Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Just for fun (and to further procrastinate the work I should be doing but don't want to), I played around with the coolant flow passages on one of my current engines builds. This sort of follows a couple of recent discussions about the cooling system. And it also relates to the porting work I've done to the head.
The recently completed head porting was mainly to clean things up, smooth out a few areas, and to match the intake and exhaust runners between the head and manifolds. I was quite surprised at how far off everything is on these engines; a lot of work was required to match all the ports. And while working on the head it came to my attention that the intake and exhaust aren't the only areas that could stand some improvements to assist with flow. The cooling jackets between the head and block do not match very well. And the thermostat housing is vastly different from the corresponding opening in the head. In fact the head has a completely different shape/size opening than the T-stat housing.
So while I had the die grinder out I did a little "porting" throughout the cooling system. Much like the other head ports, it consisted of rounding the radius of corners, removing excess casting flash, opening mild restrictions, and making mating components match one another. Including the head, the block, the T-stat housing, and the water pump housing. Most of the changes I made are not obvious by just looking at the components; it is when you compare their interface with a pattern that the changes become evident. So pictures were uninspiring. Except for the T-stat housing; I'll post a couple pics of it, however it really needs to be viewed side by side with unmodified components (which I did not photograph) to appreciate the changes.
There is a little work still to be done, including filling the unused hole in the T-stat housing (first pic) and surfacing the gasket faces.
Will all of this improve the efficiency of the cooling system? I don't really know (or care frankly). But SteveC made a good point in the water pump thread, how 'restrictions' to the water's flow throughout the system make a huge difference in the pump's performance. And from traditional head porting we know these types of changes (porting as described) make for much less resistance and significantly greater flow. So maybe there is a little to be gained by it. Honestly I just did it for fun, not really for "performance". But once again, just like with the manifold ports, I was very surprised how far off most of the cooling jackets are on the SOHC.
The recently completed head porting was mainly to clean things up, smooth out a few areas, and to match the intake and exhaust runners between the head and manifolds. I was quite surprised at how far off everything is on these engines; a lot of work was required to match all the ports. And while working on the head it came to my attention that the intake and exhaust aren't the only areas that could stand some improvements to assist with flow. The cooling jackets between the head and block do not match very well. And the thermostat housing is vastly different from the corresponding opening in the head. In fact the head has a completely different shape/size opening than the T-stat housing.
So while I had the die grinder out I did a little "porting" throughout the cooling system. Much like the other head ports, it consisted of rounding the radius of corners, removing excess casting flash, opening mild restrictions, and making mating components match one another. Including the head, the block, the T-stat housing, and the water pump housing. Most of the changes I made are not obvious by just looking at the components; it is when you compare their interface with a pattern that the changes become evident. So pictures were uninspiring. Except for the T-stat housing; I'll post a couple pics of it, however it really needs to be viewed side by side with unmodified components (which I did not photograph) to appreciate the changes.
There is a little work still to be done, including filling the unused hole in the T-stat housing (first pic) and surfacing the gasket faces.
Will all of this improve the efficiency of the cooling system? I don't really know (or care frankly). But SteveC made a good point in the water pump thread, how 'restrictions' to the water's flow throughout the system make a huge difference in the pump's performance. And from traditional head porting we know these types of changes (porting as described) make for much less resistance and significantly greater flow. So maybe there is a little to be gained by it. Honestly I just did it for fun, not really for "performance". But once again, just like with the manifold ports, I was very surprised how far off most of the cooling jackets are on the SOHC.