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  • Cool/Heat: Thermo clutch check

    Hello dear Avanti owners !

    I am french and I take care of an 63' Avanti R2 near Paris.

    Engine, chassis, drive trains, etc... have been restored.
    I have restored or change everything in the cooling circuit : new hoses, new HD water pump, radiator remade, new thermostat, new thermo clutch, no excessive ignition advance (just settled)... but it's still overheating a little under hot weather, especially at idle speed...

    I have just dropped the radiator to a workshop which is supposed to install a more efficient core and I will put everything back in the car soon.

    I just have a question concerning the thermo clutch (1560257) : I have changed it recently and I am wondering why is it so easy to turn the fan by hand when the engine has just been stopped but still hot... shouldn't it be hard to turn ? What about yours ?

    Also, I am changing the normal coolant for the permanent Evans (http://www.evanscoolants.co.uk/Coola...assic_cool_180), are there any feedback about using that kind of coolant on his car ?

    Last question : has anybody tested the 6 fans ventilator ? Is it more efficient than the original one ?

    In less than two weeks, I am supposed to drive the car to Le Mans Classic (http://www.lemansclassic.com/language/en/home/#primary) , under the sun of july...

    Thanks for your help...

    Merci !

    Daniel

  • #2
    The Evans coolant will show a rise in temp gauge reading of between 5 and 10 degrees F or more. Due to that you may need to retard your timing. Evans will not "boil over" or allow corrosion, but as a "coolant" it is inferior in heat transfer rates relative to water and water "antifreeze" mixtures. All it is pure ethylene/propylene glycol without H2O. Thus a higher "boiling point" (phase change) and anti corrosion ability, but if you compare the heat transfer ability of the fluid and viscosity it is inferior as a coolant, requiring a significant addition in surface area of the radiator to achieve the same "coolant" temperature and thus engine temperature. Many prior discussions here. The same resulting fluid can be achieved by mixing standard pure antifreeze (ethylene glycol) with pure "safe" antifreeze (propylene glycol) and leaving out the water component. As to you current running warm at idle, your new radiator may correct that, only to go back where you started using other than the standard water antifreeze mixture. Avanti tend to run warm anyway, 180-up to 200 F idling on a hot day is not unusual, due to the grille location, and being "designed" to take advantage of the vehicle motion to force air in, not just pulling it through by means of the fan. By "6 fans ventilator" I am assuming you mean a 6 bladed fan. Adding electric thermo tripped fans are probably more useful, if you are willing to put up with the added noise.

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    • #3
      Fred,

      Many thanks for your complete answer. I forgot to say that I already have an electric fan in front of the radiator.
      About Evans, it's true, I still haven't found confirmation about loosing degrees with that coolant but because it doesn't boil over, isn't it supposed to add less pression in the coolant... ? No air bubles... then no leak of liquid... I've heard that temperature is less important than pression in the liquid...

      What about my thermo clutch... should it be so easy to turn the fan when the engine is hot... ?

      Yes, I was talking about a "6 blades fans"... sorry for my mistakes in english...

      Daniel

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      • #4
        When the engine work was done, were the water jackets scraped and flushed clean ?

        What do some of you guys use to clean rust and scale from engine block water passages? Ago


        The jackets are accessed through the 6 core plugs on the sides of the block.
        Studebaker blocks are notorious for having molding sand left in the block during manufacture.
        Check the water pump: http://www.studebaker-info.org/tech/...wpc1/wpc1.html
        South Lompoc Studebaker

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        • #5
          Thanks for your answer !

          Yes all the engine was put in parts, the freeze plugs have been changed and the block has been flushed completely... (I was not there but I've got the pictures : https://www.facebook.com/O-ONE-13537...36252399755509).

          To be completely sure, yesterday, I wanted to check and unscrew the two plugs but the most easy to open (passenger side) was just impossible to open. We even tried to warm it with a blowtorch... I am afraid to go further.
          Maybe I should try the white vinegar...

          Thank you for all your links. I have a new HD water pump... do I understand well, should I add a space on the axle ?

          Daniel

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          • #6
            I believe post #2 refers to a "scraping" of the interior of the block passages, accessed when the core plugs are removed-hard to do now, once installed. With them out you need to try and dislodge any left over cast mold sand and wire that may have been left in the block originally. you can not reach these passages any other way than removal of the large plugs, sometimes referred to as "freeze" plugs on the sides of the block. The water pump, if supplied by a Studebaker USA supplier for the R series engines it will be fine normally, in the past a problem existed with replacements where the impeller was not properly located and caused overheating. If you have installed the new radiator, simply fill the system with the normal 50-50 water antifreeze mixture. Drive it and see your readings, don't rely on the gauge for accuracy-it's fifty years old!! If you get a gauge reading of 180 and it goes up some standing still in heavy traffic, and goes back down with movement, just drive it-it will probably be ok. In 1965 my Dad's Avanti, ran 190 to over 210 on a hot 100 degree July day, needing us to turn on the heater to bring it down, it ran fine after that for years. These are not new vehicles and some things will be less precise than one of todays cars. Now if you start pushing water out of the surge tank hose and onto the ground-that would be cause for worry. As to the viscous fan, it relies on engine compartment heat at the front of the fan to engage, other wise it should "almost freewheel" with some drag. With the hood open even with the engine warm it may not be hot enough to engage it. You should hear it engaging if you get really hot in traffic, by the increased fan noise under the hood, when you start moving and the temperature under the hood drops it will begin to freewheel and reduce the fan noise. It's real function is to cut down on engine noise. If you feel it's adding to your "over heating" remove the clutch completely and direct drive a fan without it. will make more of a roar, you already have an added fan that should handle low speed air flow even if it never engages.

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