OK. I finally ended up removing the drain valve at the bottom of the radiator, and got a huge gush of water. Which looked remarkably clean. Turned out the drain valve was plugged up, maybe from a wash trying to build a nest? Once the radiator was drained I filled it with plain water, ran it for a while, then drained again and filled with water and radiator flush. After I drove it a short distance, about 3 miles, I just left it sit until tomorrow. Question is, if the water draining from the radiator looked so clean, can rust particles float on top of the water? So that the water I can see looks bad but overall is clean? When I ran the engine with plain water and no radiator cap I could see rusty particles on the top of the water.
Could it be that the cooling system is good, and that my overheating problems are due to timing?
Tomorrow I'm going to drain the system and refill with 50/50 water/antifreeze, then recheck the valve adjustment and timing. Then mess around with adjusting the carb again and see if that helps.
Tim
I am currently digging back in to a 1953 3800 (one ton) with a nine foot bed. I've owned it since 1979, and drove it until 1982 (or so). My wife got me involved in restoring it back in 2002, got the body removed and the frame redone, then things came up. Now I am retired and starting again. If anyone is interested I have photos on Imagur (
https://timwhiteblues.imgur.com/ ). I live way back in the woods in the Ozarks on 40 acres at the end of a 2 1/2 mile private road.
Tim
