Spitfire Is this normal Spitfire operating temperature?

[Guest]

Is this the normal operating temperature for most Spitires? It stays right about here all the time, a small fraction up or down either way. Seems like I feel a little warm in the cockpit area while driving. I do have the rubber front wheel well gaskets in place which I'm not sure if they are there to keep heat or cold out.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Seems within reason to me. Any idea what thermostat is in the car? Could simply be a "winter" thermostat....

 

[jdubois]

Is this the normal operating temperature for most Spitires?

That's just a tiny bit hotter than my '76 would run at (just beyond the third line). My '80 would cycle between the third and forth line as the electric fans turned on and off.

 

[eejay56]

That looks like about where my 78 runs.

 

[tomkatb]

That is the way my 77 runs.

I put a second electric fan on it as when the temp got over 95 it scared me.

Now it seldom gets as high as yours. Just past center.

To cool the interior you need a good condition cover over the tranny with a good heat mat glued to it. Mine is old and needs replacement and is hot.

Larry

 

[kc_doyle]

Looks a little warmer than my 71 Spit.

 

[jdubois]

This thread appears to be over anyway, so I'm going to thread-jack it if nobody minds. Where on the gauge should a Mk2 run at? My new Spit is running almost all the way to the left (cold). My intuition says this is wrong, and am assuming I'm going to find either a stuck t-stat or no t-stat when I take the cover off, but figured I'd check before I bothered to do that.

 

[Andrew Mace]

I'd expect a "typical" Mk2 to run somewhere around half-way on the gauge, give or take a bit. Could be you have a very cool thermostat...or none at all.

How's the gas gauge? Could also be a bit of a problem with the voltage stabiliser for the gauges, but somewhat more likely is that you've a bad sensor.

 

[jdubois]

I'd expect a "typical" Mk2 to run somewhere around half-way on the gauge, give or take a bit. Could be you have a very cool thermostat...or none at all.

It was the thermostat. When I opened the water elbow up, what was staring back at me was a thermostat of a design I'd never seen before. It was either the original thermostat, or at least one that hadn't been changed in a LONG time. Anyway, it was immediately visually obvious that it was stuck open. Popped in a new one, and now it comes up to temp and settles in around the middle of the gauge.