Medina, a 1971 T-code Monaco

@71Polara383 adjusted the carb this morning, and while that solved a slight roughness at idle it did nothing for the overheating (not that I expected it to). I then drove for five hours through Illinois and Wisconsin, on a mix of roads and terrains, with outside temps ranging from 88F in Illinois around 2PM down to 72F in the early evening in Wisconsin. I had initially planned on going to the Waupun show, but I bailed out to trouble-shoot the car instead.

Medina ran smoothly and strongly, and we had fun -- but the temp rose whenever the engine got exercised more, and dropped when I let it relax. No issue whatsoever on county roads at legal speeds, none while idling in traffic in downtown Milwaukee. The highway was a different story. Driving back on I-43 in Wisconsin, I got to the same highish temp as yesterday (75% of the way right between L and H) just keeping a steady 70 (cruise control on) when going uphill. Time for the rad to be rodded.

Here is a photo taken in front of the cow statue in Harvard, IL on the way up to Wisconsin.

View attachment 384930

Yes, your symptoms indicate restricted flow in the radiator, so rodding it out should take care of it. What are the numbers on the top of the radiator - is it a 947 (last three digits)?
 
You may end up w/ a radiator any way. Most radiators older than 30 yrs. can be hopeless plugged or fall apart in the rodding out process. Wish you the best of luck.
 
I had the same running hot at speed problem several years ago on my 70 Monaco 440 with A/C after I had replaced a leaky water pump with an 8 blade pump. Had to keep the car around 70 or it would get too warm. Then I read that a 440 with A/C should have a 6 blade impeller and non A/C 440 should have an 8 blade pump. So I replaced the 8 blade pump with a 6 blade and the problem went away. Forward to the past 5 years after replacing my original 440 with a '78 RV 440 in 2015. I had to use the entire original water pump assembly with the 6 blade impeller off my 440 on the '78 440 because the RV unit was different (also had to use oil pump and pan). Well the running hot at speed has returned. Maybe I should the 8 blade impeller on this engine even though the car has A/C???
 
I had the same running hot at speed problem several years ago on my 70 Monaco 440 with A/C after I had replaced a leaky water pump with an 8 blade pump. Had to keep the car around 70 or it would get too warm. Then I read that a 440 with A/C should have a 6 blade impeller and non A/C 440 should have an 8 blade pump. So I replaced the 8 blade pump with a 6 blade and the problem went away.

Thank you for the suggestion! However, I don't think that's the issue in my case. The reason why I don't think the water pump is the issue, is because I replaced it last summer and then I put approximately 1k trouble-free miles on in the following two months. The only change made since, is because there was an issue with a post-replacement leak at the gasket. @71Polara383 fixed it when he removed the motor this spring -- no more leak. The pump, therefore, is likely blameless.
 
Medina went to her second Midwest C-Body Show today. Before heading out this morning, @71Polara383 and I posted a couple of photos of her at his shop together with two other cars we took there. Attached below is a photo that I took at the end of the afternoon, after getting back from Randall Oaks.

Behind her is Buttercup, a 1972 NYB. Amazingly different appearances for two cars that were built on the same "platform". I really like both!

IMHO, after one and half years and almost 3k miles of restoration/troubleshooting since I bought her last February, Medina is back to being a comfortable car that runs/drives/handles/brakes well. She's now pretty much ready for real long-distance driving, which is why I bought her in the first place. Before she's ready for several trips halfway around the country on which I plan to take her, Wyatt needs to fix a couple of leaks we've recently discovered (in the power steering and the A/C compressor), get the radiator rodded, and have the A/C system recharged with R12. And... that ought to be it! (@fc7_plumcrazy will say that the most important thing is to get the stripe painted over, but that will not happen till she hets back her original livery, i.e., not before next spring at the earliest).

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(@fc7_plumcrazy will say that the most important thing is to get the stripe painted over, but that will not happen till she hets back her original livery, i.e., not before next spring at the earliest).
Yeah, I hate the stripe too. But... not enough to park her... enjoy the car, I'm thrilled that you've given her so much of Wyatt's attention (probably keeps him out of trouble too :poke:). I would never fault you for just keeping her as she sits, since the stripe is painted on and she looks so good otherwise... I do love you just a little more for wanting to bring her back to original though.

