Normal operating temp for a B

here's a picture of my 1941 housing trying to give ranse an indication of how thick the original "bottom plate" was.

mine looks to be just a hair under 1/8" and is presumed to be factory.

listed in ford 8n parts, but says universal.  numeric gauge to 250, metal wrapped capillary line, 2" gauge.

I bought 2.

they also have a hose adapter which I passed on - I'm gonna drill and tap a designated boss on the head (which surprised me!) on two 8N's.

worrier type here - can't imagine running a water cooled engine without a visual check on the temp here in too-often-hot SoCal.

so likely it will work again.

I just wanted to let you see what "normal" looked like so you could come to your own conclusions.

I doubt even the correct police with magnifying glasses would notice unless you pointed it out.

meanwhile it's pretty and it runs.

enjoy your B!

Hey Phil,

I assume you are addressing me. If not disregard the following, or not. :-)

I am not too worried about this cooling issue right now. It has finally turned into winter here in the Ozarks, and most of the work on the B is now on hold until warm weather comes back. I just don’t do cold anymore without absolute need, or if I am hunting, which is.

Aside from refilling the cooling system, and starting it a few times between now and spring, not much work is planned, with cooling system draining after each running session. Yanking the lower radiator hose off, and pulling the plug on the side of the block gets it dry, as the tractor rests slightly favoring that way and is no biggie. I still need to set the valve clearance with the engine warmed up, so I HAVE to get that done. Media blasting, and immediate repriming, appointment for the drive train in mid January is the next big step. A new manifold is going to be bought and ceramic coated at a commercial shop. I still have time to think about the color and finish for the drive train, but I am still leaning toward a flat black, or maybe a satinish less-than-glossy black. All the sheet metal, steering system and wheels will be in the shade of orange I have choosen. New wheels and tires..

I am going to start looking at the transmission and final drives for the same thing the engine experienced (condensation of epic scale). I may need to flush those systems and drive the axels, and slip the brakes to knock off crud, and flush it all again. I have the tractor on jack stands/huge blocks of wood, and should be safe to run in gear(s).

How much would you need to get for the shutters? Maybe you need a part from my donor B and we could make a trade? It has workable fenders with the left being really nice. Block is shot freeze busted bad. Tranny seems to work. No pto. All castings except block sound. I’m almost tempted to fix it too.