1933 coolant "water"

[blucar]

[QUOTE=FrankWest;1757888]Was it common practice back in the early 30's to use tap water or distilled water for radiators?[/QUOTE


To respond to the original question:
In the '30's through the early '40's money was in very short supply, a prudent motorist would use well and/or tap water, adding a "coke" bottle of soluble oil, which could be obtained from any machine shop for free, maybe a nickle. If the motorist was flush with money he could purchase a can of rust inhibitor.

In reality the average motorist did not take very good care of his vehicle. The average vehicle was done in two/three years, if that long.
It use to be very common in southern-eastern Idaho to see family farms that had every vehicle they had ever purchased, dating back to the early teens, lined up behind the barn. It was easy to read the good years because the age of the vehicles would generally be about two years apart. In the lean years the ages of the vehicle might be five or more years apart.
One farm I use to know of near Salmon ID had Model T's lines up side by side like cord wood, starting with 1910 through the '20's.

The 1940's/50's saw a big change in the quality of the average vehicle and how people took care of them.

[aussie merc]

times change technology improves so they say any good quaulity coolant will work well just read the specs to select the one that suits what you do the best [ie alloy heads boiling pionts and freeze point etc if your not confident in the mix ratio use a premix

[Karl]

Of course we can now get coolant that is not water at all (eg Evans) . Claimed to have a much higher boiling point and as there is no water there is no rust ever!. Sounds appealing but not cheap. I considered using it in my Hupmobile ,Model T and Model A previously -What stopped me was that the first two depend on thermo-siphon exclusively and The A does to a degree and I'm not sure how good the coolant would be in this situation. Has anyone used this product in a flathead ?

[Tinker]

So in conclusion...


What did people do in the day. Everything from hose water to adding alcohol.

To me a regular old 50/50 will work fine if everything is working well. Probably fine with your audi coolant. Depending on your area you don't want to have it freeze, then later in summer.... could always change it seasonally to suit you.







.

[Kpar]

Well what a debate on cooling water.
Over hear in the 30's you just filled up from the nearest creek or muddy hole.
My Dad always recons the silt in creek & dam water helped to stop leaks & coated the inside of the cooling system to help stop rust from forming. Mind you he was not always correct
Kpar

[JSeery]

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Originally Posted by Kpar

Well what a debate on cooling water.
Over hear in the 30's you just filled up from the nearest creek or muddy hole.
My Dad always recons the silt in creek & dam water helped to stop leaks & coated the inside of the cooling system to help stop rust from forming. Mind you he was not always correct
Kpar

That is funny, I love it.

[gdmn852]

Hello,In my collector cars I run distilled water and antifreeze mix also with the water wetter.seems to have worked well for me in last 40 plus years.Gary

[Bored&Stroked]

Talking to my step Dad (who is 87) - during WWII he had a 32 5 window - Model B. Anyway, the winters in SD were mighty cold - they ran diesel fuel instead of coolant for much of the winter. Times were tough - and there surely wasn't any money around for anything store bought.

[blucar]

Originally Posted by Bored&Stroked

Talking to my step Dad (who is 87) - during WWII he had a 32 5 window - Model B. Anyway, the winters in SD were mighty cold - they ran diesel fuel instead of coolant for much of the winter. Times were tough - and there surely wasn't any money around for anything store bought.

I doubt very much that diesel fuel was used as a coolant substitute in lieu of water. Diesel fuel can jell-up at low temps, looks like cottage cheese. In the winter additives are added to the fuel, most large trucks have heaters in their fuel tanks. Not a good thing when the fuel jells up at sub-zero temps and the engine quits.