I finally got the car running yesterday with the new head and new distributor but it still overheats. I have narrowed it down so much now that the ####ty Holly/Weber carb is about the only thing left that can cause overheating. I do not like that carb. It is not too easy to change jets in and jets are impossible to find for it. I can use jets from stock 1200 carbs in the high range but the mid-range is the driving section and the jets are impossible to find for it. I think I will have to solder up the jets and redrill them to smaller venturi.

It is a new carb with only less than 2,000 miles on it. I would trade the whole setup for a good stock carb any day. Any takers for you Holly/Weber fans? I paid over $250 USA for it.

Mareo

Jets are easy to find, just go to http://www.redlineweber.com/

I doubt if this is causing the overheating, if you mean that water is boiling out of the radiator.

Two tests:
1. Test the radiator flow: take off the lower hose of the radiator. Block it with your hand, and fill the radiator with plain water. Take your hand off and the water should gush out in as big a stream as the lower opening. If it runs out in a smaller stream, the radiator has blockage inside.

2. Take the thermostat out and do the same with the engine ... it should run out fast. By the way, a 180 thermostat is good -it'lll often take away ping so you can run regular gas again and you can put a 7lb cap on instead of a 14lb (easier on the radiator).

If you mean that the gauge goes over to the H side (but doesn't boil over) -- that's probably just the dashboard gauge. Test it with a real calibrated test gauge. If it's going signifcantly higher than the thermostat rating ... most likely the thermostat is bad, radiator too small, electric fan not effictive. The stock radiator will heat up when it's 80 degrees outside, but not boil over. But it won't break the engine unless it boils the water out. Fitting a larger B210 radiator will make it run cooler.

I agree with dd mareo. My car had the same symptoms. I changed the water pump, thermo, flushed the system a thousand times to no avail. The radiator actually flow tested ok, but was so old that it just didn't have the heat exchange rate that it should. You may remember me talking about it. see "radiator upgrade" in main forum. The b210 radiator is awesome, fits perfectly with no mods other than strapping the top down. You can even use the factory shroud off of the 210. Good luck and hope this helps.

Thanks for the link on the Holly/Weber carb jets, I'll check them out.

In the past few months, I have replaced the motor, water pump and distributor. I have installed a new three core radiator that barely fits into the 27-inch by 18-inch opening, so that makes a B210 radiator a very small toy beside it.

I do not use a thermostat but I do use a restrictor plate with a 3/4-inch hole. If I use a thermostat, it only puts the system closer to the boil over point.

The carb is the only thing that is still there from when all of my problems started, everything else is new.

I have been wrong on everything that I have replaced to keep it from overheating, the carb is the only thing left.

I have put over 400,000 miles in 1200s and built very high RPM motors so I do know the cars pretty well. I haven't changed the spark plug heat range yet either but I assume that is not the problem. Maybe it is and I will do that.

I am planning to go to my uncle's yard this weekend and get a late 80s Sentra throttle body FI system and try to install it. Maybe I can get this in over the weekend.

Mareo

Mareo, is the car overheating and boiling over, or just running hot according to your gauge. Maybe your sender or gauge is at fault.
You should check your coolant temp.
Bob

Yes, it will be worth it to identify the symptoms more fully (i.e. what is overheating) before spending more money. Having a auto-dismantling uncle helps with the money part though!

What happens if you take the thermostat out completely? It's not like a Flathead V8, the A12 should run fine without it for a few days.

The other thing is are you using an electric fan? Be suspicious of that, even if it runs all the time. If the shroud, fan size, location & rotation aren't right, it can cause overheating. I once bought an impressive car at a bargain mainly for that reason. Put the stock fan back on and was back in business.

Mareo, though I doubt it's causing the overheating, perhaps you can find a good carb from a B210 or 79-81 210. It'll work fine, just make sure the idle cutoff wire is wired to the ignition.

