A buddy of mine asked if I would get on here and get him some info from you guys. He has a '73 Z/28 with a 60 overed Bowtie 350, Performer RPM intake, Bowtie heads ported/polished, Keith Black pistons giving 11:1 compression, Holley 850 DP, Comp Cam (don't know the specs but it thumps pretty hard), and 4.56 rear gear. Does any body have a similar set-up? If so, what are you running cooling system wise? He has run as high as 200 on a 103 day. normal days it stays below or right at 180. He is happy with this but, is just wondering if he could get any cooler.

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1984 Z/28
GoodWrench 350, Edlebrock Performer intake, MSD 6AL Super HEI kit, Crane CompuCam 2040, Edelbrock headers, Catco cat, Flowmaster aftercat, K&N, Custom 700R4, B&M Megashifter, Eibach springs, KYB GR-2 struts/shocks, Jegster adj LCA's, Lakewood adj panhard bar, BFG Comp T/A's, 160* stat

 

Well thats not doing too shabby. His cooling system is doing its job. It wouldn't hurt to regulate a little better in the extreme heat, but this sure isn't a problem area for him. Make sure he is running a fan shroud, I don't think a '73 model would have come with one factory. This helps pull as much air thround the radiator as possible. To regulate much better he is probably going to have to move to a strong aluminum radiator. That should give him enough cooling capacity to cool down more. Also, is he running an automatic transmission? If he is he is probably running a pretty high stall converter. Adding an external transmission cooler will take some of the heat out of the engine's radiator and reduce temperatures.

 

He is running a B&M TH350 and TCI converter (I'm not sure of the stall). He has a trans cooler on it. He also has a shroud. I'm not sure of the radiator. The fella he stole the car from said it was a stock 4 core. I'm not sure of that though. We would have to take gander inside. Just haven't thought of it while actually tinkering with the car. He has a flex fan on the motor and a small elec. pusher fan on the front of the radiator set at 175*. Anybody with a similar setup, what could he improve on? What thermostat are ya'll running? He's not sure of his stat.

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1984 Z/28
GoodWrench 350, Edlebrock Performer intake, MSD 6AL Super HEI kit, Crane CompuCam 2040, Edelbrock headers, Catco cat, Flowmaster aftercat, K&N, Custom 700R4, B&M Megashifter, Eibach springs, KYB GR-2 struts/shocks, Jegster adj LCA's, Lakewood adj panhard bar, BFG Comp T/A's, 160* stat

 

About the only thing I can think of that he hasn't done already would be an aftermarket water pump. I've got a Stewart on mine http://www.stewartcomponents.com/
it seems to do the job. I can't honestly say whether the new pump did a measurable improvement over the old setup, but then I installed it in the fall when overheating wasn't really a problem anyhow. Their website info includes data on their pumps, as far as how they flow so much better than stock ones.

Edit: I don't think that holding 180 steadily, with short trips up to 200 is all that bad. Mine used to be much worse than that. In fact, most stock thirdgens are going to run much hotter than that because of the factory programming and thermostat. Still, if the man wants to run cooler, go right ahead.

[This message has been edited by D_Amlee (edited July 23, 2000).]