I think the 3 blade was bad either way. The T-Bird original chrome ones were terrible.

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

So to be clear, having the blades angled in towards the driver-side is wrong. Well okay.. that's a new one on me but it might explain the problems I've had with it seeming to run hotter then I'd like. Which way was it oriented from the factory?

Strangest friggin thing happened to me today, this Y-block is taking me on a ride and not in a good way.
I did what you guy's suggested, removed the bottom radiator-hose, cut off about an inch of the end coming off the rad and re-attached it. Had myself wading in a puddle of coolant all down my back trying to do it too... refilled the system (after bathing of course) and checked for leaks. No leaks.

I decide to go on a test-drive at higher speed and get on the highway. Car gets up to temperature around 180 about 10 minutes from the house, I'm on the highway at this point just got on. About 2 miles down the highway temperature starts raising quick as an SOB and it gets up to about 240 something before I roll onto the shoulder of the highway and turn her off. Trail of water going down the road, under my car and a puddle underneath the radiator area. I open up the hood and look and see the drip-pan dripping wet but can't tell where the loss of coolant came from. The bottom radiator hose was dry on both ends, drain cock was closed, no wetness around any of the coolant or heater hoses.. I'm stumped. I'm stuck there on the side of the highway starving for about an hour until roadside assistance get a truck out to me to get her home.

I get home, go out in my regular car and pick up three gallons of distilled water because I figure I'm going to be doing some leak searching. I top off the radiator with water, it needed about a gallon to top off. I start her up in the yard there and try to recreate the conditions. No leaks right off the bat.. bone dry can you believe that? The car hemorrhages a gallon of coolant on the highway, I get it home and not a drop comes out. I figure okay.. let's get her up to temperature maybe the thermostat needs to be open. So I sit there with my foot on the peddle a bit trying to get her heated up, the car gets up to right below 180 and wont go any higher. Great now when I WANT it to start overheating it WONT. I put some cardboard in front of the radiator and push the peddle down a little higher.. still wont go above 180 and still isn't leaking.

I just don't get it, you'd think if it was a high-pressure thing that caused something to open up and leak it would still be popped open, if it was something that opened due to heat expansion it would have started leaking again when it got up to temperature... what the hell?

Just a guess, a wild guess. When you refilled it after doing the radiator hose, did you just fill it, or run it with the cap off and the heater on till you purged all the air from the system? I've had more than one car that would air lock, and took a while to burp out. Especially if the T stat is in an air pocket and doesn't open. Where's the overflow hose from the radiator cap running to? Does it drain on the bottom tray?

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

Well no, I just refilled it till it was full again. I knew that it would need more once the engine had ran some because I still had like half a gallon left in a pan on the floor but I figured what would be in there already would be enough to get by on and I'd just come home, let her cool off, then add the rest and burp it later.
I actually constructed an overflow tank out of a mason jar but that tank has an overflow of its own too. I found out after I went to the trouble of constructing it that it was apparently a waste of time I guess. : /

If you don’t have an overflow tank you need to leave the water down at least 1” for expansion with whatever cap you are using. I believed the original was #7-9 but a lot of older cars I’ve seen have #15.
May not be your problem but if I don’t leave mine down it will dump it on the ground out the overflow.

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

Okay, well I do have an overflow.

Half...... I’ve not had one on my 56 for 7years I’ve owned it. I fought overheating for 5 years before Greenbird here said to put on a smaller water pump pulley. Mine was mostly an idle problem and getting it to cool down after a long signal in 85+ degree weather. I didn’t want the look of one and our family owned 2 yblock 55-56 Fords when new and never ever had a overheating problem. Factory at that time was 1” low and it still works today.

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

I think you were just low on water the first time around. Opening the lower hose drains things pretty well, maybe even some out of the heater circuit. You were low enough on water that when everything refilled the radiator didn't have enough in it to cool, you got to boiling, and the pressure pushed more out. If it won't overheat now, and give it a couple of heat/cool cycles, make sure you've got heat from the heater (showing it's filled), check it for full (see DLR's comment) and go for a ride.

Remember if you've got an overflow tank and it's full, a full radiator will overflow the tank when it warms up.

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

Mine has a problem with cooling down after a long idle, usually not at a light but if I'm waiting in traffic or in a line of cars. But also it has a problem of getting hot trying to drive on the highway. The car will get up to 180 and stay there for 10ish minutes where I'd like it to stay, but sure enough it'll start raising up to 190 slowly. Sometimes it'll slowly go back down to 180 again and wobble between the two but sometimes it'll keep going up and I'm forced to get off the road and let her cool. If you guys are suggesting I change fans I might as well change to that smaller pulley while I'm at it. Can you point me in the direction of where to get one of those pulleys?