Photo: David Tracy
Months ago a friend of a friend asked if he was mine. could use 1966 Ford Mustang as part of his wedding procession. “Sure, this thing is going great,” I replied. A few weeks ago I let the groom drive the car; all systems were in operation. Then I went last weekend to update the cooling system. This was a big mistake.
There are few things that I, a former powertrain cooling engineer, hate more than marginal cooling systems. Protecting a vehicle from overheating is not rocket science: make sure that the radiator is effective and clean; Make sure you have airflow through the radiator (make sure your fan / fan clutches are working properly, make sure there is nothing obstructing the airflow to the heat exchangers); maximize this airflow with well-sealed fan cowls; Use a suitable thermostat; Allow the correct mixture of coolant to flow through your system (this also prevents corrosion, which is important); keep air away from this coolant; Set the engine properly and keep it within the intended operating points; run a good water pump; Keep the cooling system tight (i.e. test it with a pressure to make sure there is no leakage in, for example, a combustion chamber due to a poor cylinder head gasket); and i could go on
The point is, it’s not that difficult, especially on a 1966 Ford Mustang, whose cooling system is literally made up of a radiator, water pump, thermostat, heater core, mechanical fan, and gearbox cooler in the tank (this Mustang has the C4 Three-course). Automatic transmission) and some hoses. So when I saw the vehicle’s temperature needle crawling up in traffic in Ann Arbor a few weeks ago, I decided to mine brothers Mustang under the knife. The car would probably have been fine for the wedding, but there was no way I wanted to risk overheating because it turns out: the car that takes the groom to a north Indian wedding is a big deal, if I’m to believe the website Mandalahochzeiten.com:
The grooms take great pride in his choice of mode of transport. We saw everything from helicopters, yachts, exotic cars and of course from time to time elephants. The most common way to get there is by horse. The horse is decorated to match the groom. The groom wishes to make a statement upon arrival to impress the bride’s family and it will set the tone for the Baraat.
Holy crap, this bold part is making me feel some real pressure right now [pulls collar, steam billows out]because yesterday wasn’t a good day for the formerly abandoned Candy Apple Red Ford Mustang I rescued from Charlottesville, Virginia in 2012 as a college student.
The vehicle ran great until I upgraded my cooling system. I installed a six-blade fan and a fan cover:
Photo: David Tracy
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This replaces the four-blade fan with which the Mustang was delivered from the factory:
Photo: David Tracy
I also threw a transmission oil cooler forward, as well as one thermal bypass valve which bypasses the radiator until the transmission fluid has reached a reasonable operating temperature (approximately 180 ° F). The TBV isn’t strictly necessary I should mention, but I won’t give up on cold weather efficiency if I can prevent it.
Photo: David Tracy
Photo: David Tracy
Anyway, the installation process wasn’t a problem, and everything seemed to be working fine when I took the Mustang on a trip to Woodward Avenue after the surgery. But then the Mustang stranded me:
Photo: David Tracy
The machine sputtered and died when I let go of the throttle on my way back east toward Troy from Woodward Avenue. Now the faithful 289 cubic inch V8 no longer runs in gear (it idles or idles).
What exactly happened? I realize the new fan is putting more stress on the engine, but would that cause the engine to stall at a traffic light? Unlikely. Also, I should be able to adjust this by twisting the idle speed screw a half turn or so. Unfortunately, I found that I had to turn idle to a ridiculous speed to keep the vehicle from locking up in gear.
So what is it Well, it’s possible the engine got a little warmer than before, possibly due to air in the cooling system, but mostly due to the fact that it was 90 degrees outside and I was putting the Mustang to the test before the big day. The vehicle didn’t overheat, but it was noticeably hot in the engine compartment, especially when I turned the engine off.
What this brief period of elevated temperatures could have done – and this is just my current mindset – is to aggravate an already existing vacuum leak. One that I was able to accommodate with carburetor tuning when it was small, but which has now grown thanks to the thermal expansion.
Splashing some starting fluid at the base of the carburetor confirms a vacuum leak, but I don’t know if it’s more significant than it was before my cooling system upgrade.
I have severely limited the transmission cooling system with the bypass valve and radiator, and while this may be related to the fact that the vehicle is just stalling in gear, I just don’t think that’s the problem. The vehicle’s engine stalls under load while idling (otherwise it runs great, the car still accelerates well) and I have reason to believe the engine is running lean.
I’ve had agonizing deadlines in the past. I had to go on Easter jeep safaris, cruise car shows, and airline flights. But this time the stakes are higher than ever, because it’s about someone’s wedding day. And as you can see in the block quote above, this car will “set the tone for the Baraat”. This is not a joke so I’m a little worried about something, let’s face it, shouldn’t be that hard to fix.
Time to turn some wrenches.
