1960s Coolant overflow reservoir

[Caddygranddaddy]

Just finished putting together the motor (390) on my 1961 series 62. Just realized that, like many classics, this car does not have a coolant overflow tank. Not a fan of the coolant leaking from the overflow hose. Anybody install an overflow tank? Pros and cons of running with or without?

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Michael,

There is nothing wrong with running a coolant overflow  (Catch Container) if that is all you are doing.  This requires a tank put to one side with the overflow hose going into the top of the tank.  You still need to check the coolant level in the normal way via the radiator cap, with the coolant level about 1" below the top of the header tank.

If you want to convert to a Recovery System, then that is another matter as the Radiator Cap has to be changed to a Recovery-type, which involves replacing the filler neck with a deeper one so that the new cap can work as it should.

With the Recovery System, the overflow hose has to extend into the bottom of the recovery tank so that the expelled coolant can be sucked back into the radiator as the coolant cools down.

Coolant level is then checked by the amount of coolant in the Recovery Tank, as the radiator will always be full.

Makes sense?

Bruce.

PS.   In both cases, the Overflow and Recovery tanks need to have a larger capacity to hold all the fluid that is expelled when hot.