Underhood Temperature

[c00nhunterjoe]

I have my stock HP manifolds Jet-Hot coated inside & out.....going on over 15 years and they still look good....cool under the hood as well

Nice engine bay, how do you keep it that clean after 15 years driving?

Just a simple wipe down with a rag sprayed with lucas spraywax is all i use. Paint on the 63 is almost 40 years old now and shines better then new cars.

[JR]

 I chased lower underhood temps for over two years before i got them to a manageable amount. Before I started, ambient temps by the air cleaner would climb up to 160-170 at 70-80mph interstate cruising, and climb to 180 plus in 10 min of city driving, which would cause the car to vapor lock and die for 20 min. (Back when I had a carb.)

Before I started working on them, I found underhood temps to be the highest during substained 70 mph+ cruising, slow city traffic, and immediately after shutdown. (If i drove it downtown, stopped for 15 min and went to restart, air temps at the carb would be 190 or more during the summer. The engine didnt want to run with air that hot, and it would cause vapor lock.) Not to mention, the heat made the cabin extremely uncomfortable.

It would run the coolest at a 35-55 mph cruise.

About 3 years ago, i set out to fix it. I bought a lab thermometer with a remote probe, and monitored air temps by the carb.

In order of effectiveness, here's what I did:

Blocked heat crossover in intake manifold.

Replaced original HP manifolds for ceramic coated shorty Hedman headers. (This caused a HUGE reduction in underhood temps, around 20plus degrees cooler at the air cleaner or so.)

Replaced original cast iron intake for aluminum performer. Cast iron retains/radiates heat MUCH longer than aluminum. I want to replace the water pump housing and cast iron cylinder heads next.

Replaced flex fan for original clutch fan.

Moved battery to trunk, which increased air circulation underhood. Also removed all service plates in the inner fenders. And removed every single unnecessary component underhood. (Relocating the battery showed a measurable drop in ambient temperature on the gauge. It was around a 2-4 degree drop or so, I'm not sure if it's attributed to air circulation, or the battery being a heat soak itself, but it made a definate drop in temp on the thermometer when I moved it.)

Installed an aluminum/poly carb insulator. Part no.h1155.  Like this: http://www.coolcarb.com/order-products.html

Routed fuel lines to rear corner of engine bay to get them away from exhaust heat.

170 degree thermostat.

And I'm sure there's more im forgetting. I live in the southeast, and have got the underhood temps at the carb down to 115-120 degrees on an 80 degree day. (I measured a handful of temps from late model vehicles with the same probe, and found most of them stayed just around 120 degrees, so I thought this was an acceptable figure.)

I want a fiberglass six pack hood next, with an insulated base around the scoop. And water meth injection is on the list, too. The car runs MUCH better breathing 80 degree air rather than 120 degree air.

For the guys still running carbs who use their cars in traffic, under hood Temps are a bigger deal now than they were 20 years ago, as modern gasoline boils off and causes vapor lock at a much lower temp than older blends.

I spent a ton of time working on this to make a reliable car, and these are the main things I picked up from it.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

I have my stock HP manifolds Jet-Hot coated inside & out.....going on over 15 years and they still look good....cool under the hood as well

Nice engine bay, how do you keep it that clean after 15 years driving?

Just a simple wipe down with a rag sprayed with lucas spraywax is all i use. Paint on the 63 is almost 40 years old now and shines better then new cars.

See above....wipe it down every now and then.   Pics hide a lot.....see it in person and its dirty!!  LOL