Annnnnnnnnd that tops it for the most disgusting thing I'm going to see all year long. And it's January 31st. Thanks, Gary! lol

 

Gary, either that's some left over thanksgiving gravy, or someone mixed types of antifreeze. Dexcool and some others, if you put the regular ethylene glycol in with it will make that kind of muck.

 

My first thought was a bunch of that stop-leak crap that people pour in from a can.

 

I would put in a coolant filter on the build.

 

Green and orange make brown, right?

 

I have no idea what it is. And, that's the only place it exists unless it is hidden in the block somewhere, although I will punch out the soft plugs to see what's there. The inside of the water pump looks new, with no rust and no goop. So, why would it be only on the stat? Low pressure point? Turbulence right behind the restriction?

 

Dead end with a cold engine. You do have the correct thermostat don't you, the one with the bypass valve?

 

Dex-cool doesn't like iron.
If somebody put it in there for longer changes it could be all up inside the block.


But you're having it prepped anyhow.

 

No, that's the wrong stat. I'm certainly going back with the right one though, the one with the bell or skirt. I'm sure Dad wasn't aware of the difference.

 

Gary I think that waterless stuff is kinda cool.With a fresh build and all new everything it could be worthwhile. They said it will not rust or corrode and lasts the life of the motor. I would also think it would help water pump bearings and not cause corrosion buildup in the head passages.

I keep thinking of scenarios on the highway where you would have to add water from overheating and can not think of any that do not require pressure. Since there is no pressure built up, the only way to get a leak would be a faulty hose , defective clamp, or some other defective part.

I really do not know the long term benefits of this coolant but it sure seems pretty wild.

 

Gary, I to am very opinionated, I know what I think, I know what is right, and I make no apologies for it. This tends to cause "tension" in people I work with, people these days have such fragile false egos and are never told they are wrong. That said I see nothing wrong with your opinions, it's your truck, your money, your time, and I take no issue with that at all. In fact it would be very wrong of me to do so.

Most all the negative aspects mentioned of manifold vacuum timing are true, it can be a pain in the ****. Most often when not planned for, done right, and with poorly running engines with automatic transmissions. I do believe though that often the effort is worth it and it's what I use exclusively on my vehicles including my stockish 460/C6 where it works perfectly with almost no idle speed change between park and drive. The key to this is where most get tripped up with using manifold vacuum, it needs to be at the full vacuum limit at idle and will idle with the timing at the bare minimum in the mid 20s.

Ironically enough almost all the benefits of manifold vacuum advance are found at and right off idle, at the same place most people have a hard time with it. Done right it makes for a very strong idle with very crisp off idle response, and that is why I use it. The biggest place where manifold vacuum fails is the same place many who build for show and sound end up. As I think Bill was getting at, an engine with low compression, big cam, and street automatic with low(stock) stall. Trying to get an engine like that to idle low and well is hard enough before adding the complication of manifold vacuum timing. But I'm rambling, just making my case, not trying to push it on you.

Carb wise, I can't disagree with you there either for the exact same reasons, Holley based carbs are a pain in the **** just like manifold vacuum timing. And just like the timing thing I think thy are worth the trouble for myself but certainly not for all and it's not my place to push it on you. Just thought I'd make the suggestion as I figured it a safe assumption that you hadn't seen the Quick Fuel stuff.

 

Kyle - I'll do some more research on that coolant, and if you or anyone else knows or finds more please post a link here.

Brute - One of the reasons I'm building this truck the way I am is to make it bullet-proof since I hope it'll be handed down in the family for decades. For instance, I'm going with a roller cam and lifters as that won't take special oil or additives since my offspring aren't really good with maintenance. Similarly they can't spell "carburetor" so it'll have to be a set-and-forget item and IMHO a Holley nor any of the derivatives qualifies for that.

All - More on the cooling system. Having pulled the soft plugs I still have no clue what the goo is on the 'stat. Here are pics showing what I found:

Water pump is CLEAN! I'm not sure it has ever been changed, but if it has it has been at least 10 years ago.


The soft plugs are in good shape for 32 years and 141K miles:


Here's the worst of the corrosion on the cylinders that can be seen through the soft plug holes:


But most of them looked like this:


Yes, they are going to vat the block before machining so it'll be completely clean, and if I'm ever going with the special coolant this would be the time. At 3% MPG improvement (I think they said 3 - 8%) it'll pay for itself in $40,000 miles, assuming 14 MPG w/o it, $3.5/gal of gas, and $300 to fill the cooling system. But I'm not sure I believe that. Thoughts?

 

I believe the first time you have to pull a hose or radiator, pump, heater core, you are going to have another silly expense.
And who is going to keep your kids from mixing the wrong coolant (if "waterless" is even still available)

 

Gary I read many of the published articles on the Evans sight last night. It is very interesting to me. I could not say though if it is the best thing to do, but it does seem to be pretty well tested through some harsh machines and environments.

Jim, I agree with you and think the same way, but my experiences with those parts going bad have to do with overheating and pressure. If you keep those two things from happening, how else could they go bad.

The stuff seems legit and not a snake oil. I think the biggest reason we do not hear more about it is because we really can not get our mind to think different from what we know. That is one of the big reasons why I do not like newer cars. They do not feel dependable to me, yet I never have to work on them like I do my old "Dependable" cars.

 

I've never used the Evans coolant but have looked into it. I was/am going to use it if I ever get around to building an IDI. I'd run it at very high coolant temps to in part increase MPG. This is where the 3-7% increase in MPG mentioned above comes from, not from the coolant itself but from the modifications it allows for. Most of all in diesels allowing them to run at temps that a spark(gas) engine has a hard time, allowing for the fan to very rarely come on saving energy.

So it strikes me that for Evans Coolant to be worth it in a spark engine like yours between two and four modifications would have to be made. The first two, electric fan and water pump, the fan so it can be there but very rarely come on and the water pump to eliminate the bearings in the water pump that are stressed by the belts and will need replacement. Evens does sell there own modified water pump though not sure if they do for 335/385 engines. The other two mods would be a very high temp thermostat if you can find one and a radiator grill cover to reduce drag.

I think for what your after you can get the same results simpler, cheaper, and easier to maintain with a 180 thermostat, a coolant mix of low percentage antifreeze, distilled water, and an additive like water wetter, all capped off with a Stant 10231(10331 is the lever vent version) cap. This cap is technically a 16lb cap but a little different, it prevents pressure build up until it's needed, I'll let Stant explain.

EDIT;
FWIW I run around with no pressure in my cooling system quite often, it's not needed in most of our engines until things get hot. Right now the grand marguis that was given to me and I've been putting around in needs a water pump. It leaks out the weep hole when there is pressure. Well I got bigger priorities at the moment and need to put off that repair. So I just took my pocket knife and cut the pressure seal portion of the cap, no pressure, no leaks, I just have to be careful not to get it hot.