Hi my name is Thomas comerford. I own a 1953 chevy 210 with a straight six 292. I'm just curious what the water tempature is for those engines. I picked the car up today from the alignment shop. It ran great and was very responsive. I didnt notice what the water tempatue gauge was reading when I picked it up but it was held steady at 210 degrees. Again it ran great just wondering if that's normal operating tempature for that motor. Thanks
There's too many variables on a car that old. Rad type, shroud, water pump, etc etc. 210 is high, but not too high. Keep an eye on it.
Straight water boils at 210*F at sea level. Boiling is what you want to avoid. 50/50 mixture with antifreeze raises the boiling point to 223*F. Adding a pressurized cap that will build some pressure in the system will raise the boiling point about 3* per pound of pressure. On an old system like that you don't want to add too much pressure, but ~5 lbs should be Fine. That combined with 50/50 antifreeze/water mix will get you ~ 222*F before it boils.
The rad is a brand new aluminum rad, water pump also new installed last fall. No fan shroud I gotta make one. As I said I didnt notice what the tempature was when I picked it up but that's what it read on the way home. I'm gonna go Thursday and see what the gauge reads on start up.
i used to run a 11 lb cap with original radiator. it would get 200 to 210. never bothered me. never overheated. with new radiator it should be a little lower but wouldnt worry too much. unless you have a/c.
Get an infrared heat gun,harbor tools has them cheap.Check it on a pot of boiling water.A candy thermometer works also.
210 is normal operating temperature on modern cars, so don't get too worried...yet... if it gets over 230, you definitely need to worry. If it gets over 240, shut it off and let it cool down.
In the 60s there were basically two different thermostats 160°&180° , cooler in the summer , warmer for the winter , so that's about what everything ran at . 210° seems a bit high , but what type of driving , in town , in traffic , on the highway ?? If you've owned the car for 8 years I'd imagine you'd be aware of the temp the engine normally runs at , no?
Chevy was only using 195 thermostats by the end of the 60s (yes, I looked it up again). But most guys who work on cars are slow to change their ways, and usually installed a 160 or maybe a 180, because they just know that 195 is way too hot.
It may have changed for the younger guys but I learned that the boiling point of plain water at sea level was 212 degrees 65 years ago. 210 actually isn't hot for that engine if it was in the truck it originally came in. That is something I see with guys with AD trucks all the time. They put a late model engine in a 47/54 Chevy truck and then pee on their shoes because the temp gauge goes up to what was normal temp in the donor rig. Then it is OMG my old truck with the new engine is running hotter than I think it should and I'm scared what do I do. Having driven my 48 truck right at 400K over a 30 year period with a 194, 283, 350 and 250 in it at one time or another I don't see 210 as too hot but these trucks don't have a lot of air flow at low or no speed and I'd be more concerned what the temp runs at above 30 mph. Still with the 292I am going to say you probably don't have enough fan and no room for one that pulls enough air at low speed. You might want to check the thermostat to see what it is though. 180 is plenty for a carbureted engine to run efficiently . A search shows that the recommended temp thermostat for the 68 292 that I have on the stand for my 48 is 195. That may well be what is in your engine.
It's got a normal belt driven fan. I'm gonna go over to do some head scratching Thursday. I was thinking of running an electric fan as well to try and help with cooling the rad.
First you might want to post some pictures of the engine compartment, so we can see the overall look of the radiator, engine, fan, etc. From a few different angles, and not too close up. There might be something obvious to others, that you didn't notice
I think you will find a shroud will help you a lot. Seal the shroud where the air the fan pulls must go through the radiator
Do one thing at a time. First would be a good fan shroud, then maybe a better mechanical fan. An electric fan in my opinion is a band-aid. Like others have said an inexpensive lazer thermometer will tell you a lot.
I have little to no experience with the 292, but I agree with the majority here. Install a fan shroud and see how things go. I carry an infrared thermometer in my tool bag in the trunk, it is well worth it. I am hesitant to suggest this because it is only putting a band aid on the problem (if there is one) but Purple Ice is a chemical that drops the temperature by up to 20 degrees. I used it in a pinch once and it worked on high 90 degree days. Again this is a band aid not a fix.
dang, can you "edit" your post, and remove the duplicate pictures? The fan looks a bit small, and could probably use a shroud, and sit back further if you got a different damper without so many belt grooves in it. I'd be leery of trying to run an electric fan with the generator, too. And also see about sealing up around the radiator, so air has to go through it, not around it? perhaps a panel across the top, that fits close to the hood?
just one or two pics.. first time posting pics. i can't go any higher with the fan cause it will hit the bar across the top. the generator is actually an alternator designed to look like a generator from power master.
I posted a question last week, turns out I had a 195 T-stat installed. And running 210 would be normal or close to it. I can assure you, I pulled the radiator and had good flow ... also flushed the coolant system, all was working well. The 195 T-stat was spitting water everywhere ... I switched it to 180, and all is fine. I thank those here for advice. Just depends what you want. 210 would seem normal if you have a 195 T-stat. The 180 and it creeps up to 195 etc...
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