408 Stroker temps

[Mjpesky]

Well, After being so close to getting the car back and driving it for the first time since London last year, another issue has come up. I had the 408 rebuilt after a balancing and oil pressure issue, and I got a call today from the shop. The engine is in the car, it runs like a F'n beast, but they have concerns NOW about the engine temp. I originally had a 195 tstat in the car with the Fitch which they did not like and suggested a 160. After installing the 160 tstat and taking the car for a drive, they told me the engine temp was 200 and oil temps was around 180. Their assessment was that the radiator and fan were both undersized. The cooling system and engine are as follows. Engine is a 408 stroke ported stage 2 with Victor Jr heads. The cooling is a Mezziere electric pump, -16an feed to radiator, -20an line out of radiator to the pump, a Ron Davis 3 row aluminum radiator and the supplied Spal fan. They suggested a larger fan or twin fans and a 4 core radiator. Should this help???

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[NAZ]

I run a 800HP SBC in my hot rod which I'm guessin' has a smaller radiator than your roadster. I haven't had any coolant temp issues with this combo (yet). Call Ron Davis and see what they say about your combo. The temps the shop guys witnessed while driving the car don't seem unreasonable on the surface but not knowing HOW they were operating the car and the OAT that doesn't say much.

However, if you run the electric water pump I suggest you pull the t-stat (queue the myths about restrictions and slowing the coolant flow) and if you want a quicker warm up use a temperature switch to operate the pump like you would an electric fan. Cold start = no coolant flow until the temp switch completes the ground on the pump relay. Should I tell you about my experience with Mezeier and their failure prone pumps and poor quality repair services?

[emoore924]

I run a 408 stroker and actually had to swap out a couple of bad (new) thermostats to settle the temps. And bleeding was difficult and really important. Where is your temp sensor located (screwed in)? That also made a difference for me. Runs a rock-steady 80 now.

[Jim1855]

I called Meziere to ask what electric waterpump they'd recommend. They recommended a mechanical for additional flow. Wasn't what I wanted to hear but I followed their advice and bought an Edelbrock Victor mechanical race pump.

All aluminum 427w, approx 550hp, 3-7,000rpm on a road track. Water temps are not the problem, oil temp is. In street traffic watertemps are a problem, oil temps are not.

Jim

[Mark K]

+1 on bleeding and ensure no trapped air. I had issues until I used a Airlift to fill my coolant system. Everything was fine after that.

[CraigS]

My 408 runs a 180 deg t-stat, a 2000cfm fan and a Summit aluminum radiator. It runs 180 deg all the time as long as I remember to use the switch. The fan has an auto controller that comes on at 195. I also have a manual switch for the fan. If I get into traffic it will go to 195 until the fan kicks on. That is safe enough, but I prefer to turn on the fan myself because it will stay at 180 no matter temp or traffic.