HELP!!! OVERHEATING!!!

[ticks]

Hi I have a 67 Mustang Coupe with a 289 in it, a Edelbrock Carburetor 4bbl. Well the problem is my car overheats Ive changed the radiator I have taken the thermostat out (it dosent have a thermostat right now) but as soon as I hit the freeway it starts to heat up still. Ive checked compression and on all 8 cylinders it was fine. But I did notice that when I took my spark plugs out they were all filled with fuel, so I know its running rich. I want to try and change the timing because I also think its incorrect and I know that dosent help the rich conditon. I looked at the shaft for numbers but theres nothing there,theres only a bunch of white lines. I really dont know how to change timing in the first place, Im a learning mechanic. I was told the correct timng is 12 while I disconnect the dist. vaccum hose. Is that correct? How do I change the timing, and how do I tune my carb. If I fix this two problems will my car stop overheating? Cause Ive checked everything and it seems to be a big mystery and I want my car back running with a thermostat on too. This problems appeared when my ignition coil went bad and I was stubborn that the problem was the dist. cause the coil had a good amount of spark it seemed like. So I change the point and the condenser but it would not start so I bought a whole new dist. and thats when all these problems starded to happen when I was putting the rotor back in position and my timing went bad and my carb seemed really rich cause it was at really high idle. By the way the dist. was not the problem it was the ignition coil it actually did not have enough power, cause it had spark but not enough. My friend seemed to fix the timing and the rich carb but ever since then my car starded to overheat. I want to do it myself and actually get everything correct so please HELP!!!By the way I can tell my car is overheating by the factory gauge, it goes pretty much all the way up, if its on a no stop driving situation such as a freeway, but when its on the streets with a go/stop situation the gauge kind of sits at half, unless I accelelarate alot then the temperature goes to the roof but it comes down slowly as soon as I get a red traffic light.(it dosent come down right away though, it takes some traffic stops and me going more at a steady pace then it will begin to go back towards half). I really want to get my stang up and running ones again!!! THANK YOU FOR READING ALL THIS I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOUR OPINIONS AND YOUR HELP, THANK YOU!!!!
And these are the timing specs i got at auto zone is this correct?
Timing Specification:
For your 1967 Ford Mustang:
Timing Specification 12 Degrees
BEFORE TOP DEAD CENTER
*SET AT WARM IDLE SPEED (650 RPM)
*DISTRIBUTOR VACUUMHOSE DISCONNECTED & PLUGGED
*ALL ACCESSORIES OFF
*TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE (PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED)

 

[chepsk8]

Timing should be around 8 degrees with the vacuum advance disconnected. Too mauch advance will build heat. Your carb jetting is off, but it seems on the rich side. I am very good at Holley,s but not the Carter-Style carbs, but you ultimately want to lean it down so your exhaust tip is a medium grey. Re-connect the advance, as it will run better. Think about changing to Pertronix or Unilite electronic ignition conversions. You'll never regret it.

Some notes to think about:
Size of the radiator - Is it big enough for a warmed-over engine? May be time for a larger one.
Put the thermostat back in. It actually keeps the flow restricted so the radiator will work. 180 degrees.
Head Gaskets - Ford SB's do kill them. I know this from a year's worth of frustration with the Cobra. Do not rule this out. Does coolant dis-appear, or the hoses get badly pressurized?
Fan - If you are still running the stock 4-blade, discard time. 6 blader or clutch fan. Got a shroud?
Intake manifold gaskets - leaking?
Does the intake manifold have a rear cross-over for coolant? If so, good.
Did somebody do any engine work just before? If the head gaskets are put on wrong, it will heat up.
Water pump?
Is the coolant passages in the motor clean?

Time to get your hands dirty!

 

[D.Hearne]

I don't agree, 12* BTDC is perfect and will not cause it to overheat. Now, if it';s set at 12*ATDC, that's going to make it heat up. Look at the lines on the balancer again, clean it off good with a steel brush, wire wheel on a drill, something. There you'll find these markings: ATC 10 I I I I 0 I I I I 10 I I I I 20 I I I I 30 BTC. You want it set at 12 degrees on the BTC side. Set it at 12 on the ATC side and that's retarded timing. Anywhere on the BTC side is advanced. Sounds ass-backwards, huh? BTC is Before Top Center, if it's sparking on that side, it's lighting off the mixture before the piston reaches top center. The spark ignites the fuel before the piston reaches the top,cause the fuel doesn't ignite instantly, it's got to have some time to get a burn going, the faster the piston's moving, the more lead time it needs to reach full strength.

