On Saturday I got the urge to seek out new back roads and go on an adventure without any real destination. I called up my buddy Todd to see if he wanted to go. He did.

So about an hour later we were cruising down to Santa Margarita seeking adventure. It was really the first time I had worked my new engine hard for a prolonged period of time. We found some really bitchin roads that were smooth, wide, very twisty, and with no traffic. Life was good.

After making a turn to investigate a road that led into sand, we turned around to get out of there when I started smelling coolant. I stopped and looked underneath the car and saw tons of it pouring out. So I turned the car off before it even started getting hot.

So with hardly any traffic, no cell phone service, and it soon getting dark, we were a little screwed. We were a good 20 miles from any town. Luckily a car drove up and gave us some water to dump in the radiator so we could try to high tail it back. We made it a couple of miles before the car started getting too hot. The guy who helped us offered to go and get some more water, so we thanked him and he took off.

Maybe 15 minutes later he returned from a small ranger station with a lot of water bottles and a big jug full of water. So after letting the engine cool back down, we poured in more water and took off again. This time we made it quite a bit further (I hauled *** the second time) but again had to stop on the side of the road. I just kept it in OD and coasted in neutral as much as I could.

Soon a cop pulled up and questioned us. We told him we didn't need any help as we were close to town by now and had enough water to make it. So after waiting for it to cool down a bit for the third time, we filled it up and high tailed it into Santa Margarita. We stopped at a restaurant where a waitress refilled our water jug. So then we took off to Atascadero. Car started creeping past 220 when we started nearing Todd's house so we stopped there and refilled.

After that we were able to get the car back to my house and I pulled the radiator out today. It wasn't quite the adventure I had in mind but hey, what the hell right.

Picture is a little blury, but you can see that the fan had been rubbing on the radiator. Strange because I checked for clearance and it looked fine. Maybe the fan slid into it after hitting a bump or something.

 

Guess it could have been a lot worse!

Glad she got you home safe (or that you got her home safe).

 

That sucks man... You have another radiator? I have one here, just a stock one, nothing fancy... You are welcome to it if needed.

Jason

 

you spelled Camaro wrong in your sig

 

Wow i thought i was the only one that had happened too. the same exact thing happened on my 83 firebird about 2 years ago. i just added some spacers and a new rad. and works great now.

 

sweet rhino ramps

 

I'm pretty sure that was done on purpose. Sorry to hear about that man. Are you having it repaired/flushed, or replacing it? I am very happy with my Griffin aluminum 3 row. Let me know if you need a hand.

 

So far it seems not all that much more to get a new one than it is to get mine fixed. Just when I had enough saved up for my rear end, this happens and I also need a new input shaft for my T56.

I think I got this covered, but thanks for the offers for help guys. I should have it up and running tomorrow.

 

You get it going? I have a stock radiator here... If you need it to get back on the road, come grab it...I don't need it...

Jason

 

Yeah, I had already ordered one by the time I saw your post. It is in the car now and running. Thanks for the offer though!