Aussie Desert Cooler.

[FC427]

Stinky I will second that motion. GO ON PAINT IT Ed you know you want to .....FC427..........

[JB]

Well done Ed, when you come to cairns can you teach me to fibreglass!!!

CHeers
Jason.

[Ed]

Stinky I will second that motion. GO ON PAINT IT Ed you know you want to .....FC427..........

this is what's known as peer pressure lol

I was looking at it last night thinking I could paint it, but I may progress onto the next job, I am going to try and make a modesty panel to cover under the dash... easier said than done I reckon, will start a new thread...

Jas,
Fibreglassing is easy but messy, dirty and dusty... however the results are worth it.
This is only basic stuff, I'm hoping to progress to more elaborate stuff.. If and when required will dictate that.

Contrary to what it appears, it isnt really my favourite material. The resins and chemicals are strong sensitisers so you need to protect yourself when using it (use disposable gloves), otherwise you will develop an allergy.

The dust is highly irritant so again you need to wear a top quality respirator (I use a sundstrom gas and particulate respirator) and to top it off, the little shards of fibreglass can easily become embedded in your skin which is painful and risks infection.  The shards are difficult to locate as they are translucent.  More than once I've had to dig out splinters from my hands and feet, family and even pets feet!

but I'm happy to show you anything I've managed to learn.



Cheers

Ed

[jack_fc]

hey Ed, is the Milodon thermostat 160 F to suit Chev and Ford? Part no. MILO-16400? Can anyone confirm that Chev thermostats are interchangeable with red motor ones?
Thanks, jack

[Ed]

Jack,

Sounds like the one, cant confirm 100% the part # as rares subbed the milodon over the mr gasket part I ordered, therefore my receipt has the mr gasket part #.  I threw the box out yday unfortunately.

I distinctly remember the thermostat fitting All Chev and some Ford.

I am using a Holden V8, so if a Holden Red 6 thermostat is the same as Holden V8, you're in business.

where are you? I've got some Holden V8 thermostats you could use to size up.

Cheers

Ed

[jack_fc]

thanks for the info, Ed. A local Chev-head told me that sb Chev, Holden V8 and red six themostats are all the same size. He has a HZ ute with 308, as well as the 56 Chev with 350, and is a mechanic, so I'm assuming this is correct. Have ordered the Milodon 160 F thermo - hope it cures the problem (gets hot in stop-start traffic around town; fine at highway speeds)
That shroud looks like a work of art - must have a gander at your setup at the Nats
cheers
jack

[Ed]

Hey Jack,

I tested out the cooling abaility of the new set up on the weekend.  I drove around town and idled the time away in saturday traffic.  No overheating, it probably got up to around 185°F max while sitting at traffic lights.

The best thing is the new found ability to cool quickly when some air is pushed through the core.  Under bonnet temps are also reduced, which I can only assume is the effect of having fresh cool air pulled in displacing the hot air and forcing it out the bonnet louvres.

A shroud combined with the thermostat will give you the best result, but I reckon the thermostat alone should result in an improvement.

Cheers

Ed

[mikey]

You know what Ed, I am slightly disappointed that your problem is fixed This has been a fantastic thread, journey some may call it, and I am sad it has come to an end.

Far be it from me to wish bad luck on anyone but if something else goes wrong on anyones car I guiltily hope it happens to you     I know, I know Karma is coming after me with a vengeance.

Thanks for shiteloads of pictures as well.

Cheers  M

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

I'll second that by saying Ed's posts are a great trip through the analytical process of problem solving, I won't wish any misfortunes on him though 

[Ed]

Hey mikey & Stinky,

I'm glad you enjoyed this little journey into something that could be considered mundane. 

To be able to post here and have the input of others to assist in problem solving is fantastic.  If this post helps others then it becomes a resource.

Modifications often go un-noticed and most of the time there is little weight assigned to items such as fan shrouds, alternator brackets, placements of radiators or such things. In my opinion, the greatest thought is placed into the fabrication of those smaller items. which overall contributes to a better more reliable final product. 

