surge tank, yay or nay

[Licensed to kill]

Thinking of adding a surge tank (overflow tank) to the rad on my model A. Good idea, bad idea, stupid idea???

[daveymc29]

I had one but took it off as when I pressurized my radiator to 2,5 psi it never got any water into it.

[Drive Shaft Dave]

If the radiator has good downflow through it I see no reason for it. As long as you keep the coolant level just below the baffle it should be good.

[Licensed to kill]

The only reason I'm thinking about it is so the rad would stay full rather than being down a couple inches when cold.

[Drive Shaft Dave]

As long as the coolant is cvering the tops of the tubes you will be ok, there will be room in the top tank for coolant expansion.

[Mike V. Florida]

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Not needed.

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

Not needed.

Well, if you go drag racing, the track will require you to have a surge tank so you don't put water/antifreeze on the track surface!

[marc silva]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the water would only get drawn back into the radiator if it was a closed system. The tank on the stock model A would only act as a "catch" tank basically keeping it from spilling out on the ground until it got full then dumping on the ground anyway. ???

[Tom Wesenberg]

A hose from the overflow tube to the bottom of the overflow bottle will work, and get sucked back as the coolant cools down, unless you have a leak in the cap gasket. I did this on mine when I had coolant loss problems, and was trying to figure out what was wrong.

[Jacksonlll]

I have one on one car and none on the other. My problem is that the cap is not sealed tight enough to pull the coolant back into the radiator during cool down. So, I guess mine is a catch bottle.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by marc silva

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the water would only get drawn back into the radiator if it was a closed system. The tank on the stock model A would only act as a "catch" tank basically keeping it from spilling out on the ground until it got full then dumping on the ground anyway. ???

Yes, you are 110% correct on all points.

[1931 flamingo]

On mine I "sealed" the cap on the o/flow tank, it sucks back.
Paul in CT

[mike657894]

not needed as it wasn't designed to have one. the tubes do the cooling not the end tanks. you are just used to a side ways radiator that would be filled because the top of the tank and tubes are near even.

[dumb person]

If you sealed the cap with an o-ring this should be fine.
Legend has it if you use an overflow bottle like this your coolant will have less exposure to oxygen (as only the surface area of the bottle level will be exposed to air, and only a limited amount will be sucked back into the system.)
So, less corrosion in your block, basically.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

With a perfectly sealed cap & a LARGE enough overflow tank, hosed to the overflow tube, you can keep the radiator VIRTUALLY FULL. Thus increasing the water capacity & eliminating AIR BUBBLES & increasing the EFFICIENCY of the system!
The INVENTOR of the QUICK, add-on system was a mechanic for Navajo Truck Lines, in the Southwest. Trucks were running HOT! By adding a clear plastic tube in the upper hose, he determined that FOAM & BUBBLES were the CULPRIT!
After setting up the tank system, the water ran CLEAR & they ran COOLER!!!
I was in the "heyday' of these add-on tanks & I do KNOW what I'm TALKIN' about.
Bill Restofthestory

[Scottio57]

I live in the desert and it gets over 110 for most of the summer. I have the stock car and drive it year round and have no heating or water purging problems at all. Once a year I flush the cooling system. Fill it up and let it find its own level. After that I check it just to make sure it is covering the radiator tubes.