1965 Overheating And Knocking

Hi Bill,
I have a 65 Continental with a 430. After driving around for a little while, the engine starts knocking while I accelerate. It doesn’t do it at idle or while driving, just while accelerating, especially around turns.
I did do something stupid. I was showing the car off to a friend and left the A/C running while the engine was at idle. The car over heated, and I’ve noticed the knocking ever since then. The other problem I have is with over heating. The engine doesn’t have a
shroud (original owner lied about not having it, long story), so I had a custom aluminum shroud with an 11″ electric fan built. I thought that would take care of the over heating, but it operated exactly the same.
I have replaced the thermostat, but not the water pump, or radiator. I have ran water through engine and it comes out just fine, with no back pressure. I have also ran water through the radiator, again it flowed just fine. I’m considering replacing the radiator, thinking the inner workings of the radiator might be clogged up.
Any advice will be appreciated. I have numerous other issues, but those two are really
keeping me from enjoying driving Violet around. 🙂
Thank you for your help and your time.
Josh
Norman, OK
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Greetings Josh –
I’m sorry to hear about your recent engine problems. It does sound from your description that your engine has been under a lot of stress and has reacted accordingly. In my opinion the overheating condition should have been properly addressed at a much earlier date. The description of “engine knock” takes in a lot of territory and needs to be examined by a competent technician with the proper test equipment. We of course cannot determine from here if the knock is a carbon related knock, upper engine tap or perhaps an engine bearing knock therefore an on scene inspection and an accurate diagnosis is necessary.
If your engine is actually overheating and from your description it is, this issue must be addressed as soon as possible. When your Lincoln was delivered to the first owner the cooling system was capable of properly cooling the engine in any weather condition in any State in the U.S.A. I have always believed in maintaining the the original cooling system to an optimum condition in any vehicle. Any deviations such as you have done are o/k as a personal touch ONLY if it works and the other basic components are in GOOD shape. The other basic components consist of among other items the radiator, the water pump, fan blade and its clutch and the engine coolant passages. The radiator could easily be partially plugged up along with the engine coolant chambers. What you observe flowing through the radiator could well be only 40% of what a clean rad. is capable of passing and cooling. A good radiator shop can remove the end tanks and “rod out” the rad or “recore” it completely. I don’t know what your fan shroud looks like but your mention of an 11″ electric fan in my opinion is woefully undersized for that radiator and engine.
I hope that the above helps you get started on the road to recovery and if you need any original parts or specifications do not hesitate to contact us further.
Sincerely,
Bill