OVERHEATING!! STILL!!

[Born2Lose]

I recently bought a 1962 Mercury Comet Custom Wagon with a 144 and 2 speed automatic.
I immediatly began having overheating problems. I thought it might be timing but when i went to check my timing mark wouldn't sit still so i realized it was my harmonic balancer. It was so bad that i could turn the fan by hand easily without the belt slipping.
So here's what i did:
flushed radiator
put in 180 Tstat (didn't have one)
installed new harmonic balancer
replaced vacuum advance module
set timing to 10 initial, around 32 total
checked water pump and it was in good shape (think remanufactured in 2000)

But when i drove it this weekend on the highway (only going about 55) after a few miles it got really hot again and began puking a little water but not boiling over.
I'm starting to think i need a new radiator as it's in ok shape and isn't original. When i went back to surface streets it cooled down right away and stayed fine my whole drive home. When i parked it, it smelled really hot and i could hear it boiling away in the radiator. When i popped cap it was about an inch or so low.

Is there a proper air bleeding procedure i'm supposed to follow?
Has my radiator given up the ghost?
Thanks,
Rhett
San Diego, CA

[cevans2261]

sounds like you need a radiator. I've got a "desert" 4 row available on ebay,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... :IT&ih=008

[RetrosbkComet]

I would check for a blown headgasket as well...

you can check the radiator with a pressure tester, and there is a chemical you can drop into the radiator that turns a color if exhaust gas is present.


Goo dplace to start

[PLP6400]

Over Heating at Highway speed is generally a circulation problem. Meaning there is a lot of crud in your radiator and or engine and not enough coolant is circulating. I would try some radiator flush and see if that helps.

[hayesvillain]

it could be running to lean.try new fuel filter and adjusting carburetor

[02HD9294]

When my 62 Comet was on the road many years ago, I had a similar problem and flushing the rad only helped for awhile.
The problem was solved after I replaced all the heater hoses. It seems that the old ones were deteriorating on the inside and just kept clogging up the rad.