Pontiac LeMans Sport Cooling issues resolved? Recore'd OEM Radiator and ready for some testing!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.ย. 2021
- This '71 Pontiac LeMans Sport has been a trusty steed for years and THOUSANDS of miles. Though it's almost all stock and probably 90% original parts even after 50 years she handles daily driver duty just as well as she does rumbling into car shows. However even good old parts can occasionally have issues as was the case in the previous video you saw on this vehicle. Our 50 year old radiator gave up the ghost and allowed the 350 Pontiac V8 to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 270 degrees!
So with the radiator a known bad point in the system we have a couple of different options, get a new stock replacement, an upgraded lighter better functioning unit, OR get the old original unit rebuilt. Two of these are quick easy and relatively cheap options, one of them isn't. As this car is almost all stock and I intend to keep it that way, the decision was made to go for a rebuild of the 50 year old piece to keep the originality points for car shows. Yes, we understand it doesn't make a lot of sense.
With the old radiator rebuilt and reinstalled and the oil changed out for a brand new belly full of high zinc fluid it was time to get this thing back on the road to see if we have any additional issues OR damage from the overheating. About 4 years ago the factory Pontiac 350 was refreshed getting all new rings, bearings, seals, gaskets, and hardware but still using the factory original crank, rods, pistons, and heads. Fingers crossed we didn't hurt this thing and need to take it apart AGAIN! - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
![[TH] Esports World Cup : Point Rush Stage](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eLU-jnYp3Zs/mqdefault.jpg)
What would YOU have done? New Radiator? Reconditioning the old one?
New. I'm not experienced with reconditioned radiators, so my opinion is biased towards new. Especially when it's such an important component and can affect he life of the motor so gravely when it fails. Unless it's going to be a concourse queen, I'm with the fellow down below and the aluminum radiator.
Original brass radiator FTW! ;)
@@sayrerowan734 I was pretty torn about it to be honest, this car has gotten a lot of love at car shows for being so original. Otherwise I wouldn't have cared. Still not entirely sure I made the right choice, as you say, such a simple thing and failure can cause HUGE issues.
@@LucoreAuto no matter what, that's an awesome car. Green cars are my favorite, by far.
@@LucoreAuto I bought a 2-row aluminum rad for my hooptie and it worked great but didn't like the way it looked. Rather than finding someone to recore the original and all that entails, I removed one of the tanks and pushed an old dipstick through each tube of the original brass radiator. At least half were loaded with junk.
Aluminum rad is up in the rafters for quite some time now.
My '72 Luxury Le Mans, 2dr Hardtop, had Buckets, Console, floorshift. THM 350, 350 2V(Pontiac). I maintained it religiously! Added Dual exhaust, with H, quiet turbo mufflers, chrome tips on tailpipes. What a wonderful car!! You would have burned up a small block Chevy . Pontiac V8, can't be beat!
Nice! Almost thought it was my dads car from back in the day till I saw it was a ‘71 sport.
My dads was a 1972 Pontiac Luxury LeMans Hardtop Coupe with the 455-4 V-8 and the Turbo Hydromatic automatic 3 speed.
His was also in that beautiful Wilderness Green paint, but had the Medium Green roof vinyl and moldings. Interior color was Dark Green.
I LOVED that car as a child. It was stolen in Euclid, Ohio in 1981 and was never seen again.
I live in TN now, but if you ever come across one in Ohio like the one I described above with a big old whip antenna on the trunk (or where one used to be) I would love to have it back in the family.
Lucore has been recored.. Glad it didn't blow a head gasket.. When I worked at a gas station as a teenager, a Corvette came in overheating.. on the gauge it said 350 degrees.. We would put in about a qt of water and it would blow it back out.. took about 15 minutes to get it cooled down enough to send it down the road.. Yes we kept the engine running.. it was probably a 66-67 Corvette...
Cold Case radiator and vacuum advance got my Pontiac to where I can’t run over 170°. Gonna have to change thermostats to get her to warm up! That Cold Case is unreal. 😂
Hey Brother, well done... the look on your face after draining the oil was priceless. And, real... I know I've been there. Just like the relief of firing it for the first time. Keep at it!
