VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1926 chevrolet overheating

Hi, I have an unrestored 1926 chevrolet. It has been overheating and I am wondering if anyone can help me solve my problem. To give some insight on what I have done so far, I had the radiator cleaned because that was plugged, the back of the block was full of gunk so I took the head off and cleaned that out. The water pump fins are in great shape and I put a washer in the top radiator hose to slow the flow down. If anyone has any other ideas it would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!!

Welcome leroy,

Just answered on your other post. Now I have to get my '49 from overheating. Great to see some young ones on here. Your around the age of some of my grandkids and they sure enjoy my cars and like to help with them.

Thanks for welcoming me. I have a 12 year old brother that is getting interested in cars too, so my 20 year old brother and I have been teaching him all we know lately. Our dad has taught us a lot about what we "thought" were old Chevys until I brought this 26' home. We are realizing the 60's and 70's are fairly modern compared to this thing! It is a lot of fun though. I have a 4 year old sister that thinks its a go-cart when I give her a ride in it because it goes so slow.

Hi Leroy,

Overheating seems to be a common issue with these old gems. Problem is, it can be caused by any number or combination of things. Some things to look at are:

timing - if not advanced when running, it will lead to overheating
water pump baffle plate - if it's missing, the pump won't pump like it should
water pump packing nut - it may need to be snugged up a bit to prevent air from being pulled in
head gasket - blown or leaking letting exhaust gas into the coolant
cylinder head - cracked, or hair line cracks also letting exhaust gas in
block - even though you flushed it out, it may need a more thorough cleaning with something like a dilute muriatic acid solution

These are just a few I can think of off hand. If you use the SEARCH function for OVERHEATING you'll find loads of threads on the subjet. Be warned, though, the SEARCH function is not the easiest thing to use. Bill Barker (site webmaster) gives a pretty good explaination of its use here:

https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/237091/How_to_use_SEARCH#Post237091

Happy Motoring,

Dan

Thanks for the response. Could you tell me more about this acid and how it works? I put a new head gasket in it, though it was for a 1927 chevy. Would that make a difference or are they the same? The title says it is a 27' and so does the vin plate. I just recently found out it is actually a 26' and that was after I replaced head gasket. Another thing I am wondering is what is a water pump baffle plate?

Placed in the back of the pump with the impeller and shaft removed, is a circular piece of metal with a tang to hold it in place called a baffle. The shaft and impeller are inserted through the hole in the baffle and the packing nut and the pulley is then pressed on. (This is an incomplete set of instructions on how to install a kit in a water pump).

My experience with these pumps is that invariably the baffle will be rusted away. Without the baffle the pump is extremely inefficient.

do you know of anywhere that might have a picture of one?

Gidday Fellas,

Welcome to the site Leroy, good to see some young blokes having a go at keeping these old engines turning.... Best of luck with the progress.

I just found one on the filling station site. I don't remember if that was on there or not. Ill have to pull it apart and see if it is there. What does the tab on it hook into?

Thanks monty, I am a member of AACA, and they told me about this club and said I would have a lot of luck on this site learning about my car.

Here is a link on the acid treatment:

https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php...id/Search/true/Re_Running_Hot#Post214098

It also contains another link on radiator flushing.


Good luck with your project, and keep us up to date on your progress.

Happy Motoring,

Dan

Welcome Leroy,
Good luck on your project. I have a 27 Sedan I have found lots of information on this site that has been helpful. If fuel mixture is to lean it will also overheat. Don't try to fix everything at once just go through each suggestion and verify it is OK and you will get it solved. If you get stumped keep asking questions.
Doug

Hi Leroy,

I would support all the good tips you have been given so far, tackle one thing at a time, get your fuel mixture right, check tour timing, make sure your happy with the cooling system, no blockages etc.

At least having done all those tings, as well as hopefully solving the problem, you will learn a lot more about your Chev, while checking the condition of several significant parts of the engine.

Good luck, and please let us know how you get on.

Regards

Ray

Welcome to the enjoyment of keeping some of these old Chevys running.

The tab fits into the pump casting at the water intake. It is there to help keep the baffle in place and from rotating. Originally the baffle was staked in place. It may take a few small screws or rivets to hold the baffle in place if the casting is corroded in that area.

Hey, does anyone know where I could buy the muriatic acid?

Leroy, as stated there could be a number of causes for overheating, I have a 27 chev and as part of restoration had a re built motor. The original honeycomb radiator was cleaned and pressure tested to 4 lb. When all was assembled at idle the radiator started to get very hot. Timing and all else was tested & ok, even though it was not cheap and I was disappointed not to have an original radiator I did not want to risk a new motor so got a modern core.

The car has never looked looked like overheating after 70 trips and good hills testing the system.

Stick with it having it running and on the road is fantastic and worth the frustration.

My experance with honey comb radiators is that there is no way to clean them, they cannot be roded out because of how they are built and acids cannot work there way through because of the blockage.
Al

Thanks again everyone. I will let you know how I turn out. Its been raining here the last week. Its a nice day today so im going to try that muratic acid and see what happens

Along the lines of ruling out possibilities, you could temporarily remove the radiator and hood, and jerry-rig a modern, good radiator onto the front of the car and run it like that for a few times around the block.

If your overheading problem goes away, you have proof positive that the radiator is the problem.

When working on these old vehicles, I love the problem-solving process. "Life is about enjoying the ride"

Cheers, Dean