Hmmph, I still say that given the well-known fact that most people will
overfill anything (gas tank, coffee cup, beer gut) given the chance,
having a system in place to catch the TOXIC substance is a good idea. It
also helps in that filling the reservoir without overfilling is much
easier since you can see the level of fluid as it rises through the
transparent container. Opaque, constricted containers like the radiator
have a nasty habit of filling up all at once and spilling over. This is
easily demonstrated by attempting to pour drain oil back into the little
plastic jugs for recycling.
Another legislated catch system of this general type is the carb
overflow. On early Bs, the gas just poured out into the street through
open metal tubes running down the side of the block. DPOs invariably felt
compelled to dispose of the tubes in favor of letting the carbs drip onto
the hot exhaust manifold. I personally am not surprised that federal
action was taken to eliminate this obvious threat to the species.
BobMGT@aol.com had this to say:
>
>What I'm trying to suggest is that the "recovery container" is just a
>federally mandated device to put a fill line in your "face" so you don't
>overfill your cooling system and leak coolant when it heats up. It doesn't
>benefit the engine in any way. An old fashion radiator, sans recovery
>container, won't leak coolant either if it's not overfilled. Conversely, if
>you fill the recovery container to the very top, it too will leak coolant.
>
[snip]
>
>So the real purpose of the expansion tank is to make the car more expensive
>and make it even more crowded under the hood. The government has had vast
>success in these two objectives over the years!
>
>Bob Donahue (Still stuck in the '50s)
>EMAIL - BOBMGT@AOL.COM
>52 MGTD - under DIY restoration NEMGTR #11470
>71 MGB - AMGBA #96-12029, NAMGBR #7-3336
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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