60 running hot

[Greg L.]

I took my 60 out for it's first little test drive yesterday and among other things I noticed that it seemed to run around 210 which I thought was pretty warm.

The engine(stock 283) is supposed to be rebuilt and I never got above about 30 mph in town so that might have something to to with it....or not.

What temp should it normally run at and is there a reliable and easy way to check the accuracy of the gauge? I could take the sender out and boil it in some water and check the gauge and it should boil around 205 or something like that at my altitude but that's a bit of work.

I was also thinking about getting one of those infared guns but I'm not sure how accurate they are and if there would be much of a temp difference between the surface temp of the sending unit and the actual temp of the coolant.

What would you do?

[Mike M.]

Re: 60 running hot

i have a TIF 7000 Digital thermometer/pyrometer i use to evaluate gauge and sender accuracy. its got a prob that one slips between the radiator hose and the intake manifold water outlet. i got it off the snap on truck years ago and i recall it being about 150 bucks. i see them on ebay for 50 to 100 bucks. anyway, first make sure the temp sensor is an AC Delco . if its a generic sensor, they typically give falsely elevated temp readings.a stock sbc in a c-1 chassis rarely overheats . good luck, mike

[Patrick H.]

Re: 60 running hot

What would you do?

Greg,

First, I'd ignore your gauge, especially if either the sender or the gauge have been replaced or messed with.

Second, I'd buy a nice IR gun and check temperatures anywhere you want. Most important - when the car is fully warmed up - is the upper radiator hose toward the thermostat housing. You can try the sender area too but the upper hose will likely "tell the tale." The IR gun is likely 153% more accurate than your gauge or sender.

Third, I assume you've checked the coolant level? Not too low or high?

Patrick

[Wayne L.]

Re: 60 running hot

Greg, hi-
If you need an original AC sender, just let me know. Wayne

[Stewart A.]

Re: 60 running hot

I learnt the hard way. Don't trust your gauge in a 1960. Don't trust your gauge in a C1. And thirdly don't trust your gauge in a 1960. Only trust an IR gun on the top hose. My gauge was out at full operating temp by 80 degrees. I thought my car was cooking it was just the gauge. Gauge showed 220 and Ir gun showed 160 work that out ? Stewy

[Greg L.]

Re: 60 running hot

Well I see that the common theme is that the gauge is poor at best so that's good to know.

I just remembered that I have a wire type thermocouple for my multimeter so I'li try and stuff that between the upper hose and thermostat housing and see what it reads and go from there. I might also borrow the IR gun from work just to be sure.

Patrick, I was just wondering how a high coolant level could cause it to run hot? I did top it right up but assumed that any excess would have vented out of the over flow hose but maybe not...

[Stewart A.]

Re: 60 running hot

I think what Patrick was saying by the to high or to low is if it's to low it could over heat. Some people think that if the car has lost coolant through the cap the car is getting to hot. If the radiator is full to the neck and the car gets to operating temp the coolant expands under heat and will dump a little coolant until it's at the correct level ? It's not overheating it's just expansion of coolant, it's got to go somewhere and since the 1960 standard radiator doesn't have an overflow bottle for the coolant to travel into under heat and back out when cooling it ends up on the ground. Not necessarily over heating. Stewy