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I have a 1957 Chevy truck with a 348 engine. During hot days, at prolonged idle it goes into the "hot" area. Also, when idling for a period of time (1/2 hour) it drips coolant out of the overflow tube.
The radiator is a stock 1957 V8 radiator with a self-constructed fan shroud. While I can work around this, I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a higher capacity radiator.
Thanks,
don

Going aluminum helps, unless you can find an original type with as many cores as will fit. On my 51 with original shroud, I found a OE 4 core for the 350 in it. I put a Derale motorhome style fan that’s supposed to pull in more air. Have you cleaned the engine out? Poor circulation will cause overheating also.

A couple of years ago, we had to replace the original rad because of the same scenario on dad’s 58 Impala with an 327. And also did a flush of the block. Chilled cucumber is what is happening now. The drum brakes suck, but can’t win it all.

Chip:
- The engine has probably less than a thousand miles on it. And with various mods during that time the engine has drained itself a few times to ensure that the modifications didn't come easy.
- Good info, thank you
- Enjoyed the "cucumber and brakes" comments
don

When shopping for radiators, pay attention to how they are made. I have Afco brand aluminum that uses epoxy to seal the ends of the tubes to the headers, it is starting to weep at a few of the joints, just enough to smell. There is no fix for it, when it gets to bad it goes in the trash. The next one will be fully welded aluminum.

Heat at idle is an air flow issue, fan and water pump speed matters. I increased my water pump speed by going to a smaller pulley, then replaced the flex fan with a solid 6 blade steel fan. At 650 idle, you can feel the air being pulled into the grill, it's a bit noisy at highway speeds though.

Heres a fun tool to play with, https://www.blocklayer.com/pulley-belteng

In my 53 3100 I'm running an aluminum radiator with two 1 1/4" "dog bone" cores and a 3500 CFM chrome fan and a mechanical water pump for my 6-71 blown/nitrous 292. I'm also running a Ron Davis horizontal mount drag radiator with a Spal fan on an inline electric pump mostly for heat sink and added capicity at the track. This is a Drag and Drive build for the 8.50 class.

This is all good stuff, glad I asked. Already saved me from some mistakes.
don

For more capacity, find you a small turbo intercooler mounted under the front in the air flow and run your coolant through it first then into the radiator.

When I changed to aluminum radiator, I had to build a lower radiator hose tube to reroute around the oil filter housing since the new outlet was different then the stock one. Using exhaust pipe elbows I was able to route around where I needed to go. This tube alone added 3/4 of a gallon of coolant and the new radiator added 1/2 or more of a gallon. It still heats up normally, just takes long to get all the coolant hot.

A nice thermostatically controlled oil cooler with a fan goes a long way to cooling your engine.

It would also be a good idea to convert it to a closed system, simply add an overflow tank from any car that will fit where you want it. Converts cooling system to closed loop so there's less air inside of it. Makes antifreeze last longer and parts corrode less due to lack of free oxygen.

Again, glad I asked, thank you.
don