>On Sun, 28 Jul 1996, David Councill wrote:
>> Now keeping the temperature up in the winter is a different story, but I=
fix
>> that by covering about a third of the radiator front with a piece of=20
cardboard.
>
>Now that is something I don't understand. I have read about this a lot.
>Shouldn't the thermostat take care of that? If it is REALLY cold, the
>thermostat would stay closed more in order to keep the engine at
>thermostat temperature. Covering the radaiator would have the thermostat
>open for longer times, but the temp of the engine (and the heater) should
>still be thermo temp, shouldn't it?
>Now if it was so cold outside that the engine would loose so much heat on
>its own that the thermo never opens, covering the radiator would be
>futile.
>What am I missing ?
>
>
What you're missing is that cooling is all about airflow. Airflow over the=
=20
radiator, AND over the engine block. Yes, the thermostat will stay closed=
=20
longer in cold weather, thus heating up the coolant in the head (but not in=
=20
the radiator), but if you are pulling in 10=B0F air, over a radiator that is=
=20
not hot, you are blowing 10=B0F air over an engine block, and thus keeping=
it=20
fairly cool. If you block the radiator, it will not let as much air by, and=
=20
will run warm enough to let your engine warm up. =20
Another thing is that when thermostat opens up, the coolant is so cold that=
=20
it will shut almost immediately, but will be at a lower temperature than=20
desired. =20
Phil Bates
67 MGB
75 Jaguar XJ12C
52 MG TD replicar (VW)
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