Running Temperature

[Brett (]

I've got a 161 Red in my FC wagon, with trimatic. The engine seems to run hot here in Brisbane, and the gauge frequently reads 180+ (Farenheit) and it will sit close to 200 or more when it stops in traffic during the day. It's got no thermostat, and a Commodore radiator (goes almost the whole way across the bay)  
What's a normal temperature?  I've got a thermofan attached (manual switch) if this doesn't help, can I conclude the radiator is stuffed?  What have I overlooked and how can I check it?  
Thanks for all help Brett

[trent]

I cant help but want to inquire about having a red and a tri in an fc.  Did you do the conversion yourself and was it much work/any major hassles?

[Vic]

I'm running a 173 in an FC & mine runs around the 180 mark. If the tranny cooler in the radiator is flowing properly then that will increase the temp by a couple of degrees. But you should check if the radiator core is beefy enough. A recore will often be a smaller capacity that the original & early Holden motors like a large capacity of water to keep cool. If you're running a blade fan as well as the thermo then I'd say you will need to look at a radiator upgrade.

[brett]

Trent - the conversion was done by the previous owner. A red was put in which from what little I understand doesn't require any body restructures. The trimatic has a structure built under it to support it. It is basically two arms going down and alongside the gearbox, and an arm under the box.  
The major problem was that in Vic this is ok, in Qld we needed to reweld in the crossmember section that was cut out to fit the gearbox in (about a foot of metal) it comes up through the floor about 5-10cms.  
Depending on where you are I think the rego rules change. For some reds you need to upgrade the front brakes at least to Drums. This requires replacing the front end with a HR front end, and upgrading the rear drums. This shouldn't be too hard since you'll have the engine and trans out anyway.. I guess.  
Vic - Ours sits on 180 when it's cooler, usually it's been on 190-200 the past few days in sunny Brisbane. We run the usual engine fan as well as the thermo fan, and it seems to just stabilise the car at 180-200 degrees farenheit.  
By the looks of things I may have to replace the radiator with one of the same size in the hope that the old radiator is not working properly.

[Richard]

You might be amazed how much crap comes out of a radiator when it's flushed - on our way back from 50th Anniversary in Melbourne (to Sydney) our car started seriously overheating.  We pulled into Goulburn and had a radiator specialist flush the radiator out and the rusty gunk geyser it produced was quite spectacular.  The car run much much cooler after that.  So it's worth looking into that before spending a small fortune on a new radiator.
cheers RET