Of Rods and Rain

The annual Goodguys Columbus PPG Nationals is a short three hour trip from our Western PA. Home base and attracts thousands of the nations fines hot rods, customs and street machines. This year's edition was no exception as the Columbus Expo Center Fairgrounds (and surrounding hotel parking lots!) were packed with an outstanding collection of cars.
My girlfriend Linda and I arrived at our hotel about 10 miles north of the fairgrounds on Friday afternoon and unloaded my '23 T Roadster for the trip down I-71 to meet up with my good friend Gerry and her '51 Chevy Pickup and get our registration credentials. Later, as we all returned to the hotel complex we found hundreds of people lining the street, sipping on a cold beverage and watching the “cruise” as the cars ran up and down the street.
Saturday dawned warm but cloudy with a definite threat of rain. After some breakfast we headed to the show and found a nice place to park. Fortunately, we packed a cooler, pop-up canopy, chairs and my car cover in Gerry's truck (since T-Buckets have virtually no storage space)......because by 11:30 the “scattered showers” had turned into a steady rain. This didn't deter the spirit of the crowd or our determination to have a good time. We parked ourselves under the canopy and enjoyed a couple of beverages ourselves. Eventually Gerry's boyfriend, Dave arrived having ridden his motorcycle from Pittsburgh that morning (the last 70 miles in the rain). By this time we were getting a little damp and everyone was hungry......so we piled into the cab of the truck and set out in search of umbrellas and a decent place to eat. Meanwhile....the steady rain turned into a major monsoon complete with flood warnings. After waiting out the worst of it we returned to the fairgrounds to find the T still high and dry under it's tarp in the parking lot. So far, so good.
By now the rain had pretty much stopped, so we decided to attend the awards ceremony to see the “Street Machine of the Year” and “Street Rod of the Year” crowned. Western Pennsylvania was well represented in the Street machine finals by the guys at RPM out of Warrendale, PA with the '69 Trans am they built for Bryan Frank. In addition, Bill Steele's recently crowned “Hot Rod of the Year” 1930 Model A coupe was on hand for the crowd to admire.
The ride back to the hotel was a little damp as the rain started again (and can be a real adventure with the big rear tires on the T) but it subsided shortly after we got on the interstate and held off long enough for me to get the car back in the trailer.
Sunday was bright and sunny, so we headed to the fairgrounds for one final day of hot rod fun. Although the parking lot wasn't nearly as full as Friday or Saturday, there was still a nice crowd. We hung out for a while before getting ready for our ride home. All and all, it was a great time with great friends and lots of cool cars. Definitely a worthwhile trip!
Here's a shot of our cars on Sunday morning.

Diagnose Overheating Problems in the Mercedes-Benz 300SL

The issue of overheating is not an uncommon problem when first starting and test driving a newly restored/rebuilt 300SL Gullwing or Roadster. Since there are a number of possible causes and solutions to the condition, we thought we'd list a comprehensive approach that can be taken to diagnose and correct overheating.

First, check the obvious items common to all cars.

• Is the radiator full of anti-freeze/water?
• Is the thermostat stuck? If it is not new and has been sitting around for a number of years, this is a common problem.
• Has the radiator been cleaned and pressure tested? Any leaks?
• What's the condition of the radiator cap? Does it hold pressure?
• Is the fan belt slipping? It should have 1/4” to 1/2” of play....any more and it is probably slipping.
• Has the fan been installed correctly? We have seen occasions where electric fans are installed backwards....which doesn't help the cooling at all. Is there a shroud around the fan?
• Is the water pump new? Has it been rebuilt?
• Have you checked the timing? Retarded timing will cause the car to run poorly and run hot. Certainly worth a double check.
• Is the engine running too lean....a lean running engine will also run hot.
  

The next possibility is a little more serious

• Is there any oil or exhaust gas bubbles present in the coolant? This would indicate a blown head gasket (best case) or possibly a crack cylinder head or engine block (worst case). Often the case with a rebuilt engine; no one checked the mating surface of the cylinder head. Aluminum heads quite often warp when engines over heat. Steel cylinder heads will also warp to a much lesser degree, but enough to cause problems.

The following items are more specific to the 300SL

• Has the water pump been topped off with 90 weight gear oil?
• Has the fuel injection pump been recalibrated? You cannot rebuild the engine on these cars without recalibrating the fuel injection pump.....it's like putting old wine in a new wine sack. The pump has wear on it and has, in a way, recalibrated itself to the old motor. It especially may be running lean/hot.
• Check to make sure there is oil in the injection pump.
• Check the spark plugs. We recommend NGK BP6ES or possibly one range cooler.
• Try one of the many “Water Wetter” products that are on the market.
• Did you use “break in “ oil to break in the engine? What grade of oil are you using now? Is there enough oil in the crankcase? (these take 15 Quarts of oil).

As you can seen, there are quite a number of conditions that can lead to your engine running hot. Start with the simplest, easiest to implement (changing one thing at a time)....and see if you get any improvement. As always...at your service!