If I may "butt in":
I would say your gut instinct is correct, but while the shroud may
relieve the symptoms for the time being, you probably should make some
effort to determine what may be causing your engine/thermostat/radiator
system to not maintain itself in regulating mode (that is to say, running
hotter than normal or desirable). My B functions pretty much as your very
precise description has it -- the temperature may climb slightly at idle
or going uphill in warm weather, but returns to nominal at cruise.
I don't recall if your original post stated which thermostat you were
using. If you have the 165 degree thermostat I would expect it to run
"wide open" pretty much all the time except in winter, since the "normal"
operating temperature of the engine is more in the 180-195 degree range.
For this reason I consider using such a low-rated thermostat useless --
if the ambient temperature is cold, the engine never reaches operating
temperature, and the heater is ineffective; and if the ambient
temperature is warm, the thermostat is wide open all the time -- no
longer in "regulating mode", as you put it. It is a complete
misconception that a low-rated thermostat somehow makes the engine run
"cooler" in hot weather. If the radiator were twice as large, perhaps, so
that it could keep the coolant at 165 degrees with the thermostat wide
open, this might work, but that is not the case with any MGs that I am
aware of (except at low ambient temperatures, obviously).
My 2¢ (maybe more like a nickel's worth)
Bruce Burrows had this to say:
>My gut just tells me if at all possible to avoid running the car when
>the thermostat is no longer in regulating mode. Hence came my original
>inquiry regarding the shroud.
>
>Bruce Burrows
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
|