The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop water temp question / heater

Today I plumbed the heater in my 53 half ton project truck. So, I took it for a drive to get it warmed up. My original temp gauge said that my temp was 170. I drove it about 5 miles, and then let it idle for a while, assuming that it would rise to at least 180. It never did. I double checked it with an infrared thermometer and sure enough it was betweek 170 and 175 everywhere I measured. I'm glad that my cooling system is keeping it that cool, but is that normal. It was 55 degrees outside when I tried it. It sure seems like it should get hotter than that. I'm sure that I put a thermostat in it when I built it, and I normally always buy 180s. Does this sound normal?

Is your engine brand new? My engine hasn't ever been rebuilt and it sits at 180 pretty much all the time - even in the 90+ degree summer. It has stock radiator, fan, and water pump.

Do you have a stock radiator? Stock fan? 50/50 coolant mix or straight water? If your engine is brand new, maybe it'sjust more efficient?

My engine is out of a 1962 truck. It's not rebuilt. I'm using the original 53 radiator and fan. My coolant is a 50/50 mix. I did just remember though, that I replaced the water pump because the original had a big chunk broken out of one of the hose flanges. I had to push down the front flange and cut off some of the shaft in order to shorten it up. Then I had to come up with a pulley. I think that I used a pulley off of a 216 pump. It's possible that having the wrong pulley might be spinning the pump faster. I had actually forgotten about that. I guess it's no big dea anyway. It just surprised me.

As long as it's operating correctly with no problems then don't worry about it. Does your exhaust heat riser flap move freely?

My '57 with a 283 has trouble getting up to 180 degrees, I know it is not apples to apples since we're talking about two different engines but that is of little significance. My truck is very close to stock and I have an aftermarket temp gauge along with the factory gauge. I have tried several 180 thermostats with no improvement, a cardboard winter front in front of the radiator with different air adjustments can raise the temperature as high as I want to go but it is pretty hard to regulate it. My next experiment will be a 190 stat. I have an expansion bottle plumbed to the radiator overflow nipple and it works perfectly in keeping the cooling system totally full, my truck never had an exhaust heat riser flap from the factory and when I fabricated all new exhaust I did not include one.