[bakerman6578]

Hi all this is my first post. I hope I got it in the right place!!
I have a red 1966 mustang 289 v8 coupe. It has an edlebrock intake manifold, edlebrock 650cfm carberator, Headers (I think they are a tri y header but i dont know), all magnaflow exhaust, C4 auto transmission, and a low rear end ratio. Ill get pics in a bit on my profile

To the car me and my dad have put all new hoses, vacuume lines, radiator hoses, heater hoses, gas lines, fuel pump, rejeted carb correctly, cleaned card throughly, put in a new high performance 180 degree thermostat, new thermostat housing, changed coolant, drained gas tank and cleaned it, changed oil lol (it had verry little in it when we bought it) and put slick 50 in the oil for better or worse my dad puts it in everything and so far its only done good. It quieted down the valves to almost non exsistant. It sounded almost like an aircompressor when we bought it.

ok so i dont know what you need to know for my question so i included I think most things about the car you'll need to know. My question is the here in the southwest how likly is the car to overheat? I have been driving it some and now its getting hotter the temp just keeps creeping up higher with the temperature outside. The highest its ever gotten id say is 210 while idleing in the drive way we were not paying attention to the temp.

[snaranjo]

Its the stock radiator if I had to guess. Even with a stock 289 the radiator from the factory was never sufficient to cool the engine. You've now got some performance enhancements which are making even harder work for the radiator. Replace the radiator with good aluminum model - I have a two row in my performance 289 and it runs a cool as can be and I live in Phoenix.

[Keving]

Get an aluminum radiator from mustangsteve.com.

[bakerman6578]

thank you for the replies but is there anyway to help the stock radiatior? Im a bit short on money

[Icerat]

You can do a few cheaper things. Make sure you have a 7 blade fan and a fan shroud on there and of course make sure the cooling system is good and clean with a flush and then filled with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water. You can tweak the timing back just a bit too which will help it run cooler to an extent.

[bakerman6578]

ok it has a seven blade fan but what type of shrod should I get it has one but its cracked and it dosent even go around the fan? should it? but its cracked so where can i get a new one and again thank you for the help

[Mn66emberglo]

I have a 47 Ford with a flathead V-8. The old flatheads were notorious for overheating due to the water flow past the exhaust valves. One trick a lot of Fordbarners (early V-8 post similar to this) is a mixture of antifreeze/distilled water and Purple Ice. The purple ice is a wetting agent that helps on heat transfer. Capacity of the coolant in a 66 with a 289 is 15 quarts. Typical mix is 50% water to 50% antifreeze and 1 or 2 bottles of Purple ice. Old timers in warm areas sometimes go slightly higher in percent on the water side. Ford manual thought recommends 50/50 max. They indicate a top temp of 250F without boiling with the correct pressure cap.

[Icerat]

Originally Posted by bakerman6578

ok it has a seven blade fan but what type of shrod should I get it has one but its cracked and it dosent even go around the fan? should it? but its cracked so where can i get a new one and again thank you for the help

I would try a junk yard, you can find many old cars with fan shrouds still on them. Measure your fan diameter first to make sure the fan will clear the opening. Mounting can be made to work with a little creative thinking on anything. Of course the factory shroud was metal and is not all that expensive you can find them on ebay and from any of the Mustang vendors.

Mn66 has a good idea about the additive as well. Anything you do will help.

[RagHead]

When I had my modded 289, before I nutted up and sold it , I ran a 160 degree t-stat and no shroud with the 50/50 mix and had no overheating problems. It was set up almost like yours except it had a mild cam and a BW T10 four speed. Have a radiator shop to check your radiator to make sure it is clean and use the proper pressure cap. You may need to run a trans cooler also.

[thetvirus]

210 degrees is still in the range of being ok, right? my car will go to 210 while sitting in traffic but once moving it is 180-190 degrees. I have stock type 3 row radiator, 4 blade fan (fan is 1/2 inch from the radiator), no shroud. Thinking of getting one of those cool overflow tanks that sit right on the side of the radiator.

[andrewmp6]

And get a smaller carb anything over 500cfm on a stock 289 is over kill,Bigger is not always better.You need a 6 or 7 blade fan a 4 blade don't have enough cfm.And you need a shroud with out one the fan won't suck air through the radiator.

[cindys_sn95]

get a good fan and some water wetter.

[mustangman1966t]

Another option is to convert to an electric fan. It will take stress off the engine and free up some hp.

[bakerman6578]

ok about the 160 degree thermostat... wont this hurt the engine when its cooler cuz it gets down in the 60s here? I am gunna get a new shroud when i order some other patrs. Also ive been reading some bout this problem and ive found something about a spring type device in the lower radiator hose. To keep the hose from collapsing? is this an important part? we didnt install it?

[cindys_sn95]

yes it is important, get one. you will not hurt anything with a 160 thermostat.