I know that the 312 y block runs hot but is there something that I can do with the rad or fan to help it run cooler?
My buddies 312 3 speed has no cooling problems. He is in Nashville and the summers are very hot. We cruised the fair grounds at the Goodguys in 93 degree temps melting inside the car but the ol 312 never lost a drop or showed any signs of heating up. His radiator is the stock 57 unit that he had boiled out about six years ago with a seven pound cap. He runs the stock fan with a spacer to get it close to the core and no shroud. If you are running hot look at your timing and the radiator.
My uncle has a '57 bird with a 312 and he was having some trouble as well. I believe there is a finned style water pump that has a higher flow rate. He replaced his with it and the over heating problem went away. If your radiator is only a 2 core you might consider replacing it with a 3 core. Other than that, it might be the thermostat or like blue blood mentioned the timing could be off...
They didn't run hot if everything is in good condition :burnout:
Before we go any futher let define running hot, what temperature ?
It ain't hot until the water comes out! :005: A fellow street rodder in town believes if it goes over 180 it is running hot. My 90 T-Bird SC had a 205 t-stat in it, the 302 (EFI) that was in the 66 Ranchero ran right at 195 all day reguardless of the outside temperature.
If you are not lossing water and it is under 220 everything should be good. My ol 36 with the air turned on in traffic gets to 220 in a hurry but stays right there and losses no water and cools off to 190 once up to speed again.