82 cutlass w/403 olds overheating

[tazjamin]

i have an 82 cutlass with a 403 olds in it. it keeps overheating i changed the thermostat twice and flushed out the engine a radiator. the water pump is newer and i cant seem to keep it cool enough i even put a 160 degree thermostat in it please help

[88hurstolds]

Very common for Olds engines, especially siamese bore 403s...
Even though they have huge water jackets they can be sensitive to a few things such as main journal tolerances or buildup in the passages.
Did you do any sort of rebuild recently?
Did you make sure the head gasket wasnt blocking any passages.
Are you running a 4 row radiator?
Is your fan clutch spinning freely when at rest? If so its bad...
Running rich or incorrect timing can also cause this.

[tazjamin]

well its actually my friends car he had the engine rebuilt and put in. im not sure how long ago but by looking at the engine its pretty dirty with some old plug wires so would guess theres some good miles on it. he said it had lots of power right from the start now its a dog. then recently it started overheating and then it started to not start without using some starting fluid

[Curless]

Sounds like the engine is hurt, he probably ran it too long too hot and now the rings are hit...

[tazjamin]

really? that bad i was thinking timing or fan clutch it does spin about 1/4 of the way when you spin it. im in the process of rebuilding the carb too.

[tazjamin]

im thinking of getting a new radiator for it. it still has the stock 305 one in it and the 403 radiator is for heavy duty cooling im also thinking of getting electric fans too. What do you think would be best and what to look for?