engine cooling

[isaltz]

hey guys, im quickly learning from all of you, hopefully i will learn from your education and from your mistakes, im bout to have my plans all together and get the engine i want. i am planning on the 383 stroker from blueprint, someone reminded me that the more HP i have the hotter my engine will run. i am keeping in mind its going in a t bucket so its out in the open, but from all of you outthere that have one of these engines, do u have any trouble with them over heating either in the city traffic or cruising for a few hrs on the highway? ok thats the first of my ?s for tonight, the second is have any of you had any dealings with the wiring kits from either painless or ez wiring, very large difference in price and was wondering what do most of you use, do you buy your own fuse box and run your own wires, or do yall buy one of the kits from some company? i welcome any and all comments, thanks.
FUTUR T OWNER! (and soon i hope)

[Orville Duncan]

On Engine cooling the best advise I can give is - Get the best Radiator you can - Aluminum radiators work great. On wiring harness, I firmly believe that buying a wiring harness with fuse box is the best way to go. Remember to run a separate wire for a grounding system and ground the engine to the frame.

[Jim Tolbert]

A 3 row alum radiator should work great. Mine does. I also have the EZ wire kit and am perfectly satisfied with it. Be sure to use "continuous use" relays for cooling fan and lights. 40 amp.

[Lee in KC]

I have a "2-pass" aluminum radiator on a 6-71 blown 350 small block, and it runs very cool. I have an electric puller fan on a 200-degree switch, and it hardly ever comes on... only in stop-and-go traffic on a hot day.

I originally wired my car with an EZ kit. I found having the wire runs pre-attached to the fuse block made running wires pretty challenging, as you have all those wire bundles always in your way. I had two relay failures in the first year of driving my T, and I found EZ's customer service to be, well, non-existent. When I rebuilt my T with a Jag rear-end, I went with a Ron Francis Bare Bonz wiring kit. Very spendy, but well worth it my book. The wires are not pre-attached, and I found running the wire from the load to the fuse block much easier than the other way around. I also sprung for the Ron Francis ground kit... every load has its own dedicated ground wire and all terminate on a common ground block. I have not had a single electrical problem since switching to the Francis goodies. Technical support was great... Ron Francis himself handles it!!

[Big Dog]

Ron Francis wiring kit is worth every dime. I bought the complete kit. With switches, in head heat sensor for fan, relays, grounding kit. Never had an electrical problem after I installed the kit. You tell them what you have to run & they design the kit to work. All plug & play. Pricey but works!!!!!

[isaltz]

i was planning on buying the aluminum radiator from speedway but i havent found any info on how many row's it is. i have seen painless wiring kits and they are defantly pricey, i will check into the companies, thanks

[Xlarashun]

I've been using Painless For a lot of years and have not had any problems that I didn't at 'Least' Partially have my hands into! Great bunch down there!

[Orville Duncan]

The great thing about a wiring kit is the wires are marked every six inches or so.

[Bill Cleveland]

Yes, you pay a little extra, but for dummies like me it's worth it! And like XLrashun said, the support is great.

[Bill Holley]

when i replaced my rad on the T i went ebay.. ck'd out a lot of them and settled on "champion".. they are in calif and have a lifetime warranty to u.. 3 core and i polished the top.. i'd buy from them again..