Electric water pump on 263

P

Panningbros

Member
I am building a one off 263 engine for a rat rod. I want to hop it up a little as well as turbocharge it. I have always heard the straight eights had a problem with cooling on the rear cylinders and burning pistons. I am contemplating using an electric water pump with 2 discharge ports. I would run one discharge in the front of the block where the original water pump put the water and putting a threaded port on one of the rear most frost plugs and running the 2nd discharge into that to help cool the rear of the motor a little. Has anybody heard of that being done? Or is there any other ideas or is that a waste of time? It makes sense to me.
 
while it should help keep rear cyl temps down, i'd be careful about stalling water flow in the forward cylinders.

the shop manual shows a pretty straightforward circuit.

https://www.teambuick.com/reference/library/52_shop/files/2-b.php

i'd look at enlarging the water ports between the block and head at the rear of the block. are there intermediary water ports to the head or does all of the flow go all the way to rear of the block? also, make your hose to the freeze plug fitting a smaller diameter than the direct port at the front.
 
It looks to me like the water goes in by the side of the front cylinder and exits out the front of the head about 6 inches above that. How much circulates around to the rear of the block? When I stripped this block down the crud was about half ways deep around the rear three cylinders.
 
How much circulates around to the rear of the block?


that's what i'm getting at. if all of the water ports between the head and block are at the rear, ALL of the water circuits past the #8 cylinder.

in that situation, if you add a direct connection from the water pump to the middle of the block it is theoretically possible for there to be HIGHER pressure in the middle of the block than would be getting supplied from the normal water flow path. which could stall out the water flow past the front four cylinders.

IF there are water crossovers midblock ( say, between 4 and 5, or around every cylinder )
THEN that's not nearly so much of a concern.


i would guess from the way the gasket looks that there are multiple crossovers all down the block.

http://www.olsonsgaskets.com/our-products/new-production-head-gaskets/

so, not much of a concern.
 
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