'65 Sprite Overheating

[JDPisano]

Good Afternoon.

I am the proud owner of a '65 AH Sprite. I picked up my car last fall and waited anxiously to get to the summer months!

As I have ventured our further and further from my house, I have recently started experiencing overheating issues. I hope to gain some advice from the folks in this forum to correct this issue.

The car has a 1098 engine. I just replaced the thermostat in the car since I did not know the exact condition or age.

I appreciate any advice you can provide me to troubleshoot the issue. If you have any questions I can answer, please let me know.

Take care,
John

 

[jlaird]

Unless it is clean as driven snow inside. Have the radiator rodded and cleaned by a radiator shop. Also back fluch the engine as per the instructions on a back flush kit from your local auto store. Need to do it till water runs clean. Now water and antifreeze, read the instructions for the right ratio for your area.

No reason it should run hot if block and radiator is clean.

What happens is gunk cooks on the walls of the engine and radiator jackets over the years and slows the transfer of heat from the engine to the water and from the radiator water to the air. The only final solution is to boil the block along with pulling the radiator and haveing it cleaned professionaly.

 

[Billm]

Also be sure that the ignition timing is pretty close to correct- if it is retarded the car will run hot.
Bill

 

[Pythias]

I have a similar car with the 1098. Right after the engine rebuild, i took the radiator to a shop to have it rodded just as jlaird recommends. Told me it was shot Told me what it would cost, to have it rebuilt, then i checked on the price of a NEW one from MO#$. Their rebuild was $5 more, but they are a PRIMO shop with a stellar reputation so i had them do it....

i have NEVER had an overheating issue since. i've been stuck in stop and go traffic jams for over an hour in 95+ degree weather. the hottest the gauge showed was 205. (I have a 170 degree 'stat, and usually that is right what the gauge shows)...

The point is that there is NOT normally an overheating issue inherent in the design. IF your timing is correct, the block is flushed and the radiator is all clear, you should be good anywhere.

 

[regularman]

I think I would go with an aluminum radiator and electric fan. I may do that yet with mine. Mine used to run hot, I got a good used radiator after the restoration and it has not run real hot yet but got close last week when in the 90s and I was pulling a mountain. I want to get some of the heat out of the engine compartment itself. I will figure something out. Something I have done on other cars in the past during the summer. Poor boys extra cooling. You can buy a new F150 heater core for 30 bucks and hook it in to the heater hoses and find a place to mount it. This will take away a lot of heat.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Welcome to the forum. We have several regular contributors in your area. I think the best advice is to clean the radiator and flush the block the best you can. The stock system should be more than adequate. But DO double check the timing and fuel mixture because they can lead to overheating issues as well.

 

[JDPisano]

Thank you all for the advice. Unfortunately, I had to leave out of town on military duty for the next two weeks so I will pick back up when I return. I will post an update when I return and work these suggestions.

I have attached a photo of my baby.

Take care,
John

 

[JDPisano]

Here is a shot of the interior.

I have a new dashboard with all new gauges that I will be installing later this summer.

 

[jlaird]

John may not see this but that is a nice looking little car.

 

[JDPisano]

Thank you Jack. I am really happy with my new toy.

Now that I am back from my military duty (took a little longer than I planned), I am planning to flush the cooling system this upcoming Labor Day weekend.

This past weekend, I had planned to verify my fuel mixture and idle are good to go. Unfortunately, once I started to dig into things I realized I am not sure where each of the adjustment screws are located. I pulled down the parts diagram from the Weber website but it did not help me.

I have attached a photo of my carb. Can someone help me figure out where each of the adjustment screws are?

I appreciate the assistance.

Thank you.

 

[JDPisano]

Another shot of the carb. There is a fuel pressure regulator off of the fuel line.

 

[RonMacPherson]

Okay, got check out the teglerizer.com web site. Lots of good info on the dcoe side draft. Basically the idle mixture screws should be turned out 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 turns. If you are not able to get the idle mixture there, then further work is needed. One make sure the throttle is completely closed. Then check out the idle fuel jets. Probably in the area of 50 F9 or 45 F9, depending on your local climate.

 

[tosoutherncars]

Holy smokes! Nice early car, custom interior, DCOE and a header... very nice.

 

[Gray_Cat]

Are you certain the weber is properly jetted for your car? If to lean, overheating occurs. Also, the timin needs to be spot on.

 

[JDPisano]

I am not sure if the Weber is properly jetted for my car and am not sure how to even check this. Suggestions?

Thanks Gray_Cat.

-John

 

[JDPisano]

Good Evening!

It has been quite some time since I reported back but I have finally been able to take things apart and do some work. I pulled the radiator from the car and had it rodded, cleaned, and repainted. While I had the radiator out I went ahead and swapped out the water pump as well as some rotted hoses. I am pleased to report the car is running cooler. However, I do need to check my gauage and make sure it is accurately showing the temperature.

I need some help identifying which oil filter assembly I have on my car. I have attached some pictures. I noticed on Moss's site they show two different fileter assemblies with different seal part numbers. Can someone help me out here?

Thanks in advance.

John

 

[JDPisano]

Another shot from the top of the assembly.