There's about a 3 inch gap between the frame and the body, so I just zip-tied the hoses to the underside of the body. Enough so that they're out of the way from getting snagged on rocks or anything, but easily accessible enough that I can change a hose if it needs it. That's the great thing about that heater hose. You can pretty much run it where ever you need to.

 

and i guess its chepa and easy to find....ill keep heater hose in mind when i do mine sumday......

thanx

 

The whole setup only cost me around 50 bucks. Not a bad price to pay to keep all that mud and crap outta the radiator. 1 more important addition to make is to put some kinda shield behind the radiator. Some autolite-head was behind me and started throwing mud everywhere and some rock-laden clots impaled my radiator and put a couple holes in it. Need some kind of shield that will let the air through but still provide sufficient protection from those occurrances.

 

coregated metal?

 

I was thinking expanded steel or a large sheet of the material like the grating that goes over the registers in your house.

 

momudder720,

I'm planning on doing this too. I like the heater hose idea, but arent you just increasing velocity and not GPM? Have you done any tests to see if you're moving more, less, or the same amount of coolant? Do you think the higher velocity will affect the water pump at all? Also, how long have you run this setup and what size engine do you have?

Sorry for all the questions, but I really want to do this and if I can use smaller tubing, it'll be a LOT cheaper that 1 1/2" copper. I do want to use metal lines instead of rubber, though. 1" diameter by 12 feet long will give you approx. 450 square inches of surface area for the tubing itself. That's a significant amount of extra cooling IMO.

Can I ask what you used for fans? I don't want to spend $300 on the summit electric fans for my 460. Did you have to go to a bigger alternator to power the fans?

Again, sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance!

Kevin K.

 

i like ford tauras electric fans....they are cheap and easy to find out of the j-yard....and some are two speed.

 

I'm still using the lifetime-warranty Autozone cheapie water pump. Yes, it does just increase velocity; gets the hot stuff to the back faster. My neighbor tried running 1 1/2 all the way front and back and couldn't keep his engine cool. His was a big block, but I'm more apt to think it has more to do with his hose diameter selection. In the Bronco, I've got a 351W. I like your idea of using copper tubing all the way back and forward, but once you get everything caked with mud, the copper does about as good a job getting rid of excess heat as the radiator when it's full of mud; plus the hose is a lot easier to bend around obstacles and easier to patch up.
I found 2 electric fans from Ebay and snatched those up for under 30 bucks. Have no idea of CFM, but I'm only using one as a puller behind the fan.
In my project, I've got a 460, and will be using the fan as a pusher, not a puller, so we'll see how it does. I'm not scared, though. Like I said, I NEVER had a problem with keeping the Bronco under 200 degrees. And that was using straight water. Guess what happened when we got the first hard freeze in December...POP! goes the freeze plugs!
Factory altenator. But keep in mind, I've got the fenders, seats, homebuilt firewall all bolted to the rollcage, bolted to the frame, and am only powering the fuel pump, fan, and ignition, so the factory 60 or 70 amp alt. is plenty. I'll have to upgrade, though, when I go to my fully-electric setup; water pump, power steering, fuel, fans, and ignition. Maybe I'll just hook up another alt where the old PS pump was...hmmmmm...gotta get pix posted this weekend...sorry for the delay...

 

Dude! That Bronco looks AWESOME! Looks like you had some serious fun.

As for your buddy's truck, I'd think it's the fans or radiator causing the heat problems. Those are the most common factors, but ya never know. Big blocks are tough to keep cool from what I've seen.

You're right about the mud though. It'll insulate the pipe as well as rubber would. I guess it'll come down to cost. It sure would be nice not to have to deal with sweating jounts.

I think I'm gonna do mine like pro did with the puller fans. That'll help with most of the flying debris. I will have to get a bigger alternator though. I have all the original gauges, CB, GPS, and a bunck of other crap running when we wheel.

BTW, I like the tilt hood. I did that to my 78 but used all the original body parts and just fabbed up some hinges. Sure does make in easier to work on the engine, hey?

Thanks for the response and let us know how the 460 project works out.

Kevin K.

 

I goota say that the tilt hood was the best thing by far that I've done to it. And to my surprise, the engine bay doesn't even get too ungodly caked with goo, but I didn't too ignernt with it the last time. The first bash was a test. The second time I got a little rowdy. This time, I'm gonna try and actively break something. Breakage stories are ALWAYS amusing.
We're having another big mud party on May 15th, so I'll have a few more good pix (hopefully) to add to my collection.
I think his problem with there was no hose reduction, so the velocity of the hot coolant didn't get pumped to and from the rad fast enuf.
I feel kinda bad about the 460 project. I put a flatbed and a 91 C%&$y cab on it, but it still looks alright. Just gotta tear off the bowties and replace them with ovals. That's actually a project for my parents. They had such a good time at the last bash they decided they needed a truck too. Dad was talkin rockwells and floatation tires and I said, whoa, one step at a time. I still can't shut em up, tho. Last night he mentioned nitrous. Might hafta satisfy him on that one...

 

Man, talk about ghetto-fab. No offense meant to you momud, but I would never recomend doing a rear mount rad the same way you did.

First off, some clarifications.

My rig not being a trailer queen, I've run it up to four hours away to make comps, and have never had an overheat problem. Keep in mind that my entire grill is sealed by sheetmetal to keep the mud out, this also keeps most airflow out of the engine compartment, yet it still isn't a problem. When the temp hits 85 and up, I've found I need to remove the forward sheetmetal that blocks my grill to keep things cool but thats it. If this set up keeps my mountain motor cool it will anybodies. I run a 180 tstat and it remains steady at @185.

I don't know why your buddy was having problems, but the causal factor was not using 1 1/2 tube. Velocity is not an issue, a restriction from small lines is. A high volume pump would be swell but my setup and others like it run just fine with a stocker. You WANT to run 1 1/2 tube, and running all rubber is the WORST thing you can do. Why? Rubber cracks, splits, swells, and collapses. Did you run springs in those tremendous lengths of heater hoses? Most guys use aluminized exhaust pipe, but the best way to plumb it is with copper pipe. There is a reason this stuff is used with actual plumbing.

Look, don't bother getting all fired up because I'm not trying to make you look stupid. This obviously has worked for you (although I'm surprised). I bring up these concerns because many others have been toying with doing this and frankly, I think if they do it your way they will end up with problems. I have covered how to properly do this mod several times (as has been pointed out) so I won't beat it to death again. Its all only a search away.

Momud, its good to have fresh ideas in here, and I welcome new blood. Just raising some concerns of mine.

 

No offense taken. Just workin with what I can afford, what I know how to do, and experimenting with the rest.

 

Thats cool man, and kudos to you for taking it all in stride. I dig your ebronc, love to have one myself.

 

what radiators are you guys using with your set ups?

 

I'm using the factory radiator out of an 86 F-250. 2 core. But I guess you want on as big as you could get. I might consider getting a big rig radiator from a salvage yard if the one for the big block doesn't work out as planned.