What cooling systems are you guys running?

[66GTFB]

Hey fellas,

Just wondering what cooling systems you guys are running? What radiator, water pump (electric or mechanical), and fans (brand, size, cfm #'s), type of coolant, etc and what sort of temps you see?

I'm running a CSR electric water pump and Ron Davis radiator on my mustang and it just won't run as cool as I want it so I'm going to play around with going back to mechanical water pump setup and see what that does.

Any info would be awesome.

Cheers,
Joe.

[pokey64]

Good post! I'm researching upgrading our Camaro's cooling system. The ol 454 is running hot...

Interested in seeing what everyone is running.

[g356gear]

BBC..stock 4 core rad, with stock fan....185 degrees average, 195 on a hot day. Ceramic coated headers made a huge difference.

[66GTFB]

Any other combos guys?

[lil427z]

ron davis
rick k

[chr2002ca]

69 Camaro with zz454, mechanical water pump, GM BB 7-blade clutch fan, GM BB shroud, 2 core Aluminum BB radiator. Rarely goes over 180 degrees. Has never gone past 195. I agree with the last post, I think the ceramic coated headers significantly reduces the underhood temperatures. My aluminum heads and intake probably help a little too.

[pokey64]

Here's what came on our car. The radiator says "Northern" on it and looks like a 2 core. The single fan is a pusher and is around a 10" diameter. The fan turns on with the key and stays on. The water pump appears to be stock. The 454 overheats while cruising around town or if I just let it sit and idle.

The old thermostat had some seaweed looking crud in it so I replaced it. Still overheats so I'm going to try some additional air movement with a big fan to see what happens.

Any other suggestions?

[Vegas69]

That fan isn't even close to what you need. I'd go with a factory shroud and fan in your situation or a dual electric setup.

[chr2002ca]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

That fan isn't even close to what you need. I'd go with a factory shroud and fan in your situation or a dual electric setup.

Agreed. That little electric fan with no shroud isn't doing much at all to help you out. A properly sized and installed stock fan shroud along with a GM 7-blade fan and new fan clutch should help out tremendously and is probably the cheapest way to go. An electric setup is great too, but might be a bit pricier and you might have to deal with clearance issues, amp draw, sizing, shroud setup, etc. Derale makes a heavy duty flex fan that works nicely also and looks good too, but it's a bit too heavy in my opinion(I tried it).

The setup I use which is rather simple but works great for me is:

fan: GM 18 1/4" seven blade, Classic Industries G8354
shroud: GM NOS, Big Block 69 Camaro, Ebay
clutch: Thermal, 3" depth, big block application, local parts store

Just be sure your belts are fresh and tight because it will put a little extra drag on your water pump pulley, especially at high RPM.

Whatever you decide to go with, good luck!

[SLO_Z28]

Single core aluminum radiator with plastic tanks and a 16 inch Hayden fan in the stock shroud. Also have a high volume edelbrock water pump. Can idle all day long in 110 weather.