Is this the original 62' radiator?

[Bullett]

I am having overheating problems and am looking at my options. The PO installed a new aluminum radiator before I got the truck but it is not cutting it. After studying it for a minute, it appears like he left the original radiator in the truck and fastened the new one to it. Does this make any sense or am I missing something. It appears like the old radiator is blocking all the air from getting to the aluminum radiator.



It almost looks like the original radiator is integrated right into the front supporting structure of truck. Is it o.k. To pull the original out?

[66Submarine]

No, the original would be in the same place as the aluminum one. If there's something else in front of it, it's a separate trans cooler or something.

[jtrichard]

what ever that cross flow is its NOT OEM it looks like another radiator i would pull the AL rad out and see just what you have going

[61_FL_Apache]

There is only one radiator there.. If there is something else in front of it, it may be an AC condenser or tranny cooler. That alum rad should work fine. You have something else going on causing your overheating issue.

Things I would check: Rad cap, thermostat, lower hose to make sure the spring is still in it.. They can get sucked flat and stop water flow, fan clutch and the radiator itself..

Im running the same style radiator with a 160* t-stat and I have no issues at all.

Show us a few more pics thru the grill to see what may be in front of the radiator.

[Bullett]

Alright, now I have a few minutes, I will tell the rest of the story. O.k., I did a motor change over the weekend. I pulled out the 350 crate motor that came with the truck, which ended up being no good. The cam lobes were worn to the point that it wouldn't even open the valves on a couple cylinders. I figured I was much farther ahead to find a different motor all together that had more of what I was looking for. Long story short, I found a guy that just pulled a nice running motor out of his 1984 chevy 4x4 to do an LS1 conversion. This motor supposedly was a low mile motor with MSD ignition, compared to points ignition, alum. Intake and Holley 4 bbl. carb., compared to a 2 bbl...when I picked up the motor, the PO told me it ran great and produced a lot of power. He said to run hi octane fuel due to the motor having flat top pistons....Sunday, my friend and myself swapped the motors.



The new motor fired right up, which made me very happy. I had yet to even take the truck down the road since I bought it in Dec. due to winter and then the bad motor that the seller failed to mention. Oh well, when you buy a vehicle off Ebay, from the other side of the country, your taking your chances. Oh well. ..so, fast forward to Sunday, the new motor fired right up and idled perfectly. I jump in the truck and take off down the road. The motor then starts to have some pretty major detonation issues. I went and put some new hi test fuel in it and a bottle of octane boost thinking this would cure it. It didn't. In the process of driving it, it eventually starts overheating, up to 225 before I pulled over and shut it down. Also in this process, the rear axles were squealing really loud, especially while cornering. So, needless to say, I'm more discouraged now than before. I did check the diff fluid and it was very low. I bought new synthetic fluid today but haven't had a chance to put it in. I am sure hoping this will solve the issue with the rear. Anyways, back to the detonation problem, I researched that issue and figured out that a high engine temp can really aggravate detonation issues. I figured I would try and take this one step at a time, first step would be to try and get the motor to run cooler, I figured removing the old heat exchanger that seems to be blocking my radiator would be a good start. Now I'm wondering if my engine detonation issues are aggravated by high engine temp. Or is the high engine temp. A byproduct of detonation? I am almost to the point of mothballing the truck til next spring and dealing with it then. It is hard to find the time that is needed to get this truck to where it needs to be. It was a 13 hour day Sunday to do the motor swap.

[AcampoDave]

Bullet, where is your timing set to on the new motor?

[Softpatch]

Pull the Spark plugs take a picture need to see color
Might be a gap issue(35-40ish)is ok
and do a compression check all 8cyl

[Bullett]

O.k., when I get home from work tonite, I will get this information and add a few more details. I don't have a timing light but I will try and pick one up today. Thanks....

[Bullett]

O.k., haven't had time to do the spark plug checks and compression checks but I borrowed a timing light and went on youtube to give myself a tutorial on how to time my motor. I have all MSD ignition so I didn't see any vacuum lines to unplug. I have been making small moves on the distributor when I had taken it out for my initial ride after new motor. So when I put the timing light on it for the first time, the timing was way after tdc (restarted right?) I'm guessing 30-40 degrees? So after doing research, I understood that the timing at idle should be around 18 or 19 degrees advanced at idle and should advance up to around 35 degrees advanced? Well, the best I could do was was about 10 to 12 degrees advanced at idle. If I advance it any more than that, I just can't get it started, it kicks back on the starter? From what I read, restarted timing can make your motor overheat so hopefully, this will resolve that issue. But, back to the detonation issue, like I mentioned, when I took the truck for the initial ride on Monday, I tried the timing in all different spots and never found anything that really helped the detonation. I can't try the truck tonite because of pouring rain, but will try it out tomorrow after work and see what I got.

[SparkyRnD]

get the timing set properly (10-12deg with a stock distributor, and around 25-30 deg total timing with advance). Then, make sure your carb is adjusted properly and jetted properly, as if you are lean, you will overheat. Once all your timing / carb settings are correct, then look to the water pump & radiator.

[Bullett]

Well, I think my poor luck is continuing. Took the truck out this afternoon with the initial timing set at 12 degrees advanced, the detonation was better, not gone completely, but considerably better but the motor seemed very sluggish. I took it around the neighborhood a couple times and it didn't seem to come out of it and the temp guage eventually went back to 200 to 210 degrees so I pulled over and shut it down and waited for it to cool off. When I got home, after letting cool for an hour, I figured I would check all the plugs. They all looked exactly the same, I nice light brown and they were all gapped at .045. While the plugs were out, I figured I would screw my compression tester into each cyl. And get a cyl. Pressure reading. All read 145 to 155 EXCEPT #3 &#5 cyl. They read, 40 and 45 psi. Is this as bad as I think it is? Is there any other reason for this other than internal damage? My motor is gone ain't she? What other testing can I do that would tell me more?

[Bullett]

Continued this post under engine and drivetrain forum

[SparkyRnD]

could be busted rings, or a stuck valve. Maybe pull the offending valve cover and while running check operation.