This past week I have been commuting 75 miles from the panhandle of WV to the suburbs of Washington DC in highway traffic. The trip takes me over a couple of 2000 ft tall "hills" near Frederick, MD.

The first few days the stock '63 544 was fine, running at 70 mph for miles when traffic allowed. Then, when filling the spartan gas tank at 5:00 one morning I accidentally used regular gas (usually mid grade is used). During the afternoon trip the car climbed the 2000 feet pinging and the temperature gauge climbed to the upper markings.

With the heater turned on the temp dropped to 3/4 gauge on the way down the other side of the "hill". The rest of the way home the gauge stayed high. The car seemed fine when parked although the temp gauge needle went off somewhere behind the speedometer. After a few hours the radiator cap was opened and the water level was full.

The next morning I used 93 octane gas. In the afternoon outdoor temperature was over 90F again but this time there was no overheating during the entire trip.

Yesterday I used mid grade gas. I didn't notice any pinging going up the big hills but the temperature gauge went up and stayed up. When I turned off the car in the driveway the temperature gauge ran up to points unseeable. Then there was a bump or two or three from the engine compartment, followed by a big barf of coolant out of the overflow tube. It took about a gallon of 50/50 water and antifreeze mixture to top up the radiator after cooldown.

My first thought was to finally get that electric helper fan that John Mc suggested last year. However, the helper fan wouldn't seem to be the answer to the hill climbing problem. Should I be shopping elsewhere for gas or adjusting my timing to get up those hills without overheating the motor?

Thanks for reading,

Joe in WV

I'd say if it stays cool using premium gas but overheats using mid-grade, try retarding the timing a few degrees and see if that helps. If performance suffers from the change, so will economy -- your car and wallet may be better off simply using premium gas in the hot seasons.

Phil:

Thanks for sharing your knowledge present and past. The car had been running quite well so for now I will probably just try the 93 octane during the hot weather.

I forgot to metion that I checked milage on one trip. The 544 with B18, air thru the throttle shaft SU's and no overdrive went 148 miles on 5.33 gallons for an average of 27.7 miles to the gallon. I was most impressed as half the trip was stop and go and the rest had the engine near its upper limit at 70 mph. Well, 70 mph isn't the engine's limit but the body vibrations at 80 mph scare the heck out of me. My teenage son calls the car Fear Factor or the Clown Car.

At 10 cents a gallon more for premium it will only cost me an additional 50 cents a day to avoid meltdown.

Best regards,

Joe in WV