Find a carb from a 210? That's a joke isn't it? I haven't found one that has a good throttle plate shaft in years now. I have about 15 carbs in my posession and they all have the throttle shaft worn out. That is why I bought the Holly/Weber carb, because I couldn't find a place to order a good stock carb. The Holly/Weber was supposed to be jetted for the A14 and it has everything on it to bolt it up to the A-series manifold and linkage. I just haven't been happy with it at all for the past three years.

I want to say this about the cooling system. I doubt that anyone in this club has a radiator as large as the new one installed in my car right now. It is 27 inches wide, 18 inches tall and 3 cores thick of brand new crossflow radiator. It has an electric fan that runs all of the time. It has a 3/4 inch restrictor plate installed instead of a thermostat. The water pump is also new. The heating problem is not in the cooling system. If I let it set and idle, it runs very cool. The faster the car runs, the faster it heats up and it does not cool until I let it idle. My heating problem is not just a faulty guage, I have burnt a piston and blown a couple of head gaskets to prove that is just isn't a bad temp guage. I have replaced everything that makes a car go except three things,
1. heat range on the plugs,
2. coil,
3. and carburetor,
everything in my car is NEW. So please don't tell me again about it may be the temp guage, put in a B210 radiator, or it's OK to run without a thermostat for a couple of days. I only run a thermostat when I need heat. Mostly I don't want heat, I would rather run a cool engine. I have run months at a time with no thermostat, that is not the problem. My problems didn't start until I put the damned Holly/Weber on it. It will be off of the car this weekend. I am sorry to sound harsh but I thought that I knew the 1200 very well, I guess there are problems that I do not know and it has to be in the carb. There are no other option left. Has anyone ever had this type of overheating problem? Has anyone ever run the Holly/Weber carb?

Mareo

I've run the Holley/Weber(holley5200/weber DFEV pinto carb) for a long time. I had a B210 radiator and a 185deg thermostat. I didnt have over heating problems. It would get hot if i drove fast ( at about 4500 rpms and up in 5th) on a hot day (90+deg) for a long time.
I did have an airdam, that helped pull air through the radiator.
The only problems i had with that carb were big cam + stock head + stock intake related. I felt there was something missing and my restrictive set-up was probably the problem.
I'd say that running with out a thermostat is the/a problem...but you have a restrictor plate to help slow the flow....so...??? I have no idea. I'm sure there are quite a few of us scratching our heads here. Something will come up.
good luck
angelo

my 2 cents: I intially doubted it would be related to the carb - you would have to be running dangerously lean to make the car run hot (or lots of advance). But the burnt piston and head gasket suggest to me that this could very well be the case. Check your ignition timing, then get to a dyno or workshop with an O2 sensor

Mareo,
a cupple of thoughts about you problem,
the following things are what I have seen that has caused similar problems;
check the water pump impeller and make sure that it is attached to the shaft, I know it sounds crazy but I have seen them come loose and look ok, and still be slipping as they rotate. make sure that the impeller is still there, I have seen aftermarket waterpumps that had stamped steel impellers that litterally rusted off the shaft and couldn't circulate the coolant propperly.
back in 75 Nissan came out with a heavy duty water pump for A/C equiped cars, it has a much better impeller design and eliminated similar problems on A/C equiped B120's the old part number was
21010-H7226, it has probably changed part numbers by now, it will have a larger hub for mounting the pulley so you will need to get a different one, you said that you have access to a salvage yard, look for one with a fan clutch, that's the heavy duty setup. if you can get one, you don't necessarily need to use the fan clutch, you can get a universal fits-all fan and put on it.
the other things that will cause a problem like you have are a carb that is too lean or spark plugs that are too hot in the heat range, or possably both. it might be a good idea to get a new set of plugs that are the correct heat range, go to your favorite autoparts store and ask for NGK BP5ES, that again is an old part number, but they should be able to cross it, either that or go to your local dealer and get some, they shouldn't cost you any more at the dealer.
also, if you are in serious need of a good carb, contact me off list, I have a line on something that might help.