I'm about to get my 59 AB flathead ready for the winter. I'm up in New York near Lake Ontario and it gets freezing cold here. My garage is unheated so I'm worrying about the water in the radiator/block freezing up. Should I add antifreeze to what's in the radiator and how much? Any other suggestions or cautions? I'm posting the same question on FordBarn for the people that aren't a member here too. Thanks in advance.
Best insurance, drain the entire system, fill with 75% antifreeze, 25% water. Start vehicle and let it run for 10-15 minutes. Shut it down, pull the battery, turn off the lights, close the doors. See ya next spring! In all of my vintage motors I run straight antifreeze all year round, no problems. Many will argue that it is not needed, I tend to play it safe when talking about 50+ year old motors.
I agree with you on the running antifreeze in the cooling system. That was my intention but I found I lost a lot of fluid this year from my radiator/overflow. I was constantly adding water to refill it. I don't know if that's normal or I need a better radiator cap. It was my first year driving my recently rebuilt flathead. Now I just don't want anything to happen over the cold winter as a result of my flathead newbie ignorance. Thanks.
If all you have is water in it, I'd be worried too. All the charts show that a 60-65% antifreeze to 40-35% water is optimal for coldest freezing protection, although a 75% mix is way down there, too. Keep in mind that 100% antifreeze really doesn't do too well. It will turn solid somewhere around 5°F or so. Not much protection at all where you live. jrblack30, you're gambling if you're really running 100% antifreeze, unless it's that premixed stuff. And also remember to run the engine up to operating temperature for a while to make sure the solution is mixed well. And to answer your 2nd post about losing coolant, in a system without a recovery tank, there needs to be some air in the radiator to allow for coolant expansion. If you fill it up to the top of the filler neck, it's gonna spew coolant every time. Just run it, and check it occasionally. The system will spit out what it needs to for expansion, and reach it's required "level" after you run it a couple times.
You should fog the engine before storage with a good Foging oil, most old flatheads that sit will have stuck valves after sitting for a while.
How cold does it get there? Go to the auto parts and get one of those little thingys with the balls in it. I think its called an anti-freeze tester. Check what you got then for safteys sake add about add anti freeze until its about 10 degrees colder than normal. I run my cars year around on a 50/50 mix here and I do just fine.
I guess i've never really thought much about this -- can someone give any more detail on this. Does straight antifreeze really turn solid at 5F? This sounds not right. Pete
Howdy Jonnyzep: I am just outside the city. Call me if you want. Do this crap all the time. One thing to add is if your running pump gas you need to get it outta there. That E10 junk causes all types of grief. Especially for the Boaters and small engine items. Will PM you my number. see ya Luke
Yes, if it's ethylene glycol based (the green stuff). Propylene glycol is a different story. Here's a link for an ethylene glycol chart: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/680.html And another with both types: http://www.eetcorp.com/antifreeze/freeze_points.gif
I've never really concerned myself with things like this before I got a flathead just this year. I live in Pennsylvania. I suppose the temp could dip down in the single digits but, generally the coldest it gets would be in the 20's. I have 50/50 mix, is this OK? Wouldn't the best thing be to drain the entire system if you're not going to drive it until spring?
100% anti freeze will freeze. I took care of engines in the Navy and they had some serious storage drills. Basically fog oil down the carbs at fast idle until it dies. Drain all coolant and fuel system completely. Remove the battery and store indoors seperate from the car. In the Spring pull the spark plugs and spray some light oil into each cylider and turn the motor over a few turns by hand. Reinstall the battery and add fresh fuel. Top off the radiator with a fresh 50/50 antifreeze mix. Spray a little starting fluid down the carb throat and it should fire up. The smoke cloud should clear up in a few minutes with added bonus of taking out any early mosquitos
50/50 is fine. And there's really no reason to drain the coolant if your system is in good shape. Antifreeze can be run for a few years, so no reason to drain it each year. Spend the cash on something else.
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