Hi everyone! I've just subscribed to Shop Talk after looking through a =
number of the archives. A lot of interesting stuff.
Was wondering whether you guys have had any experience with a cooling =
system modification that's gaining favour here in Australia.
It involves moving the thermostat from the hot water outlet at the top =
of the engine to the cold outlet at the bottom of the radiator.The =
thermostat's put into a small housing in the outlet hose with the =
business end of it facing the engine. A 5/8" hose is cut into the top =
radiator hose and then into the new termostat housing so that hot water =
is directed onto the the thermostat.
This effectively bipasses the radiator and puts the hot water from the =
head straight back into the block. The hot water cracks the thermostat =
open and allows in only a little cold water from the radiator before =
closing.
The theory is that there is so much cooling effect available in the =
bottom of the block because of the continual in-rush of cool fuel/air =
mixture, that in normal driving, the radiator is not needed at all. In =
the normal system, you're throwing away all that heat energy produced by =
burning petrol. In this system it's all put back into the engine, a) to =
heat the bottom of the block (and number one cylinder, which typically =
always runs cold), b) to even out overall engine temperature and c) =
because you're not wasting all that energy, to make it run more =
efficiently.
I've made one up out of copper plumbing fittings and it seems to work =
quite well. When you open the hood, there's very little heat in the =
engine bay and I am getting better mileage. The car's a 76 Triumph =
2500TC (twin carb).
Regards,
Bob Hutton
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