Recovery and Coolant

This car has been cooled using distilled water (no coolant added) since it's first self-propelled experience in June 2012.   I figured that water can draw more heat out of the engine than any glycol-based coolant mixture (that's one reason that racers always use water, not coolant), and since the car was designed to be cooled with water, I should avoid using coolant.   I've tried using various corrosion inhibitors, but for the first 6 months the car had only water in it.

I installed a plastic coolant recovery tank shortly after the first drive in 2012.

The white plastic thing to the right of the radiator is the coolant recovery tank.  It was clean in 2012

Last month I noticed that the water in the plastic coolant recovery tank was pretty brown. Disgusting, really.  I wondered about how much rust had built up in the engine over the past 4 years, so I opened the radiator cap and stuck my pinky in to check.  I was stunned by the quarter-inch layer of soft brown slime that had accumulated in the radiator upper tank!  I was shocked to think about how much rust had built up in the block and heads!  Time to do something about it! I ended up flushing the radiator and block multiple times, then adding a gallon of vinegar to the radiator and driving the car for three days as it broke up the sludge.  I flushed it again, and the water was still pretty brown!

One thing that helped immensely was installing a back-flush kit, and using a garden hose to flush the block and the radiator via a heater hose.  After the vinegar, this quickly got the rusty stuff out of the cooling system.

Now that the cooling system is clean,  perhaps I should re-evaluate my use of water as a coolant.  One of the frequent contributors to the Y-Block forum has a 56 T-bird, runs a 50-50 coolant mix, and drives the car in southern Arizona with no overheating problem.  Doing some more research, I find that older street cars are usually better off with IAT (inorganic acid technology, or green-colored) coolant of at least 30%, mixed with 70% water.  This provides the minimum corrosion protection, yet retains most of the good thermal properties of pure water.  Additional corrosion protection should be added every year.  Once I had the cooling system full of this "custom blend", I turned my attention to the coolant recovery tank.  The plastic thing looked a little 'cheap' compared to the rest of the engine compartment, and I quickly found an inexpensive stainless steel tank that looks much more professional.  Here are some shots of the brackets I had to make, along with the final product.

 

I think it looks much cooler than the plastic tank, and it's much easier to reach to fill!

Another minor improvement was my addition of a windshield washer pump.  The original manual foot pump was not recoverable, and because of the position of my brake combo valve the foot pump couldn't be installed in the original position anyway.  I managed to reconfigure what was left of the foot pump into a bracket for a momentary switch, so that the original foot pedal operates a switch instead of the pump directly.  I found an electric washer pump on Amazon for under $12, and hooked it up to the switch.  Running the lines to the washer nozzles under the dash was the hardest part, but not a problem once I had the right size tubing!  I was pretty pleased to have this arrangement work, especially since a replacement foot pump would have cost $80!

The electric washer pump hides behind the battery, and is practically invisible.  The original foot pump was modified with a momentary switch.

As I continued detailing the engine compartment for the upcoming CTCI convention, I noticed that the horn relay was looking pretty shabby... I had done nothing to preserve it in 2012.  It's located in a place where it's bound to get wet in the rain, and likely to rust.

This would never do!  When I got ready to paint the recovery tank brackets, I went ahead and painted the relay gloss black, so it matches the 'regulator' box next to it.  

I am very happy with the car, and I'm feeling quite blessed to have it and the privilege to work on it!  I had a big family party two weeks ago, and I was able to give several Cousins, Uncles, and my Aunt celebratory rides in the car!  My Aunt  had owned this car for 11 years ('61-72), and it was a special treat to be able to have her ride in this car that had meant so much to her!  She regaled me with many stories of the car, and the trips she took in it with her Mom.  What a special time!