Cooling System Components
Pontiac V8 Cooling System Components
Keeping It Off the Gauge — Cooling System Components for Pontiac V8s
Cooling system components are what let a Pontiac V8 sit in traffic in July. A Pontiac is unusual in that the water pump bolts to the timing cover rather than the block, so the cover, the divider plate, the sleeves and the pump all have to be right together before the radiator gets blamed.
Butler stocks aluminum radiators from Cold Case, Ron Davis and Entropy by chassis, fans and shrouds, 4-bolt, 8-bolt and 11-bolt water pumps, reconditioned and new timing covers, divider plates, o-ring sleeves, thermostat housings and 8-bolt to 11-bolt conversion kits.
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1. Radiators: Measure the Core Before You Order
Butler sorts radiators by chassis, from 1961-64 full size cars through A-body, first and second generation F-body, Grand Prix and G-body. Within a chassis, the core support is the question.
| The A/C support trap | On 1964-67 Tempest, LeMans and GTO, cars came with either an A/C or a non-A/C radiator support, and the A/C support is two inches taller. The one exception is 1964, where all GTOs got the 17.5" core. |
| How to tell | Measure your original radiator. A 15.5" core means you need the non-A/C radiator, even if you are adding aftermarket air. A 17.5" core means you need the A/C radiator, even if the car no longer has A/C. |
| Aluminum over copper and brass | Cold Case builds TIG-welded aluminum cores with two oversized rows and 1.25" tubes at 16 fins per inch, with factory stamping and OE-style fittings so a painted unit looks close to original. Cold Case rates a two-row of theirs as roughly 10 to 15 percent better than an original four-row. |
| High horsepower | Entropy and Ron Davis build the heavier cooling packages, including dual-fan radiators and larger tube cores for high output combinations. |
| Transmission cooler | Automatic-car radiators carry a built-in trans cooler, so check whether you are ordering the AT or MT version. |
2. Fans, Shrouds and Support Hardware
A radiator without a shroud pulls air through the path of least resistance, which is usually around the core instead of through it.
| Electric fans | Spal puller-style high performance fans in 12" and 14", and Cold Case fan and shroud kits matched to their radiators. |
| Shroud kits | Chassis-specific dual-fan shroud kits for 1966-67 A-body, 1967-69 F-body, 1968-77 A-body and 1970-81 F-body, cut to fit the matching Cold Case core. |
| Mechanical fans | Flex fan spacer kits when the fan sits too far off the pump. |
| Support pieces | Radiator conversion kits, A/C lower support kits, rubber insulators, adjustable billet support brackets and electric fan wiring kits. |
3. Water Pumps: Four Generations, Not One
Pontiac changed the pump and cover pattern more than once, and the differences are not subtle.
| 4-bolt, 1955 through early 1963. | |
| 8-bolt, 1964-68 | Cast iron replacements plus a Flowkooler high volume cast iron pump with a billet aluminum impeller. |
| 11-bolt, early 1969 | A transitional short hub pump, 4" from block surface to hub, used on early production 1969 cars only. Do not order the later pump for one of these. |
| 11-bolt, 1969 1/2 through 1979 | The 4.5" hub pump with a 5/8" pilot shaft. Butler, CVF, Edelbrock Victor, Flowkooler, Milodon, PRW and Dayco all build one, in cast iron and billet aluminum, along with Meziere electric pumps. |
| Impeller material | Cast impellers are preferred over stamped steel because they do not deflect and are less prone to cavitation inside the timing cover body. Every Pontiac pump turns clockwise; there was never a counter-clockwise Pontiac pump, regardless of how different two impellers look. |
4. Timing Covers, Divider Plates and Sleeves
On a Pontiac the timing cover is half the water pump housing, so a tired cover is a cooling problem, not just an oil leak.
| Covers | Reconditioned factory 8-bolt covers for 1964-65, 1966-67 and 1968, a reconditioned dimpled 11-bolt cover for 1969-79, and new cast aluminum 8-bolt and 11-bolt replacements. |
| Tri-Power clearance | This is the one to watch. Reproduction covers will not work with Tri-Power unless they carry the dimple. Butler's reconditioned 11-bolt cover is dimpled for Tri-Power, and the 8-bolt replacement has the dimple as well. |
| Divider plates | The plate separates the pump's inlet and outlet sides. Butler offers zinc coated and stainless plates for all 11-bolt pumps and stainless plates for 1964-68 covers, including a set fitted in Butler's shop to the aftermarket 8-bolt cover. |
| Sleeves | The 1969 and later cover uses two coolant sleeves with rubber o-rings between cover and pump, replacing GM part 9796347. They are cheap, they harden with age, and they are the reason a lot of engines weep coolant at the front. Replace them any time the pump comes off. |
| Install kits | Butler's timing cover and water pump install kit bundles a stainless divider plate, sleeves, timing cover gasket, crank seal, fuel pump gasket, the timing cover to intake o-ring and both water pump gaskets. Alignment studs are available to line the plate and pump up during installation. |
5. Thermostat Housings, Water Necks and Thermostats
Housings are year and induction specific, so order by what is on the car.
| Tri-Power | Separate housings for 1964, 1965 and 1966, including a 1966 Tri-Power water neck for non-dimpled timing covers. |
| Cast aluminum replacements | OEM-style housings for 1965-70, 1971-72 and 1973-79. |
| Billet and swivel | Billet housings from CVF and CSR in 1.5" hose, 16 AN and 20 AN, including swivel designs and a 90 degree outlet, for plumbing a radiator that does not sit where the factory one did. |
| Chrome water necks | Fit 1964-79 Pontiac V8 applications except 389 engines. |
| Thermostats | High flow thermostats in 160 and 180 degree. |
6. Conversions and the Odd Jobs
Most cooling upgrades on an older Pontiac turn into a conversion somewhere.
| 8-bolt to 11-bolt | Butler offers conversion kits for 1964-67 and for 1968. The 11-bolt cover will retrofit a 1964-68 engine when paired with an offset water pump pulley to accommodate the 4.5" 11-bolt pump. |
| Early 1969 to later | A conversion kit takes an early 1969 4" pump setup to the 1969 1/2 and later 4.5" arrangement. |
| Intake and cover sealing | The timing cover to intake wedge spacer and the o-ring seal between cover and intake are small parts that stop a persistent coolant or vacuum leak at the front of the valley. |
| Heater hose fittings | Press-in fittings for the rear of the passenger head on 1965 and later cast iron heads, a brass fitting kit for Edelbrock heads, and block-off caps in 5/8" and 3/4" if the car runs no heater. |
If the car runs hot, work front to back: confirm the core size against the support, confirm which water pump generation the timing cover takes, and replace the divider plate and sleeves while the pump is off. Tell Butler the year, the body and whether the car has factory air, and they will sort the radiator and pump combination from there.
Thermostat Housings/Water Necks Water Pump Plates and Accessories Thermostats Timing Covers and Accessories Water Pumps and Conversion Kits Radiators/Fans/Shrouds
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Email our tech team at tech@butlerperformance.com. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.