. Bought mine for a 60's Mustang along with a spacer kit from Summit. I also added a plug to the bypass hose and drilled a 1/8" hole in it. With these two changes I was able to use a 4 blade fan to keep the noise down. I believe a 180 thermostat should be your max and remember your radiator is not the only item in your system that sees the pressure. I use a #7 pound cap. Good luck.

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

For 13 years I struggled with our ’56 Thunderbird overheating, particularly at low engine speeds.  Then four years ago, I reached my boiling point and engaged a project to identify and resolve the issue.  ASU Now recently did a story on the project that you can see at: https://asunow.asu.edu/20180403-solutions-making-thunderbirds-cool or you can see the details on our website:
https://pti-az.com/
 
Casting Flash
 
Cooling Research Detail

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