Coolant Recovery System

[Rusty57]

Has anyone retrofitted a coolant recovery system to a ‘55-‘57 TBird?

I am not asking about an overflow tank or “catch can” as we called them in racing. I am also not referring to the pressurized expansion tanks we have in today’s vehicles.

My motivation is to eliminate the air space at the top of the radiator tank and therefore reduce the opportunity for corrosion. I did this for an early 70’s vehicle and was pleased with the results. Before I added the recovery system the antifreeze would turn rust colored after a couple of years. After I installed the recovery system the color would not change. I sold the vehicle with over 150,000 miles on it and there were no cooling system issues. I had never even replaced the water pump in the 11 years I owned it.

The key question is the volume needed to hold the coolant that is displaced due to expansion when the systems gets to operating temperature. My initial calculation indicates that it needs to be at about 3 quarts. That sure seems large compared to the universal systems on the market.

One test I will run is to overfill my current system. I expect it is a little low right now. Then I will run it for a few heating/cooling cycles. After that I will measure the volume of liquid needed to fill the radiator.

The tricky part is selecting a tank and mounting it so it does not look completely out of place. My guess is that I already have a “2 way” cap on the radiator. It is almost impossible to find single valve cap these days.

Ideas are welcome!

[55blacktie]

Rusty, let us know how it goes.

My 55 was made 1-20-55. The radiator top tank was dated 12-54. Although the radiator didn't leak, I could look down inside and see that the core was rotten. I replaced it with a 4-row, heavy-duty, copper & brass US Radiator. The cost of re-coring a radiator or heater core is as much or more than buying a new one.

I did hold onto the original radiator because of the date code on the tank, but it's doubtful that I'll ever use it.

[paul2748]

The rust inhibitors and other additives in anti0freeze does not last forever. That is why it is recommended to change it every three or four years. The anti-freeze part I have been told will last almost forever. I change mine every three/four years and never had any kind of corrosion problems w/o a recovery system. As far as I know, I have an original radiator in my 54 Ford and 56 TBird.

[55blacktie]

The date code on the top tank should be a month or less before the actual production date of the car; of course, it could have been re-cored.

[Rusty57]

Thanks for the responses.

I appreciate pau2748's comment. Right now I am not seeing any signs of corrosions in the air space. Your comments about antifreeze life are very much in line with what I read. That is why I am going to change the antifreeze. We have owned the car 4 years and I do not know the last time it was changed.

The antifreeze still tests as offering protection down to about -15 F which is more than adequate for us. However the anti-corrosion properties are definitely declining based on the voltage test. I get a reading of about 0.4 volts between the coolant in the upper tank and the battery negative post.

I will keep you updated.

[Jimntempe]

Has anyone retrofitted a coolant recovery system to a ‘55-‘57 TBird?

I am not asking about an overflow tank or “catch can” as we called them in racing. I am also not referring to the pressurized expansion tanks we have in today’s vehicles.

My motivation is to eliminate the air space at the top of the radiator tank and therefore reduce the opportunity for corrosion. I did this for an early 70’s vehicle and was pleased with the results. Before I added the recovery system the antifreeze would turn rust colored after a couple of years. After I installed the recovery system the color would not change. I sold the vehicle with over 150,000 miles on it and there were no cooling system issues. I had never even replaced the water pump in the 11 years I owned it.

The key question is the volume needed to hold the coolant that is displaced due to expansion when the systems gets to operating temperature. My initial calculation indicates that it needs to be at about 3 quarts. That sure seems large compared to the universal systems on the market.

One test I will run is to overfill my current system. I expect it is a little low right now. Then I will run it for a few heating/cooling cycles. After that I will measure the volume of liquid needed to fill the radiator.

The tricky part is selecting a tank and mounting it so it does not look completely out of place. My guess is that I already have a “2 way” cap on the radiator. It is almost impossible to find single valve cap these days.

Ideas are welcome!

I had one on mine. It was 800 ml, so not quite a quart. It wasn't big enough and vented thru a hole in the cap so it was messy when it got completely filled. So I took it off. I think the safe size would be about 1.5 quarts. I have yet to find one of sufficient size which I think I can fit in the space next to the radiator. Possibly relocating the voltage regulator would allow a decent sized fender mounted one to be put there.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076H ... UTF8&psc=1

[Rusty57]

Hi Jim,

Many thanks for the feedback and guidance. I figured that if anyone on this forum had tried one you were a likely candidate.

I saw that kit on Amazon as well as some at Summit Racing.

Your experience with the expansion volume does not surprise me. In a 20 quart system 1 quart is only 5%.

I have a couple of ideas about methods to confirm the expansion volume. I will post my results.

As you noted, locating the reservoir is a challenge.

[Jimntempe]

According to "the internet"... Water expands about 4% when heated from 0°C to 100°C. That's about the range of temperature for normal cold start to really hot. So 20 x 0.04 = 0.8 quart, roughly the 800 ml size. Keeping in mind they surely overstated the capacity of the one I tried because the return at the bottom was on the side so probably 50 ml was not usable capacity. And you would not want it to fill to the brim either. That mirrors what I saw in use. After a few cycles it would have squirted the excess out the cap, then completely empty as it cooled down. Then on the subsequent cycles it would refill almost to the top, perhaps down an inch. That's why I suspect a 1.5 quart bottle would be acceptable. It would not leave much "headroom" on either end... if you went crazy and filled the cold system and halfway filled the overflow it would probably overflow when fully heated. But I think it would settle in after a few cycles and have an inch or so left in the bottom after cool down and an inch of headroom at the top when fully heated up. Not sure anything much larger than 1.5 could be squeezed in. I keep thinking I need to take a trip to the pick-a-part auto yard and see if I can find any overflow tanks that might work.

[Rusty57]

Thanks for those additional details. I agree that the 800 ml sure seemed like a "marketing" size.

[Jimntempe]

I decided to fiddle around last night on this issue and mocked up a cardboard box the same size as the small Dorman universal plastic recovery tank. It's about 7x8x4 inches. That should provide a useable 2-to-3-quart capacity. I saw no way to fit it in the available space and also close the hood.

https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-603-001-C ... op?ie=UTF8

[paul2748]

cASCO has a coolant recover kit. that some of my friends use in their Tbirs. Kinda ugly in my view, but I guess it works. Best bet is to paint it flat black as I have seen others do. I don't lose any coolant so I am not installing anything.

[Rusty57]

Thanks for the note about the CASCO system. I was not aware of that.

I agree that painting it black would sure help with appearance.

One idea I had was to make the reservoir as a vertical cylinder out of maybe 1 1/2” PVC. Paint it black and mount it in the right front area under the hood. Just an idea.

[55blacktie]

Although the Casco tank is easy to install, and it's inexpensive, it's cheaply made, doesn't look good, and the hose will come loose, if not properly secured. I would either look for something better or do without.