“Normal” model a temp

[Slowmotoring]

I know there are many variables but, what would the typical model a temperature be when driving on flat land in mid 80 degree weather. Stock engine with the exception of the weber downdraft carburetor. Im running close to 190 coming out of the engine block. Not sure of the temp going in. I have adjusted my advance without much luck. My radiator does appear to be original and has a pretty good collection of grime inside of it. Im thinking it might be time to have it cleaned out. Or is this a normal summertime temp for these cars? I do have the hood off of this car while i work the bugs out (easier access to engine with hood off) could this be effecting the cooling abilities? The car also has engine pans which i thought i heard helps the car run cooler but im assuming the hood would need to be on for the pans to make a difference. Anyone have any ideas?

[Mister Moose]

I'd get a laser thermometer, not expensive, and monitor the front and back of the block as well as the top, bottom and outlet of the radiator. You could compare that to other cars, but there's a lot of variables there. I'll try to shoot some temps for comparison, and maybe others could do so as well.

[Ed in Maine]

Your temperatures sound a bit high. I have a Model A with a new radiator with the hood installed that runs at 155 F. You could try to flush it out but the radiator is probably choked with rust, dirt and water pump grease which is stuck in the core and cannot be removed unless you remove the top tanks and push out the grease with a rod. Flushing will only clean out the most open tubes leaving the debris in the clogged tubes. Ed

[Big hammer]

Are you running antifreeze ? Water will cool better by 20* and add water wetter it will run 30* cooler. Water wetter is a seal lub and anti corrosion additive

[oldredford]

I always heard 160 to 180 is perfect.

[Y-Blockhead]

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My Town Sedan runs 175-180° F. I'm running a basically stock engine, 5.5 head 160° thermostat, 50/50 Anti-frezze.

It's true an engine may run a little warmer with anti-freeze but anti-freeze also raises the boiling point of the coolant to ~224° F. IMO people try to run Model As too cold and undesirable by-products from combustion collect in the crankcase/oil (water, unburned H/C and acids).

[Oldgearz]

I also run my Coupe with plastic fan at about 155. Goes up to 160-170 when pulling long hill. I think running at 160 is about ideal. 180 or under is fine.

[Slowmotoring]

I know a guy that works at a radiator shop and was saying they have a tank that they dip the radiators in. Pretty sure it was high temp and some sort of chemical to aid in getting the grease and other deposits loosened. Im thinking this might be worth a shot. Especially since he offered to do it for free. Has anyone else tried this or is this a bad idea with old radiators?

[PC/SR]

Its a good idea and the price is right.

[d.j. moordigian]

I would think what the piston manufacture recommends when the piston is round,
I bet it's closer too 180-190 degrees..

djm

[Bill G]

Without a thermostat on an 80 degree day, I am getting about 150-160 just this week-end. I took my 160 degree thermostat out at least for the summer. It is great in the winter and keeps the car just right on 160 for the most part. However, even when fully open on hot days, the temps were creeping up past 180 and I have been worried that when it gets over 95 to 100, I am going to be in "hot water" so to speak. Pun intended. In looking at the thermostat, the wide open opening is just a fraction of the total size of the upper radiator hose, which is where my thermostat has been.



The 150 or so temp at 80 degree ambient is with a new (2 years old) radiator from Brassworks.

[Jack Shaft]

I've saved a few radiators using an industrial hot water pressure washer with degreaser chemical. it takes about 15 minutes to get the core good and hot and I work it both both ways. Water pump grease and dirt will break down, it takes a little time.

[nkaminar]

The Model A cooling system was advertised as being a combination water pump and thermosyphon system. The thermosyphon pumping is driven by hot coolant in the engine so it won't pump until the coolant gets hot. So it works like a thermostat. On my Model T this worked very well to keep the engine at about 180 F. There is no water pump on a stock Model T. On a Model A I am not sure how much the water pump contributes to the coolant circulation but probably more than half.

[katy]

I like to run any engine around 180°.

Years ago my old uncle Paul told me "the hotter the better, as long as they're not boiling".

[old31]

180-190 is a perfect temperature.

Anything cooler than that just isn't hot enough to burn off the bad stuff in the oils.

It is bad especially for those that do a lot of short runs at 145-150.

[Slowmotoring]

I havent had a a boil over or steam event yet. I think i’ll try some radiator flush solutions and see how things go. Then when winter strikes i will remove the radiator and have it flushed professionally. I was researching what the radiator shops use in the heated dunk tanks and it seams to be pretty much lye. Has anyone tried adding lye to the radiator to flush it? Im thinking if i drain the antifreeze and then fill the cooling system with water i could then ad lye (powdered drano) and drive the car for a while. Wouldnt this in a roundabout way be similar to dunking the radiator in a hot lye bath? Or would this be a recipe for disaster for seals in the motor?

[burner31]

Ran water for the last four months checking for leaks after motor work.
Drained and flushed then 50/50 mix poured in (a week ago)
Went from running at 150-160 to now 170-185
Guess it's true what they say bout the antifreeze / temp issue

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by burner31

Ran water for the last four months checking for leaks after motor work.
Drained and flushed then 50/50 mix poured in (a week ago)
Went from running at 150-160 to now 170-185
Guess it's true what they say bout the antifreeze / temp issue

If you're concerned add some Water Wetter. I think 170-180° is a good temperature. See post #6.

