In order to increase your cooling system performance , you must maximize both the water flow and air flow. Using the proper pulleys and drive system is critical to matching water pump performance to your specific application.
For street applications, the water pump speed must at least match crankshaft RPM, to a maximum recommended 35% faster than crankshaft speed.
Twenty two years ago, I designed and built a water pump dyno. Then, I built a radiator fan and shroud dyno. I was privy to a lot of test equipment. So how do you figure cooling system at idle? I follow this simple formula: Let's say I am traveling 40 mph. The engine is turning 2000. The temp is 195-200. I figure my water pump speed and fan cfm. then I duplicated those numbers at idle. The silly thing thinks it's still going down the road at 40 mph. It works for me!
We also do not recommend the use of under drive pulleys on any application. Most water pumps consume minimal horsepower.
Never run without a thermostat. Thermostats control minimum temperatures and create block pressure. This helps coolant stay in contact with the cooling system and prevents nucleate boiling. Most think if coolant flows too quickly through the system, it will not cool properly. The cooling system is a closed loop system, so if you slow down the flow in the radiator it will stay in the engine longer and will heat up. This is what causes hot spots in the engine which causes detonation. Coolant has to flow fast enough to create turbulence in the radiator. This is what dissipates the heat from the water. Then it's up to the fan and shroud to do its job. This is where it gets sticky. You have to size the radiator for the job and always use a full fan shroud. It can't be stressed enough (you have to have a full fan shroud.) Never, ever hang the fan on the radiator core!!
On the subject of clutch fan drives (above) never mix blades with the wrong clutch fan drives. If in doubt, measure the pitch of the blade first. To measure the pitch, lay the fan blade face down on the bench. Measure from the highest point of the bend halfway down the blade. If it's under 2.5 inches, it will require a standard clutch drive. If it's over 2.5 inches, you will use a heavy duty or severe duty clutch fan drive. Never mix them! Never use a standard clutch fan drive with heavy duty or severe duty fan blades or visa versa. It will not perform correctly and will run hot!
Personally, I would think twice before replacing the clutch fan drive system with something else. Just build a complete fan shroud. They work great!
Use a 50/50 mixture of new antifreeze and distilled water or its equivalent. High mineral content, acid or alkaline water reduces pump life. Increase the amount of antifreeze only if needed for your winters. A 50/50 ratio using lowsilicate antifreeze is best for optimum cooling and prolonged pump life. We recommend "Prestone" 50/50 in the yellow container.
We also do matching numbered pumps!
These 2 intakes show how the water lines go from back to front. A number 6 fitting at the back and a number 10(T-fitting) at the front, then they go to that tank that's in the upper left in the background (below). The tank has a thermostat housing with a thermostat. The small line at the left side of the tank is the thermostat by-pass line. It goes to the water pump and is used while the thermostat is closed. This manifold is for an FE ford. Any manifold can be configured this way.