Finally An MX Owner

Hello
I just got my Sebring MX Wednesday Evening and I am going to need to upgrade the Cooling System for Texas Weather (104 at Delivery ;-)  ) .  It has the 383 stroker engine with the M22 4spd,  
Have to say I felt like a 17 yr old Kid when the Shipper got here instead of a 70yr old  It's so far exceeded my expectations, I knew from the pics it was going to be neat but was still blown away on it's great condition, and you can tell it's been treated with loving care over these last 33 yrs.

It has a motor driven New Flex Fan and also a Pusher in Front of the Radiator but sitting or idling the temp starts rising , it does cool down some on the road but not much  as it was 98 degrees at 7pm when it was finally unloaded and got to drive it a short way.  
I have the Eng Drawing from Griffin that came in the manual but this was from 2001 and I'm hoping there's an upgrade to Aluminum with Dual Fans that someone has replaced the original With, as I called Griffith to see if they had a newer version with Electric Fan(s) and Shroud, they did have a newer radiator close but it was 1000+ and no fans .  They were very nice but had to tell them that was over my budget at this time.

Thanks and Appreciate any help or Suggestions, my eyes have almost glassed over looking at all the different brands model and styles. Did the Chevy powered version of the MX have a "Donor" radiator or was it custom ??? I did see on the drawing that it inlet and outlet were at a 12 Degree angle so not sure if that's a game changer on ones with straight tubes.

Pic furnished by previous owner



Thanks and Take Care,
Craig[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Congratulations Craig. That's super cool.
Be sure you watch out for the fun police.
Please report back when you get new tires and take a real test drive.

Jerry & Lisa Mills wrote:Congratulations Craig. That's super cool.
Be sure you watch out for the fun police.
Please report back when you get new tires and take a real test drive.

Thanks Very Much Jerry

Good to hear from you, I'd sent a couple of emails and was starting to Wonder if Y'all
just decided to Keep Driving ;-)

I just keep smiling,  I'll be glad when it's Home and in the Garage, I did have to go up and
see it in the shop the last couple of days, even in 106 degree Heat yesterday ;-)  

Take Care,
Craig

Looks like a very nice car.  Sounds like it met your expectations.  Love the color!

The radiator that was is my Chevy powered car was a custom copper/brass 2-row cross-flow unit. It did a decent job of cooling my car when it had the stock engine. As I recall, the inlet and outlets were straight, but having them at an angle would have been a big help. The lower hose was a pain to run.

If everything is tuned right and the cooling system is in good shape, the Griffin "should" keep it cool. Most of the problems these cars have is, IMO, related to air flow. The pusher fan in front may help some at idle, but is most likely becoming an air flow restriction at highway speed. My car stayed cool with a single 16" (might have been a 14") electric fan mounted to the back of the radiator.

Engine driven fans will, in theory, flow more air than any electric fan, which is why most trucks have engine driven fans even nowadays. But, you have to have a well fitted shroud or the fan has to be very close to the radiator. The shroud should fit the radiator and taper back to be nearly the same size as the fan. The fan blades should only be in the shroud one quarter to on half of the width of the blades.

As to tuning, I have had better luck with the vacuum advance connected to constant manifold vacuum. If you use ported vacuum, the ignition will be retarded at idle and this can lead to extra temp in the engine bay. Also, if the fuel/air mixture is lean, it will add extra heat. Tuning is one of those things that most folks never consider when their car is overheating.

Looking forward to hearing about the first long drive with the new tires.

Hotrod wrote:Looks like a very nice car.  Sounds like it met your expectations.  Love the color!

The radiator that was is my Chevy powered car was a custom copper/brass 2-row cross-flow unit.  It did a decent job of cooling my car when it had the stock engine.  As I recall, the inlet and outlets were straight, but having them at an angle would have been a big help.  The lower hose was a pain to run.

If everything is tuned right and the cooling system is in good shape, the Griffin "should" keep it cool.  Most of the problems these cars have is, IMO, related to air flow.  The pusher fan in front may help some at idle, but is most likely becoming an air flow restriction at highway speed.  My car stayed cool with a single 16" (might have been a 14") electric fan mounted to the back of the radiator.

