Thread: Delayed overheating problem

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Great thread and let me also add my welcome to you megamax. I would second those who have appreciated your polite and positive attitude. It goes a long way here as many of us are old guys and well – we just prefer polite rather than rude behavior!

A couple thoughts from an ol’ Chevy guy who’s built a lot of small blocks and worked through any number of heat related issues:

1. They guys here recommending mechanical fans are spot on. The GM boys have done a lot of research and there’s no better cooling method than the stock GM fan and the stock clutch. If you can go to a wrecking yard and find the fan, clutch and shroud from a pre-1982 Camaro V8 you’ll do well to replace everything. Even a 40 year old clutch is probably fine; however the fan clutches from NAPA are functional replacements, usually made by Hayden (the originals were made by Eaton and Schwitzer). If there are any signs of leakage or the bearing wobbles replace the clutch – about $50 from a parts house. But the one for A/C as its heavy duty.

2. Get your timing set – Summit, Jegs and your local parts house have the timing tabs for less than five bucks. Start with initial timing 8-10 degrees advanced, vacuum disconnected, total timing should be 33-36 degrees with the vacuum connected @ 2000-2500 RPM.

3. Your negative battery cable looks kinda funky. Remember this is the electrical path for everything on your car and the starter draws 100-125 amps on a stock engine. Remove the cable and clean the ends really well on your wire wheel or with sand paper. Also grind the bracket to bare metal and attach with a 5/16” bolt and nut with star washers. Use a nice new Grade 5 and reef on it good and tight. Make sure the positive cable is real clean as well!

Keep up the great posts and once again, welcome to CHR

Best,Glenn