Quote:
Originally posted by Phil Waterman
I tried to get the truck on the road for our clubs big summer rally at the end of July, even headed out with CANADA only to have it lose power and overheat 10 miles from the home. After it cooled down, headed back home only to have it overheat, again this time called for the flat bed and hauled it the rest of the way. Part of the problem was the outside air temperature was low to mid 90s so I was over heating as much as the truck.
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Phil, I can fully commiserate with you over driving CMP's in extreme temps.! We're now into 30 plus days of triple digit temperatures this summer in Texas. Forecast high today- 103! When I first started driving my C15 around here in the summer I kept a watchful eye on the temp guage. The short drives at reenactments and in convoys haven't been a problem, its the slow crawling in Bull-low in parades is what gets my CMP's temperature up. After my first near-overheating adventure I did a few things to help keep my engine cool. I flushed the block out thoroughly and found quite a bit of rusty coolant. I kept flushing until only clear water flowed, then I replaced the coolant with 100% antifreeze after making sure to replace and tighten all the hose clamps. I also replaced the water pump. My truck already runs a little rich so I left the carb as is. I tried driving my truck without a thermostat on the hottest days, but it took forever to get the engine to near operating temp and the engine is sluggish when it's too cool. I finally drilled two small holes in the thermostat to reduce restriction to coolant flow a little. This has helped as my truck hasn't exceeded 200F. as indicated on the temp guage on even the hottest days when I'm hauling a dozen or so vets around in the back. As for keeping the driver cool, I keep an ice chest full of water and ice and I use a Cool-Wrap around my neck. The Cool-Wrap really helps when the cab temp hits 130F!
CHIMO!