Thank you! Definitely that moment of truth where you know if you're only slightly screwed and need some cooling help or super screwed and the engine is coming out! Appreciate the view and the comment!
@@LucoreAuto Yup! I was on the other side of that coin six months ago... like a glitter bomb in my cup. Ohhh well, more video content right there... ha, ha.. see ya!
@@FastMonty lol that IS the upside of finding sparkle additives in your oil. Unfortunately TH-cam revenue at least for US doesn't pay enough to cover engine builds 😉
@@LucoreAuto Well, not yet... one of these days, ha. ha...
@@FastMonty reallllly not in the mood to get into ANOTHER Pontiac build right now so hopefully many many days later!
In the 1930' the US Army Air Corp tried running Curtis Conqueror V-1520 (?) liquid cooled aircraft engines at 300 degrees.
Nice car to save good thing you don't have to take it apart when I had one of those radiators I went into a junkyard radiator out of a square body Chevy pickup truck was thicker and I also like to advance the timing just to make sure that it runs as cool as possible you know it makes it hard to start if it's too far advanced usually the cast-iron V8 Canby overheated without damage it's when they try to cool it off with water too fast that's what hurts I know how you feel I like original looks too
Looks like you went west from the Mitchell-Dewitt /Industrial intersection....I take my car on test drives that way all the time. Good looking Pontiac! Glad it is running good for you now!
Yes Sir! It's part of our typical "test drive loop". Thank you for the compliment, she's in pretty decent shape and even more so with how stock/original she is. Next big move with that car is off with the long tubes and back to the factory manifolds!
Nice 👍🙂
Thank ya Sir!
That's too hot. My GTO never ran over 200 and mostly was 180-190.
It's literally ALWAYS run this temp, can probably put another couple degrees of timing into it to bring that down a little but... it's ALWAYS hung out at 205 or so.
Yay black coffee!!!!!
For SURE! What a relief!
Well I hope you change a thermostat as well I'm pretty sure I thermostat is stuck you need to change it now changing the headers off of it I like that idea of headers myself but it's up to the individual
Good video, I wonder what temp thermostat is in it.. Shes a beauty..
I see that bare frame of the Lotus Esprit on a lift back there. Y'all need to do an update on that one. Man, it's been a while. Is it a parts availability issue like so many others are having right now with certain makes?
We need to find the time to get back on that project and to get the fancy new cabinet set up that we purchased to clean/recondition parts. Unfortunately we've got a whole lot of different things we are trying to move forward at the moment 😞
@@LucoreAuto , that's not a bad spot for a shop to be in. better to have too much work than not enough.
@@sayrerowan734 no one certainly isn't, we've been "Suffering from success" for quite a while now.
Here In Arizona aluminum radiator in everything, period it's 2021
Lol ok yeah good point! Ohio isn't quite so bad 😀
@@LucoreAuto just my opinion brother
@@karlmawby2921 you are honestly more in alignment with what most people would say. Spending the time/money to get the stock unit rebuilt just isn't that smart. Unfortunately I don't always do what's smartest 😞
Does aluminum really work better than a 3 or 4 core brass in a car like this?
They don't make aluminum direct bolt in radiators for any cars other than GM and some Mustangs. So they would have to be custom made or rebuilt for any of my cars. I have yet to see proof that an aluminum one works much better than a 26 inch wide 4 row core brass. And they would be more expensive, not less.
As for this Pontiac, I would use the aluminum. You can barely see it under the shroud and you could paint the edges black. The parts store chrome air cleaner lid is way more unoriginal than that.
@@auteurfiddler8706 aluminum disapates heat better .....
Personally I blame squirrels
You need a GOOD mechanic!
You will be lucky if your rings have any tension in them after that much heat...
What does a GOOD mechanic help with in this?
What's wrong with it ??? A law , don't know,but we'll Figir it out , my life's story , and I'm sure anybody that knows what work is ,can relate .