David-
A few years ago I was faced with the same problem with my 3A. I
located a good radiator shop and made a few sketches- mounting locations,
hose connections, drain, etc. and had the shop make a nice, modern crossflow
triple row radiator. Added a big electric fan, and now I can sit in traffic
at any ambient temp and the gauge never goes over 195 F. Of course in the
3A the rad. is kinda hidden, so the purists are not offended. With a little
care, I think a decent looking high performance radiator could be built
that would keep things cool and discourage the 'Originality Police' from any
abuse. Looking at a map, you will notice that parts of the UK are at the
same latitude as the southern end of Alaska. When they designed these cars,
they were probably not counting on ambient conditions like those seen in the
lower 48. ( at least the early cars..)
Your poor mileage and gas vapors sounds a lot like a gas leak
somewhere- I have heard that an Emissions tester- Tailpipe sniffer if you
wish- can be used to locate small gas leaks. If the leak only occurs when
the car is running, and is located near a hot surface, it will be tough to
find a 'drip point' unless the leak is really bad. You should probably
address this before the Rad. job, as the 'overheating' caused by a gas leak
(aka fire) is infinitely more troublesome than a little coolant on the
driveway.
Good luck
B. Westerdale '59 3A TS36967E
---Original Message-----
From: David Lee [mailto:davelee1@home.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 1999 12:36 AM
To: triumph
Subject: radiator swap on a TR4
Hi everyone
David again. My radiator is just too old and crummy. It seems the old
thing has been worked on so many times that it has layers and layers of
repair which dont bother me but makes the car very unhappy at stop lights.
This is the same car that only gets 10 miles to the gallon so Im not certain
that the engine isnt producing more heat than it should. On the advice of
fellow listers Ive made sure there are no leaks in the tank, pump, or lines.
I must be running very very rich or fuel must be pooring into my intake
since I dont see it coming out the mouth. The smell comes out the carbs and
doesnt smell like straight fuel from the pump but rather a strong unburnt
kinda fuel smell cant really explain it.
With a thermostat the car will start to over heat after a few red lights.
Without a thermostat it takes much longer and as long as im moving the car
stays at about 75 degrees C, 65 on freeway rides. My best guess is that the
radiator is okay. But Id like to get some opinions on this matter just in
case the engine doesnt run cooler after a carb retune. I've been thinking
about my options and a radiator swap seems like a great idea since theyre
not only cheaper but more efficient. Fabricating mounts shouldnt be too
hard to do but finding a radiator that will fit while handling the heat is
what Im worried about.
Has anyone tried a radiator swap for a TR4? If so what car is it out of?
Thanks
David Lee
http://members.home.net/davelee1/postriumph.html
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