Really missed you guys at Carlisle, I am so looking forward to next year.:thumbsup:
 
Jeff and I could buy some red metallic paint and make an inbetween fix for the stripe, my friend:D

Carsten
 
If the burgundy is base/clear, and the stripe is painted on top of the clear, you could very carefully sand it off. But if a new paint job is part of future plans, then it's not worth the trouble.

I don't like it either, but on the other hand I've seen much, much worse.

Jeff
 
Heating issue solved! Rodding out the radiator apparently did the trick. @71Polara383 took Medina out this afternoon for "stress-testing" after taking the rad to a specialized shop last week for cleaning. During his ten miles of "spirited driving" on the highway, the temp gauge barely went over halfway -- in his words, this performance is "much much better than the last time on the highway." Outside temperatures in Rockford were the same as what I experienced in Wisconsin earlier this summer when the issue first became apparent, so hopefully Medina is all ready for the CATL.

What's left? Replace a leaky gas cap (ordering NOS P/N 3583561 from @marty mopar), fix an annoying exhaust leak, and finalize the A/C rebuild (all ready for adding refrigerant, but that will probably wait till after the winter -- at this stage, the need for A/C is nil).

Here she is parked today, with a cover over the driver's seat to protect her from grease marks -- thank you Wyatt!
upload_2020-9-14_14-57-57.jpeg
 
Heating issue solved! Rodding out the radiator apparently did the trick. @71Polara383 took Medina out this afternoon for "stress-testing" after taking the rad to a specialized shop last week for cleaning. During his ten miles of "spirited driving" on the highway, the temp gauge barely went over halfway -- in his words, this performance is "much much better than the last time on the highway." Outside temperatures in Rockford were the same as what I experienced in Wisconsin earlier this summer when the issue first became apparent, so hopefully Medina is all ready for the CATL.

What's left? Replace a leaky gas cap (ordering NOS P/N 3583561 from @marty mopar), fix an annoying exhaust leak, and finalize the A/C rebuild (all ready for adding refrigerant, but that will probably wait till after the winter -- at this stage, the need for A/C is nil).

Here she is parked today, with a cover over the driver's seat to protect her from grease marks -- thank you Wyatt!
View attachment 402243
Nice pic!
 
Medina went to her second Midwest C-Body Show today. Before heading out this morning, @71Polara383 and I posted a couple of photos of her at his shop together with two other cars we took there. Attached below is a photo that I took at the end of the afternoon, after getting back from Randall Oaks.

Behind her is Buttercup, a 1972 NYB. Amazingly different appearances for two cars that were built on the same "platform". I really like both!

IMHO, after one and half years and almost 3k miles of restoration/troubleshooting since I bought her last February, Medina is back to being a comfortable car that runs/drives/handles/brakes well. She's now pretty much ready for real long-distance driving, which is why I bought her in the first place. Before she's ready for several trips halfway around the country on which I plan to take her, Wyatt needs to fix a couple of leaks we've recently discovered (in the power steering and the A/C compressor), get the radiator rodded, and have the A/C system recharged with R12. And... that ought to be it! (@fc7_plumcrazy will say that the most important thing is to get the stripe painted over, but that will not happen till she hets back her original livery, i.e., not before next spring at the earliest).

View attachment 392759

How much longer is Buttercup?
 
Nice pic!

Thanks Don!

How much longer is Buttercup?

If memory serves, about 4 inches longer. In this picture, the Monaco looks sorta like a long deck/short deck car, whereas the NYB looks sorta like a "cab forward" car. Both cars work really well in person. Strikingly different looks.
 
Not only is the odometer worth noting, so is the temperature gauge showing it to be exactly where it should be. Congratulations!
Thank you! Today was a nice fall day, with afternoon temps in the mid-70s: the gauge barely budged even when @sixpkrt and I kept up with the fast traffic on the highway back from the CATL. I put close to 400 miles on Medina this Sunday, she performed like a champ: I think she’s ready for even bigger trips next spring :steering:
 
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