Bump!

Can you provide data for your water pump flow testing results?

Thanks - Brad

Chrysler made millions of stamped impellers, and would have known in 1958 if they didn't work from the police contracts (continuous WOT use at low air speeds). Cost to change the shape: zero.
Note that the stamped offset leg is larger than the cast impeller thickness...

No 'scientific flowrate data' unfortunatly, but just some simple observations of how fast the water moved in the radiator with the thermostat and cap removed.

I recall having tried 3 or 4 waterpumps; 2 factory cast iron ones, and I think 2 alum. ones. I also changed between a cast iron and alum. waterpump housing back-to-back but found no change in 'visible flow' or temp change with the same waterpump.

Also tried to make sure all waterpumps were installed at the proper depth, so the impeller was just a 'gasket-thickness' away from bottoming out in the housing.

The engine I was working on at the time was running hot and I wanted to know if the waterpump or housing could help with the situation.

What I did find was that the 2 aluminium waterpumps with scroll type impellers didn't move the water all that fast when the engine was revved.
But when I installed the stock cast iron, stamped impeller waterpump the water came rushing by like in a washing machine.

Also did find out that not all waterpumps are/were created equally, eventhough they carried the same part/casting numbers.

These are about the only pics I took at the time;

How industry works: why actually design a part for a specific need, when you can buy something (a cast impeller) designed for a different application - cheaper.

I have a stock sized aluminum radiator in my '65 with a shroud and a Mopar clutch fan. With a 180 thermostat the temp goes up to 180 and then stays there. I haven't tried to see what would happen with a different thermostat. I think I have an Edelbrock water pump on the engine but I actually don't remember since it has been on there so long.

The 318ci in my daily driven '73 Dart always had the 'issue' it never really got upto temp.
It has a stock 3-core radiator with fanshroud, 7-blade fan with thermo-clutch, but the clutch unit is worn-out and, hot or cold, the fan is just free wheeling along with the waterpump. Can easily be stopped with a newspaper.
Put in a 160°F thermostat and it will run 140-150°F on average.
Put in a 180°F thermostat and it will run 160-170°F on average.

I usually run a 160°F thermostat because the 318ci had bad core-plugs and I wanted to keep the cooling system pressure down a bit to save them.
But last winter when the heater didn't do much and the engine temp didn't even get over 140°F during my commutes, I decided to install a 180°F thermostat instead.

Or I thought so. Silly me I seemed to have forgotten I already had installed a 180°F stat the year before.
So I decided to just change the stat for another 180°F stat, hoping it would perform better in getting the engine upto temp...

I went from a stainless Stant thermostat to a copper Mr.Gasket thermostat from which I had a few used ones laying around.
But it turned out the Mr.Gasket thermostat flowed much more (larger opening even at shallow opening) and now the engine temp was stuck at 130°F during highway drives!

White engine sludge build-up was severe and pretty much no functioning heater in wintertime was no fun either.

Now that I have swapped engines, going from the 8.6:1cr 318ci, to a 11.3:1cr 360ci, and with a 160°F thermostat installed again, the 360ci still hangs around 150-170°F.
Only during warmer weather (80's F) the temp will climb to around 180°F when in heavy traffic.

The only 'problem' I have is my radiator is slowly disintergrating on the outside-front. This is the 2nd radiator in the car that does this.

The copper fins are turning fragile and almost turns to dust when touched. Perhaps the winter roadsalt is taking its toll on the copper of the radiator, or some other (dissimilar) metallic corosion is happening.

Not my field, but can you ground it to a sacrificial anode so the anode disappears and saves the copper?

I respray the radiator black again occassionally from the front to add a protective layer and slow down the corrosion.
Also been thinking of insulating the radiator from its support with rubber spacers and nylon washers under the boltheads.

I used to run plain tap-water with the 318 in the car because the engineblock would lose about 1 liter per week, but now I'm running normal green coolant again with the 360. Not sure if that would help/solve anything 'electrically or galvanic' for the radiator as the corrosion is on the outside.