[ETAModel]

We had an old John Deere Model A that had no water pump. just the thermosyphon system. It kept the tractor operating, but the water and radiator was Damn Hott. We pulled a 4 bottom 14" plow, THAT was a heck of a load for that size tractor. You knew you were running too fast when the water started boiling over. Dad also said he wanted the water as hot as possible as long as it isnt boiling out.
I'm in NO WAY experienced with Ford Model A's, but I think they were supposed to run hot, just not boiling over. I remember reading Hemmingway talk about riding a model A bus and having to stop at the top of every hill to let her "blow", just like a mule.

[nkaminar]

First real test with my new Bergs radiator. I drove up the grade on 421 towards Boone. This is a 4 1/2 mile 8% grade. The temperature today was in the high 70's. The car has a 160 degree thermostat that has been modified with 6 holes 1/4-inch in diameter in the flange. The temperature gauge is off of the outlet pipe at the top of the head. I am running 50/50 antifreeze/water.

The coolant temperature reached 180 degrees and the Motometer fluid reached about 1/3 of the way up. I was in 3rd gear with the pedal to the metal and the GPS at 48 mph.

Back on the flats the coolant temperature was 140 and the fluid in the Motometer nowhere in sight. I stopped and measured various temperatures with my IR thermometer. The head was at 168 F and the oil pan at 205 F.

So the coolant temperature on my car is not the same as the temperature of the engine. Seems the thermostat must be doing something. Maybe moving the thermometer bulb to the head would be a good idea.

[Ivan in southeast va.]

On a hot day, anything under 190 makes me happy. Model A's do like a warm engine, and yes not boiling over.

[dave hummell]

. 145-160 is really to cool it is doing nothing good for an engine.

[Slowmotoring]

I decided to put the hood on this evening and take the car for a drive. The engine temp was running at about 185. Climbed up to 195 after climbing a long steep hill at full throttle. I was pushing it harder than I normally would but i wanted to see what the temp would do. After climbing the hill the temp quickly came back down to the 185 area. While cruising, i pulled over and removed the front license plate which was mounted on the headlight bar, right in front of the radiator.... after removing the license plate, the temps went into the mid to high 170’s. I climbed a few hills, not nearly as hard as the first one but the temp stayed pretty consistent only climbing 5 degrees. I think i should relocate my plate to the bumper and call it good.

[McMimmcs]

Don’t you think by concentrating so much on temperature, you’ve possibly taken the fun out of driving your Model A ?

[eagle]

Sounds like you're good. As long as it doesn't boil over it'll be fine. Next winter have the radiator cleaned out, it'll be good til then.

[700rpm]

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I run approx 50-50 year round. Took the coupe out today, 67 degrees, came home, shot the radiator, got 140 degrees at the top, 134 degrees at the bottom. This is usually where it runs.

[nkaminar]

RPM, Next time use the IR thermometer to check the head, block, and pan too. The point of my post is that the engine temperature is not the same as the temperature of the coolant at the neck or radiator, especially with a thermostat. With my coolant temperature at 140 the pan was around 205 which is enough to boil off any water vapor there.

Another point is that I modified my thermostat by drilling 6 holes 1/4-inch in diameter in the flange to replace the one hole that was about 3/16 diameter. That provides some flow with the thermostat closed and helps when the thermostat is open too.

[Slowmotoring]

Originally Posted by McMimmcs

Don’t you think by concentrating so much on temperature, you’ve possibly taken the fun out of driving your Model A ?

Im not sure how making sure im not prematurely wearing out my motor is taking the fun out Of driving my model a? I do enjoy driving the car. Thats why im making sure im good to go with what i have. Unless you think sitting along the road while your overheating is fun....

[Ruth]

Originally Posted by Slowmotoring

Im not sure how making sure im not prematurely wearing out my motor is taking the fun out Of driving my model a? I do enjoy driving the car. Thats why im making sure im good to go with what i have. Unless you think sitting along the road while your overheating is fun....

Exactly!! You're doing the right thing.

[Garwood]

I have the Apco temp gauge so not sure how accurate it is but when I started running my truck this spring, the temp gauge was always in the middle of the green, guessing 160ish with outside temp around 70 - low 80's. Last weekend it was in the mid 90's and the temp went into the red, guessing 200 - 210ish. I flushed the radiator out with white vinegar, ran it up to temp then flushed with straight water 3 times then filled with 50/50. Went to a car show that weekend and it went to the line between the green and red, so 190ish.

[Slowmotoring]

Originally Posted by Garwood

I have the Apco temp gauge so not sure how accurate it is but when I started running my truck this spring, the temp gauge was always in the middle of the green, guessing 160ish with outside temp around 70 - low 80's. Last weekend it was in the mid 90's and the temp went into the red, guessing 200 - 210ish. I flushed the radiator out with white vinegar, ran it up to temp then flushed with straight water 3 times then filled with 50/50. Went to a car show that weekend and it went to the line between the green and red, so 190ish.

I have the apco gauge also, My temps seem to be matching yours pretty accurately.

[Aretino]

APCO gauge as well. 190 on a hot day. 50/50 mix.

[Garwood]

Originally Posted by Aretino

APCO gauge as well. 190 on a hot day. 50/50 mix.

That's good to hear it's normal. I was worried my radiator needed replacing. Since April, it was always in the middle of the green but that day it got into the red. I was worried so stopped for 30 mins to let it cool down.
I'm going to another car show this Sat and it should be in the mid 70's.