The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Temporary cooling system for first start up?

My 54 didn't have a radiator when I got it. I used a bungee to strap a 5 gal bucket on top of the fender, inserted a pce of PVC into the water pump outlet hose without a clamp, pretty tight fit. Used a small bungee and strapped that PVC with an elbow on the end so it would dump into the bucket. At the bottom of the bucket, I attached a spigot with male water hose connection. Had a 3' pce of water hose that inserted into the water pump inlet hose, gravity feed, wasn't a tight fit but worked fine. I could run the engine for 10 minutes or so until my makeshift gas tank emptied. I could monitor flow as level in the bucket changed. This is not a job for inside the shop, or on your driveway or even over your nice lawn as the hot water will kill the grass faster than roundup ! You could tighten things up with more plumbing and better fittings, but this was quick and accomplished the purpose. Keep an eye on things, if not circulating or getting too hot shut it down, you don't want boiling water spewing out of the engine.