aa-fords.com

RADIATOR IS SOLD THANKS FOR LOOKING
This is a 28-29 radiator that I sent to a reputable shop to have it unplugged, and resolder the inlet and hood bracket, it was hot tanked and not rodded as I had hoped, and they told me it flowed well, this did not help much.
The fins to tubes are in good condition, 5 fins per inch and 93 tubes, there seems no one in this area is capable of rodding a radiator, so rather than send it back for a core charge and be scrapped I have decided to sell it, asking $150 plus shipping.

Brian, I just sent my AA radiator to a shop that I have used before and highly recommened, I was told that they will pull both ends to see if it can be rodded, if it wont hold up to rodding they will replace the core. I am anxious to see how it comes out. It was boiling really bad in 103 Degree temp. John

Your radiator really looks good, too bad it didnt work out for you. how did you test it to see if it will cool? need to know when mine gets back. I was told that I should put a thermostat in the radiator to slow down the water?????? Know anything about that

A thermostat in the top radiator hose will slow down the water flow and help cooling. A tip I read about in an old book to slow down the water flow was to drill a 1/4" hole in each of the water pump fins. I never tried this, just read about it. Probably was done before thermostats were used and was cheaper anyway.

Keith

After checking for combustion leaks, correct timing, and carburetor set up, I tried all the tips regarding slowing the water flow down, the thermostat helped, I also installed the cut down water pump impeller, and later drilled holes in the impeller, she would still puke 2-3 quarts if pushed a little hard on warmish days.
A tip to stop it from throwing out water is to install a lose fitting nail into the over flow pipe, this will stop the water from siphoning out when the level rises and will not hold pressure, this worked well for me, but of course does nothing for the O-heating.
I purchased a 4 row radiator from Bert's in Denver, and had no problem with fitting it has all the original tanks and baffles and now runs at the thermostat temperature of 160# regardless of temp or speed, hauling around the empty weight of 3.800# you need all the help you can get.

I am not sure why one would want to slow down the water flow. Sufficient water flow is necessary to prevent heat build up in the engine. As water contacts the hot cast surfaces within the engine, small steam bubbles form. This is the means of heat transfer. The flow of coolant keeps these bubbles moving away and replaces fresh liquid to again do a state change. Stagnating the flow will lead to the engine block boiling the coolant at an excessive rate.

By the way, if pushing water out of the overflow is an issue, do you have a good deflector? I know that my previous radiator had it half rusted away and it pushed water out of the overflow. My current radiator has a good deflector and does not spit liquid unless I fill it to the gills.

If the water is flowing to fast you do not get good heat transfer.

Bob

Update, I ended up replacing the core, After driving for about 20 minutes in 105 temp the engine temp was around 180 degrees. I think I am ok with it. John

I find it had to believe that in San Diego you can't find a shop to rod out your radiator. I had a radiator rodded out last week in Northridge, CA. Just an old time radiator shop with an owner who knows what he is doing and is more than fair with his prices.

Ok, I don't want to be argumentative, but the more water that flows through your cooling system, the greater the ability of that water to remove heat. Slow down the water and you reduce the temperature delta. I do this for a living. Even if such a thing existed as too much flow one would never get it from the less than ideal little water pump that is stock for the Model A Engine. Certainly it was a step up from the thermosyphon system in the Model T. Still, it was not very efficiently designed nor does it produce a volume comparable to a cooling system of this size. It was true back in the day and still is now. (Sorry Mr. Ford)

I hope that this is helpful to anyone struggling with cooling. Truth be known, the cooling system was just a bit under designed for this truck. I have a cleaned out radiator, a pump with minimal chips out of it, a four blade stamped metal fan, and a rebuilt carburetor with my points carefully set. It takes all of that to keep from boiling over. Run too rich-boil. Points get bad-boil. Fan belt worn-boil. I hauled about 1500 lbs on a 67 mile trip last fall without overheating. But...if one thing I listed is off, I'll boil over a few miles from my house.

My advise is to keep the radiator clean and full and pump as much water as you can!

The other problem with the water pump is location. In a modern engine the pump is down at the engine inlet. The full column of water in the radiator supplies the suction side and the pump forces water through the engine block. It is therefore pumping the coldest water in the system and with back pressure into the pump. This helps prevent cavitation.

Our Model A’s have the pump in the worst position, trying to suck/lift the hottest water, or steam, out of the top of the engine and splash it into the radiator top tank. Once you start boiling, the pump is useless.

It is a good thing that cast iron block can take the heat! I must have boiled over my AA Truck a hundred times. I once had a Saturn have a water pump failure. It boiled over that one time and it cracked the head.

Let's see who has one of those in 84 years!