I just changed the thermostat in my 56 Victoria with a 292. I had trouble last winter on some mornings with what I think was carburator icing and have noticed a yellow jelly like substance inside valve covers, road draft tube and oil fill tube. I was advised to run a hotter thermostat and switched from 180 to 195 degrees. My radiator is an aluminum replacement unit and I also replaced the heater core with a new unit last year. My only temp gauge is the stock gauge and with the 180 thermostat. It never registered past 1/4 . With the new 195 thermostat it registers nearly 1/2 the distance on the gauge but doesn't go farther. I have not had any leaks thus far but running the hotter temps make me nervous. Temperatures in Tulsa are not too extreme, but the condensation residue in the sheetmetal engine parts seemed to dictate that the engine needed to run hotter. I hope someone can advise me as to whether i should run a 7 lb cap instead of the 13 lb cap I have been using. Would the engine run just a litle cooler with a 7 lb cap?

With the new rad and heater core and considering the rest of the system is good (hoses), the 14# cap will raise the boiling point of the coolant.

Now with an alum rad, it requires a special coolant to prevent galvanization of the system.

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SENIOR CITIZEN MOMENT # ... ??? ... of the day ...

The milky substance on the underside of the rocker covers and oil fill cap indicates most likely condensation due to an ineffective CCV (Crank Case Ventilation) SYSTEM (road draft). It needs to be serviced or upgraded to a PCV system.

Have you had the cooling system pressure checked and she holds pressure?

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