quote:Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
Keep going everyone. I love this hissyfit stuff.
I'm still thinking what harm can I do by going to 16 psi? I still need to look at the chart but won't that give me a 260 boil over? I think so.
I am tempted to make a data chart and record what everyone has done. Radiators, waterpumps, variations from stock on the plumbing, vs results.
Many years ago Gary Hall told me that the stock system is fine with a 160 thermostat in it. He said that the engine will run at normal temperatures with it because the problem is the distance from the engine to the radiator.
The distance is good for a 20 degree difference.
He said that if you do anything, put the Phoenix radiator in the car.
I am not preaching to anyone here. I am just repeating what I was told. How many Panteras do you think Hall fixed? A couple of hundred maybe?
I don't have the credentials to debate with Gary.
I will say that more then any vehicle I have ever been involved with the Pantera gets more overreactions then anything I've ever seen. On absolutely every subject, except one maybe, the a/c.
You know me? I do not like to be critical of anyone now, right?
A 160 degree thermostat is running your engine too cold and causing a lot of wear. Don't assume it will run hotter because of coolant flow distances, because it won't on a cold day and a 160 degree unit when it is full open won't flow any more water than a 180 degree one. The stock fan set up that blows through the radiator is not efficient. The ones that pull air throught work much better. From my memory of the Hall Phoenix radiator, it seems that it was thicker than the stock unit and did not flow air through it as well.
Gary Hall did more for the Pantera than any single individual anywhere. If it had not been for him getting into the parts business and trying to keep his car's running, this car may have just been a foot note in automotive history. Gary Hall is also a business man that sells products just like the rest of the vendors and he has his opinions. With the all the different engine set ups that people run, it is hard to judge any one cooling system set up. The thing that I do know is that the more horse power you produce, the more heat you will make and getting the system to cool off is where the problem is and almost always at low speed.