The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Mechanical cooling fan

I've been putting over 100 miles a week on an unrestored 216 with the original radiator, 4 blade crank driven fan, and no shroud. It never overheats or vapor locks or anything of the sort. This includes rush hour traffic in downtown Atlanta.

I was driving this truck in the summer with temps well into the 90s without a blip on the temp gauge and without any overheating. Factory gauge stays at 180 or just above. Who knows if it's accurate, though?

The truck has an overflow reservoir that works perfectly - filling up when the engine is hot and returning to the radiator as it cools down. I use a 4 pound pressure cap.

If your truck is overheating , it isn't due to poor airflow. You have other issues to sort out.

Jerry's right, though. If it isn't boiling out as steam all the time, your engine probably isn't overheating.

Install an overflow reservoir for peace of mind. This truck already had one installed and I elected to keep it. You can fill the radiator all the way up to the top of the filler neck instead of 2 inches below the top of the tank.