C1 Burrrrrp! Ah!!...That's better!!!!!!

[steve westphal]

My overheating problem on the '56 has been somewhat overcome finally. My older brother(Wesmar Racing Engines)told me to back the Vette down in the ditch in front of my acreage so that the nose of the car was pointing up in the air. Then take the radiator cap off and top off the liquid. Then put the cap back on half way(so it's loose and can burp without making a huge mess). Start the car and let it run up to temp. Watch for any burping, etc. After it is at temp, I removed the cap and put a little over a half gallon of coolant in it and tightened the cap. I went for a ride and the temp was 20 degrees cooler!!!!! At running before the temp on the gun was 210 and at idle it was 217. After burping it ran at 190 and idled at 197 which is within tolerances for me at least. How simple! My brother started racing in 1955 and he said that the 265 was fairly notorious for trapping air. He said that years ago he did that procedure many, many times and it usually worked. Sweet!!!

[Clem Z.]

when refilling coolant always leave the

thermostat out and the top goose neck off. fill slowly the rad till you see coolant on the thermostat housing in the intake manifold.reinstall the thermostat and top goose neck and continue filling the rad the rest of the way.this will purge all the air from the engine block

[Verle R.]

Re: when refilling coolant always leave the

Or drill a small hole ( 1/8" ) in the thermostat so air can escape while filling the radiator.

Verle

[John H.]

Re: when refilling coolant always leave the

Yup! Here's the funnel I modified to fill through the intake - it stands up by itself in the opening, and the holes let you watch the coolant level in the passage as it rises; have done it this way for decades, never had any trapped air.

[Bob Simard]

C-1 Coolant fill

I've always done this in my garage. I just fill the system, put on the cap and place the overflow hose in a gallon jug half full of collant/water mix. Start the car and let it come to temp. This usually adds another quart to the jug. Then shut it off and let the motor cool. Two or three times usually fills the system. Then I heat it up one more time and remove the hose from the jug when I shut the motor off. This leaves about the right amount of air in the top of the radiator. Very little puking on my first drive. Besides, my ditches are always muddy when I need them.