MTFCA Forum

I have always heard of the Model T's cooling system but I have never heard about how it fares in mid-summer Nevada weather (up to 115 F). How would Lizzie fare in those conditions?

Assuming (!) the cooling system is in good condition, jes' fine.
There are variables, however - such as the extremes of temperature (big difference between 90f and 105f) and the load on Lizzie, such as payload weight, speed, level ground or steep grade. Lizzie's working parameters are modest. If five passengers in a touring car exceeds about 800 pounds, if one insists on driving at 45-50 mph, you can expect overheating in hot weather.

If the inside of the engine is clean, not a lot of rust scale, so that the heat can transfer from the iron to the water, and the radiator is in good condition with the fins soldered to the tubes, again so that the heat can transfer from the water to the tubes and then to the fins themselves, and there are no flow restrictions in the radiator, then you should have no problems under normal driving conditions. Your engine is running at about 190 degrees, so there is a 75 degree difference between the air and the radiator, more than enough to absorb the heat from the radiator. In the short time that it takes the air to pass through the radiator, it can only absorb so much heat, no matter what the temperature is. It's really a matter of how much heat is being added to the water by the engine. If it is working hard, pulling a heavy load or climbing a long hill, and adding more heat than the radiator can dissipate, overheating will occur. You can overheat on a 40 degree day too. The answer for this is a larger dissipation area, larger radiator with more surface area.Your Model T should be fine if everything is in good order.

In addition to what Jeff said. The only thing that you will need to pay attention to here is the water level. They will continue to loose water after they find their sweet spot. I run my race car ( Model A engine) without a water pump and even it does ok if I keep an eye on the water level. One thing that I did with my 26 was to put a over flow tank on it. I will do this on my race car as soon as I come up with a suitable tank. You do need to seal the radiator cap with an o-ring or such. This is a match made in heaven.

My engine was refreshed last year and a new Berg's radiator added to the mix.

I've driven it in the peak of the Houston heat and it handled it just fine. I know the Nevada heat is a bit more intense and more dry, but my experience in 105 degree Texas heat, sitting at stoplights, etc is noteworthy.

My T worked fine in south Texas in the summer with a stock set up, 75 rear old radiator, no water pump, no thermostat, no water wetter, just plain 50/50 antifreeze.

If it is working hard, pulling a heavy load or climbing a long hill, and adding more heat than the radiator can dissipate, overheating will occur.

After a certain age, everything reminds you of something else. Those words take me back seventy years to Oatman grade on old US 66. On a broiling summer day over 100º F you would crawl along in a long line of cars behind a big truck toiling toward the summit. At every turnout there would be a steaming car with its hood up as the driver waited for it to cool down enough to drive on up the mountain. Being modern cars with water pumps didn't save them from overheating.