Running Hot

[rsk68]

Hi all,
Seems the car dosnt want to run when it gets over 210 deg, the first time it happened it started sputtering and poping like the ignition was cutting out and then it just whent dead this was when I got off the freeway from a 30 mile ride, on the freeway it runs at 180 deg and just gets hot when i hit the surface streets. After towing the car home i noticed the battery terminal was loose, could this cause the ignition to not work well at idle? I'm runing a Digital E-Curve Pro-Billet Distributor with no box, now it also feels like its flooding when this happens, could it be due to not getting enough spark at this time, and could the ignition really fail at just 210 deg?
Also what temperature should i get nervous at, 210 dosnt seem that hot, i have a Ron Divis radiator in it and thought this would be the least of my worries. As for now I'm only good for a short trip around town and this is no way to enjoy a fresh built car.

[paul67]

What yr engine is it also sb or bb ?

[rsk68]

1968 396 Bb

[paul67]

I think thats abit hot, run the car on the drive to see if reaches this temp , and see if the fan brings the temp down , i would be looking at 180 , if sticks at about 180 on the drive , and stays there , you might be the timing being a bit to advanced when the engine at revs,this could caused like you said the loose batt connection might have something to do with it. What size fan are you running.

[rsk68]

Ron Davis radiator with Dual 13" spal fans

[Twentyover]

At 219 all you fannage should be spinning, grabbing a big pile of current. If it was idling off the alternator, w/ no battery reserve (check for maybe a dead cell?) you could go below thrshold ignition voltage

[rsk68]

well i took her out for another drive and its still giving me a problem at 210*, i believe i have eliminated all the possible electrical problems, I now think it is carburation as i cant think of an electrical issue that would arise at 210*. the car does seem to run a bit fat and loads up on the freeway a little when cruising in 5th at 1700rpm.

In all my reading of threads on over heating I have a question about WATER BYPASS FEATURE, is this the small hose on a big block that goes from the top of the waterpump to the front of the intake manifold under the thermostat housing? If so how would i achieve this with the Vintage Air front runner system?

[rsk68]

Well I finally took the car to a local tuner and the car has never run better, the car can sit and idle all day and not get hot at 180* but as soon as you drive it in town slow stop and go up to 40 it gets up to 210*, as soon as it hits 210* it gets a little hesitation and pop going in the carb, it was 94* outside and i didnt have the Air on, hate tho think what would happen if i did that.
It could be I'm over reacting at 210* but I'm scared of braking down again and i would love to run the Air, could i just have a hot blooded motor that will always run on the hot side?
I told my wife last night I need the new Edelbrock fuel injecrted 555 so i wouldnt have this problem any more, she didnt go for it.