Some thoughts on overheating. In 15 years driving at least 7 or 8 MGB, I
can't recall when one has overheated on me. I too have noticed the temp
does go up on hot shut-down - and I've noticed it on American and Japanese
cars too - for reasons now explained by several other listers. I recall
numerous cold days when I couldn't get the needle past the "C" and some
VERY cold days when I completely covered the radiator and couldn't get the
needle to move at all. I recall John Twist saying something like the best
thing you could do with your temp gauge is cover it with tape. "Is there
steam coming out from under the bonnet?" John would ask - "if not it's not
overheating". A friend who used to be a service manager for an MG dealer
in the '70s recalls a couple with matched "his 'n' hers" '77 Bs. One of
them overheated constantly. My friend worked on the car a bit and sent
them back out the door with it. The next time he saw them, they reported
the car was no longer overheating and ran great. His fix: a small
resistor in series with the temp gauge! My '76 ran for several years with
the temp gauge consistently about 1/8" warmer than my other Bs - sometimes
close to the "H" but never there - even stuck in traffic on a 95º day.
Well I replaced the radiator last summer and discovered that the old one
was probably partially blocked. It now runs as cool as my '73. I did
learn something - yes it was running a bit warmer than ideal, but it sure
didn't hurt it any. Now if the oil pressure drops - that's another story!
On Thursday, 28 January Andy asked
>>>>>>>snip<<<<<<<<<
>When I stop the car however, maybe to go to a shope for 10 minutes or so, I
>come back to the car and notice the temp gauge is way up almost in the 'H'
>area. When I start up again the temp. goes back down to 'N' quite quickly.
>Does anyone else notice this phenomena, and should I be concerned?
>>>>>end of snip<<<<<<<<<<<
Allen H. Bachelder =iii=<
Sinking Creek Home for Wayward MGs
New Castle, VA 24127
USA
540/544-7333
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