Tigers,
I am having a few chuckles with all the "Cooling of hot Tigers"
mail. I have a 4 barrel head 351 Cleveland in my tiger which I drive
to work every week day. The 351 gets 14 mph on a good week and normally
around 13 mpg. Needless to say I am burning more gas per minute than
most 260 or 289 Tigers; yet I don't have an overheating problem. I
do admit that when I spend 15 minutes in traffic the temperature gauge
goes up to about 1/2 way between the 85 and 120 degree mark. In normal
driving the gauge sets just slightly above the 85 degree mark. I have
a generic " Do Not Open while Hot Coolent Recovery" cap on the expansion
tank (which is completely full) and a plastic recovery bottle. Apparently
the cap has not opened this summer as there is green antifreeze in the
radiator, but the plain water half filling the recovery bottle is still clear.
I do have a wider and longer engine compartment than stock, but
then again I have a bigger motor filling it up. I assume some of the air
can get around the motor and out under the Tiger.
The radiator is 4" wider than stock and it has a modern copper core in
it ( which weighs a lot less than the stock English core).
Inlet and outlets were added to the lower left and upper right
to match the Clevland I/O. The original Radiator I/O are capped by
"Jones Plugs" ( these are rubber caps used by the plumbing industry
when they pressure test their plumbing). Probably need to replace them
as they are now 6 or 7 years old.
I have a 6 blade 14" steel fan that orginally supplied by Sears
for an aftermarket air-conditioner for a Rambler.
The thermostate is unmodified. The Cleveland has the stock OEM
copper washer under the thermostat to slow the water flow.
When running the Tiger for long periods of time parked in the
driveway ( say to charge a battery or when I am doing work that requires
the motor to run for a long time such as breaking in a new camshaft) the
Temperature gauge gets on up there towards 120. At that point I either
shut it off or set up an electric fan to blow air in the grill.
Sometimes I use a hose to provide a small water spray on the radiator
in these cases.
The Tiger has the stock Tiger II dual pipe oil cooler on it.
The Thermo-Tec that I wrapped the headers in has caused the
running temperature to increase 8 to 10 degrees. I did not rejet the
carb after wrapping the headers and it seems that I may have lost
1/2 to 1 mpg due to the wrap. Maby due to excess cylinder scavaging?
I have a reversed hood scoop but that is mainly for air filter
clearance. Some air comes out of the rear of the scoop below 35 mph but
air enters above 35 mph.
Most of my driving is in town at 30 to 60 mph; however I
don't waste any time starting from lights unless I am blocked by
traffic. I also don't have temperature problems at 90+ on the
highway. That is in Florida where the air temperature is 85 to
90 degrees with 85 to 100 percent humidity most of the year.
(when It is not raining)
My recommendation to Tiger Owners is to have your radiator
recored with a modern core. I have had a couple done for around
$130 at the local radiator repair shops. I truely believe that
the state of the art in radiators has improved in the last 30 years.
Lighter and more efficient. ( Air has a chance to get through the core
compared to the very dense fins of the original Tiger core.)
Jim Barrett Tiger II 351C and others
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