How To: C15a Wire-3 restoration

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Curious about the heat. It seems to be under load and OK when at an idle. Blockage? Timing? Rich mixture (what do the plugs look like)? I've had that problem with Fords but have a hard time getting Chevs up to a working temperature. I look forward to hearing what the cause is. Is rad fluid making it to the overflow can? Why is the can on the outside?

[Jordan Baker]

Phil.

Ok thanks for the tips on the speedometer. I’ll check the nut on it.

My steam relief tube does not have any shut off. It’s always open.

Bruce,
Yes this was while it was under load. If it idles for about 10min the temp comes down to around 180. Then after about 10 min of driving it’s climbed back up to over 210. There is a chance it may have an air bubble in the system. Part of me wonders if the water pump is spinning too fast at the higher end and there is some cavitation going on or I’ve got a blockage somewhere. All things to investigate.

I do not yet have the radiator overflow can hooked up.

[David Herbert]

I would question the thermostat and then the gauge itself.

David

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by David Herbert

I would question the thermostat and then the gauge itself.

David

The 'how long can you keep your hand on the rad tank' test...when the gauge is in doubt. If it's really running at 220 you'll know pretty fast. Because of where the temp gauge is on a carrier and the difficulty in reading it I often resorted to checking the temp with my left hand on the upper tank.

[Jordan Baker]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

The 'how long can you keep your hand on the rad tank' test...when the gauge is in doubt. If it's really running at 220 you'll know pretty fast. Because of where the temp gauge is on a carrier and the difficulty in reading it I often resorted to checking the temp with my left hand on the upper tank.

Hmmmm now that I think about, I’m pretty sure I got the temperature gauge from you years ago. Lol

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Jordan Baker

Hmmmm now that I think about, I’m pretty sure I got the temperature gauge from you years ago. Lol

Warranty expired in 1944...

[Harry Moon]

I learned to drill a small hole in the thermostat to allow some leakage and the release of any trapped air. If you are running a 216 you might try loosening the temperature sender and make sure that there is no trapping air under it.

[Jordan Baker]

Thanks Harry, Ill take a look at that too.


Bruce......dang

[Jordan Baker]

So I drained down the radiator enough to remove the thermostat housing. The thermostat is a 160 deg one. It is operating fine and there was nothing causing an blockages. I did drill a tiny hole in though. Even having a hole is mentioned in the MB-C2 manual. I checked my original bellows style thermostat and it had the small hole. When I was reinstalling this I noticed that the fan pulley seemed to spin easily. Bingo.....the fan belt was very loose. I tightened it up to the proper 1/2” of play as mentioned in the manual. What a difference in how it sounded as you could really hear the fan pulling the air through the radiator now. I suspect that was my problem at the higher RPM the fan was slipping and not spinning the water pump as well as needed.

As for the speedometer, I pulled it out and the cable was fine. I think something either seized up or let go inside the speedometer. I put on the NOS spare I had.

I also pulled out my fuel gauge as it didn’t seem to be working. I tried out the spare and it worked so it was installed. I also sanded all the paint off the rim on the dash panel to give it a much better ground. I then added new fuel to the tank and the gauge moved as it was supposed to.

I took the truck for a test drive around the block. It’s a 10km round trip. The truck got close to but never went over 200deg on the long sections of road. Today the weather temp is around 28deg and feels like 32deg. I did have it up to 40mph in some spots but it seemed to like crusing nicely at around 35mph. There is absolutely no wobble and the steering is very responsive.

Does anyone have a part number for Napa for a new fan belt? I’ve got the wide pulleys on the truck. There seems to be a few different sizes listed online. The one I have is very old and sits down in the bottom of the pulley. It’s looking a little chewed in spots.