Engine driven fans will, in theory, flow more air than any electric fan, which is why most trucks have engine driven fans even nowadays.  But, you have to have a well fitted shroud or the fan has to be very close to the radiator.  The shroud should fit the radiator and taper back to be nearly the same size as the fan.  The fan blades should only be in the shroud one quarter to on half of the width of the blades.

As to tuning, I have had better luck with the vacuum advance connected to constant manifold vacuum.  If you use ported vacuum, the ignition will be retarded at idle and this can lead to extra temp in the engine bay.   Also, if the fuel/air mixture is lean, it will add extra heat.  Tuning is one of those things that most folks never consider when their car is overheating.

Looking forward to hearing about the first long drive with the new tires.

Thanks Mike I really can't believe it's finally here !!! I really appreciate all your help and
checking things out for me these last 5-6 months. I really learned a lot !!!

Things have been kind of going slow as the Guy that owns the Shop still has a business to Run
Can You Believe that ;-) Just kidding he's been very good and kind, and PATIENT with me. He's got
about 4-5 customers in front of me and they've got the lift tied up so...........he mentioned tonight about
maybe cleaning out another bay and putting it up on stands to get the tires off and then start with the
different systems. He did check the Vacuum and it's hooked up like you said and also the timing was right on the money so ..............running wise it's really good and sounds good too ;-) So, it's been a little tough getting things really going especially with it getting hot so fast and I'm kind of wanting to
get the radiator out and cleaned and like you said get a good Electric high cfm fan going and see that does. I don't know if Coolant loses some of it's "cooling capacity" from sitting 5yrs ? and also haven't checked the thermostat yet. He did test to see if the temp sensor was working with a temp guy and it was right on the money with the car gage so ...........that's good. I will say the Flex Fan and factory shroud really fit well and it's a shame it's not keeping it cool, BUT it sure does take up a lot of room.

So, after the cooling things are done it's on to the Brakes and new Shocks on Front the rears were
changed out, not sure if they go bad just sitting ???

Anyway, I'll try not to wear y'all out, I just keep laughing at how I excited I am. Kind of needed
this !!!

Thanks again Take Care, Be Safe, and
Well
Craig

There are several types of "flex" fans. Some do very little in the way of moving air.

When you can post up a picture and we can see what you actually have. A simple fan change might help a bunch. If you are set up for an engine driven fan and have a decent shroud, you should be able to get that working.

As I said, these cars can have airflow problems. Might have to figure out a way to let some air out of the engine bay.

Hi Mike,
Not sure of the brand but it does fill up the "Factory Shroud"

It seemed to stay in range while testing, but it was when it had been running and stopped and let it run it started ramping up
about 200 was as high as it got but didn't give if a chance to go
anymore.

The front Fender well have very nice cutouts in them I had thought it was factory done with them having the nice edging around the opening ;-) When I'd ask about them the precious Owner said he'd done that ;-)

Take Care,
Craig

Congratulations Craig! You've found yourself a really nice one!  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
You say the thermostat has not been checked yet. Be SURE that you're running a very good quality thermostat. So many mechanics throw in cheap Stant thermostats. Not sure for your application but hopefully there is a good quality stainless-frame thermostat available. Money spent here is cheap insurance.
Unless I've overlooked it in the posts, there's no mention of a fan clutch so far. Is there one in place and, if so, is it working properly?
I have no doubt you'll get it sorted soon and then, as you said, it's off to brakes and a whole host of other things.  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hello ,

LOL well it kind of Found Me ;-) and I'm so Thankful !!!

I've not gotten that far to see the thermostat , I might have mis-written that the Temp Sending Unit was reading correctly and not the thermostat

On the Flex Fan I'm not sure about the clutch one of those things I'm not well versed on, I don't think Flex Fans have them ???

Thanks for the advice on the Thermostat with all this I want to get one that proven and not have any issues.

Thanks and Take Care,
Craig

Super nice car. I knew I wanted a red one or a green one like yours. I found the red one. Hope you have as much fun driving as I am having now that I got it to stay running and get more than 10 miles on a tank of gas.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

WOWSER that's a Beautiful and Great Looking Car !!! Looks well thought out, I'm sure you're so pleased and excited !!!

Take Care,
Craig