Waterless cooling

Update by J.G. Pasterjak to the Ford Mustang GT project car
Feb 3, 2004

Well, it’s been a while since the last update on the Mustang Project (sorry), but we really have been making progress. Right now, we’re in the throes of converting our standard cooling system over to an Evans NPG (non-aqueous propylene glycol) system. Basically, this is a waterless system that uses specific coolant that has a much higher boiling point than a standard 50/50 coolant mix. Because of this, much lower pressures are used in the system.

But what are the advantages, you ask? Well, according to Evans, one of the biggest advantages is the fact that the non-water-based solution virtually eliminates “hot spots” within the engine. Because of the nature of water, there can be localized spots inside an engine where the coolant vaporizes in an effort to transfer the heat that is being produced by the engine. Once the vaporized coolant enters the rediator, it recondenses and recirculate into the system. So while the coolant gauge may not show a problem, other parts of the engine could be in danger.

With the Evans npg system, since the boiling point is much higher, the risk of vaporization-even localised_is greatly reduced, so heat transfer is more complete.

There’s a lot more of the advanced chemistry and physics of the system available at www.evanscooling.com. When we see terms like “molar heat of vaporization” we get a headache.

The system for the Mustang (they have several pre-fab systems for many popular cars, or can customize one for nearly any application) includes a Fluidyne radiator, a Spal electric fan (we can FINALLY ditch our lousy clutch fan!), a high-flow water pump, special radiator cap and coolant. We also have a slick Canton overflow can to add to the system.

We’re also redoing our last modification-the installation of the Edelbrock intake. Seems we didn’t use enough sealant on the lower manifold where it meets the block and had a nasty oil leak. Based on some suggestion from the friendly and well-mannered posters at www.corner-carvers.com, we are reinstalling the intake using silicone end seals, well coated with goo, and using studs to properly align the intake as it drops down onto the engine to prevent smearing the seals out from under it.

So, two or three more weekends and we should be back on the road with a non-leaky, npg-cooled, electric-fanned Mustang.

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