The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop cooling;

The other day the outside temps pushed 90 degrees. My '59 Truck w/ a 261 went up to 190....is this getting too hot? What do you think will bring it down? This engine was rebuilt this spring and has been running great. Normal everyday driving in "cool" weather has the needle at 180. Do i need to be concerned? Thanks as always for any info!!

Plain water boils at 212 degrees. A 50/50 water/antifreeze mix boils at a higher temperature. Coolant under pressure boils at still a higher temperature. What is there to worry about if coolant level is adequate. My opinion says you have some room before your system boils.

assuming you haven't gotten many miles on it yet, keep in mind a fresh rebuild can run a little hotter than a well worn in one ... doesn't sound like a cause for worry .... yet

Bill

That cooling system was probably designed to run a 7 Lb. pressure cap, which would let it boil at 233 degrees F. with plain water. A 50/50 antifreeze mix would probably take it to 240 or so as long as you have a good pressure cap and no leaks in the system. I think you're going to be OK unless it starts going to 200+ regularly.
Jerry

As long as it stabilizes, there would be no problem that I can see, I prefer to have my engine run at least 180-190 deg. I used to run a 195 degree thermostat, but when I took the engine apart it seemed to have walked off. I used 195 degree in all the old engines. But now that my driving cars are modern, I don't even know what temp thermostats are in them. The gages have no numbers and I have never replaced one in my new cars. So, No it should be fine. Oh and by the way, am I the only one that is wondering why there is no degree symbol on the keyboard? Do they make keyboards for mechanic typing?

195's didn't even exist when these engines were new. Engines running alcohol-based antifreeze got a 160, and engines with "permanent" (ethylene glycol) antifreeze got a 180 stat. 195's didn't come out until after the clean air act of 1968 when it was determined that hot-running engines with 14# radiator caps ran cleaner and warmed up faster to minimize air pollution during the first few minutes of operation. I can see no reason to run a 195 thermostat on any stovebolt engine unless it's running tight-clearanced hypereutectic pistons and other reduced clearances and super-thin oil like a modern engine.
Jerry

there is no degree symbol on the keyboard

Do this:
1. press and hold the "ALT" key
2. press "0", "1", "7", "6" on the numeric keypad