It follows the 80/20 "Pareto principle", which could be applied as 80% of the thought goes into 20% of the car.

I wont bore you with my philosophies, I'm thinking of the next little job...

Cheers

Ed

[TTV6FC]

Hey Ed,without even knowing it your post has become a huge resource and quite inspirational with regards to your fabrication abilities.Something so simple (the post that is)has no doubt helped a lot of people to sort out their over heating problems and inspired others to have a go at fixing some things that are totally unrelated.Great job.

[jack_fc]

hey Ed, I'm still waiting for a milodon 160 t/stat (out of stock - more ordered from yankeeland).
You said that your temp is now a fairly stable 185 in traffic, n thats good news; I would be really interested to hear what effect the new t/stat had on hiway speed temps. After re-reading this whole thread (which sure has been educational - BIG thankyou to you n all contributors), I'm hoping that hiway temp doesnt go TOO low with this t/stat; in which case the milodon 180 degree may be the go... Did you at any stage have the new t/stat fitted without the shroud? If so, what did you find?
Can you give me an update on this "hot" topic?
thanks n cheers
jack

[Ed]

Hey Jack,

I've had to use the car daily for the last 2 weeks and the temp seems to sit around  170 during normal stop start /traffic.

Yesterday in warmer weather it approached 180 - 185 for a brief period in heavy traffic.

haven't had it on extended freeway runs but at speed for a few kilometres it settles in around 165 - 170.

While the optimum running temp of a motor is 180 I prefer mine to run at around 170.

I didn't run without a shroud, but I did run a normal 180F thermostat with the shroud and it sat on 180 and higher and felt too hot.

So with this thermostat and shroud my motor now tends to run on the cooler side of optimum (180F) at around 170 average.  On the freeway I would expect the thermostat to do it’s job and regulate the heat so it may drop to 160F during the cooler months.
For my car I reckon its perfect, with the coolant at 180F the cabin starts to get very warm.
With the coolant at around 170F, the cabin is OK.
Will it affect the longevity of the motor?  I don’t think it will have a significant impact, given the good quality oil it uses.
I had a GSX1100 air cooled bike and that thing would run cold in winter and hot in summer, and they are great motors!
When selecting my thermostat I also went though the same thought process.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Ed

[jack_fc]

Thanks Ed, you're a fountain of information! I've found out for sure that SBC t/stats are physically the same as those for red six. Asked several local Chev owners for a t/stat so I could compare to red six - to no avail... Then remembered that my daily (HK ute) runs SBC.... (insert VERY red face emoticon here) (cant decide if I'm dumb or dumber - probably the latter...)
Now got high hopes milodon t/stat will solve or ease my problem. If the 160 makes it run too cool out the road, I'll try the 180 version. Will probably fit a new ICE fan as well - the Davies Craig fitted pumps less and is getting old
Thanks for your help
cheers jack

[Ed]

Hey Jack,

Not a fountain, just passing on whatever I've learned.  Im glad you're obtaining some benefit from my research.

Again i really cant select the best temp for your application but take into consideration why the faster flow rate.  My rationale for selecting a higher flow thermostat was the coolant temp was increasing on the freeway. 

Normally this would indicate the radiator itself was of insufficient capacity.  By dropping my car from Overdrive to drive the revs would increase and the coolant would start to decrease in temp.  Two things were happening due to increased revs. 1) fan speed increased (although over 80kmh I would have thought fan speed had minimal impact) and 2) there was an increase in coolant velocity.

There are a couple of ways to increase coolant velocity.
a) elec pump, but this is expensive and wouldnt fit in my engine bay anyhow.
b) machine up a smaller waterpump pulley (my WP pulley is already 10% smaller than the crankshaft pulley).
c) remove the thermostat.

The easiest looked like point c.  but not wanting to run zero thermostat I elected to get a high flow unit.

I also chose 160F as I do alot of driving in and around Sydney city, I prefer the lower temp where the thermostat opens.

The gain in optimising one facet of your cooling system wont be fully realised until the system as a whole complements the other mods.

If this doesnt help your cooling issues coupled with a shroud it definitely will.

Cheers

Ed