 

[D.Hearne]

I do agree with Chepsk8's recomendation of putting the thermostat back. That's a no brainer, no T-Stat and it'll take forever to heat up, but once it does, there's no restriction to keep the coolant in the block long enough to absorb the heat. Backwards installed head gaskets are another common cause of overheated small blocks, but if yours wasn't hot before the distributor swap, I doubt thats the case now.

 

[JMER70]

d.hearne is 100% right i think lol it sounds like your timing is way out if all else i would bring the engine up on tdc (top dead center) of numder one cylinder. Reset your distributor to start off clean and then set it at 12 degrees BTC. Definately put thermostat back in.

 

[65frank]

Overheating at speed can also be the lower radiator hose collapsing with lots of water pump suction. Check if the hose feels soft when you squeeze it. Some say it should have a spring inside, I can never find one with a spring at the local parts place.
I just make sure it is new and hard to squeeze.

 

[Cobain03]

hey i check mine today and my 0 mark is about 1 1/2 above the timming mark on block???

 

[D.Hearne]

hey i check mine today and my 0 mark is about 1 1/2 above the timming mark on block???

HUH?

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Overheating at speed can also be the lower radiator hose collapsing with lots of water pump suction. Check if the hose feels soft when you squeeze it. Some say it should have a spring inside, I can never find one with a spring at the local parts place.

That was my first suspicion when I saw the part about high speed overheating.

The radiator hose should ideally have an anti-collapse spring inside or at least a very stiff carcass resistant to suction collapse.



........and put the T-stat back in.

 

[mustangman1974]

I have the reverse problem in mine. hehe

But I think its one of two problems. First the radiator hose must by collasping. many times it rust away from not high enough % of collant. The next thing is that capped distributer. In california that install that crap for NOx emissions, but it causes cars to overheat on the freeway. You should keep it plugged and check how advanced the timing is at 2800 rpm. If it stays the same you have an advance issue. The vaccum advance kicks in at freeway speeds and if your coil was bad the advance may have tried to compensate at the program vaccum. I believe 36 degrees advance is a good start.

 

[bnickel]

I have the reverse problem in mine. hehe

But I think its one of two problems. First the radiator hose must by collasping. many times it rust away from not high enough % of collant. The next thing is that capped distributer. In california that install that crap for NOx emissions, but it causes cars to overheat on the freeway. You should keep it plugged and check how advanced the timing is at 2800 rpm. If it stays the same you have an advance issue. The vaccum advance kicks in at freeway speeds and if your coil was bad the advance may have tried to compensate at the program vaccum. I believe 36 degrees advance is a good start.

what?

 

[ticks]

I checked my balancer and it has this markings TDC | 3 6 9 12 How do I change the timing. By the way I changed the lower radiator hose with one that has a spring in it and I changed my bypass hose since it looked bend. And this did not fix the problem. I also got a new thermostat but I havent installed it yet cause they gave me a 195 degree one and said it was the stocked one. Is this correct? Thank you for your help!

 

[mustangman1974]

damn must have been tired when i posted. 195 is the smog thermostat you could get a 165. As far as timing goes you need to see if your balancer's outer ring is indexed. Turn engine until #1 piston is in TDC. Then check the balancer's marks to your timing pointer. If all lines up you could start at the factory recommendation of 8 degrees. So, using a timming light turn distributer until the pointer is just before 9. As far as timing goes after factory specs I am a bit lost. Be sure though you are running at least 60% collant.

 

[rebel65]

% of coolant doesn't matter. get some water wetter. it has anti corosive proporties, and it doesn't have all the other Shtuff that coolant does in it. water is proven to cool better, and with water wetter it will not corode from touching steel, aluminum, copper, and whatever other charged metals.

but if you don't want water wetter do like 30-40% coolant if it's hot

 

[65ShelbyClone]

You know, if an engine can't stay cool with more than just water, the cooling system is a major issue. Using 40-50% AF will drastically reduce corrosion. I can't vouch for any corrosion inhibitors in the wetter addiives since I'm too chicken to risk it. Besides, I don't have cooling problems.