Ron L'Herault wrote:
>I owned a 1958 TR 3 from 1968 to 1971. I don't ever remember it running hot
>except when the coolant slushed up from lack of antifreeze. Nor do I
>remember the battery discharging in the winter when heater fan, lights and
>maybe wipers were on. Is the difference only that my car was only 10-13
>years old at the time?
>
Water is a pretty good coolant, so maybe your straight water with a
younger engine and cooling system helped. Or maybe back then you already
lived in Boston, and temperatures are milder there than for our list
members unlucky enough to live in warm sunny California? ;)
As for the lack of indicated discharge, was the ammeter broken? ;) FWIW
I commuted year-round for several years here in Denver, but I didn't
have to trickle-charge the battery overnight. I had just enough daylight
driving to offset the cold evening discharge. Then again I didn't use
headlights, wipers and the heater fan often. It doesn't often rain or
snow here, and often rather than use the heater fan I just opened the
fresh air scoop -- which pushes air through the heater core in a TR4. On
snowy days I'd turn off the headlights waiting at traffic lights, but I
doubt even that conservation measure was really necessary.
Steven Newell
Littleton, CO USA
'62 TR4 x 2
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