Overheating Tiger

My 289 has a tendency to overheat. What is the temperature at which the radiator cap vents? I am considering putting an electric "pusher" fan in front of the radiator. Does anyone have experience in this area? I would like to avoid louvering or scooping the hood.

BTW, did you try the trick of covering the small openings flanking the radiator, the 1/4-circle spaces where the horns reside, to prevent air from cycling through there? Common overheating fix; frequently a small piece of sheet metal attached to the horn mounting bolts.

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try.

Closing the horn openings is just a start but a good start. You will need to make a air blocker that will restrict hot recirculating air from going around and going through the rad over and over. I believe it is covered in the Tiger United page.

Check out the Tiger United site for several articles on Tiger cooling.

You might also look at www.stewartcomponents.com, they make great water pumps (used in NASCAR,etc) and have a very good tech section on their website. I found it to be useful when figuring out cooling problems on my Triumph GT6 (w/Ford 302).

Here's one more for you. When I got my Tiger after 17 years of storage, the original owner gave me some history. Except on the coldest days, she could not keep it from overheating. Despite numerous tries at fixes (heater core cover removed; heater control valve locked to open; correct six blade fan, etc.) she said she had been unable to correct the overheating problem.
Well in putting the car on the road, I pulled the radiator to have it boiled after so many years. The radiator shop made an amazing discovery. While the car itself was rust free, and the radiator pressure checked fine, the fins had actually detiorated away from the tubing in the Malibu air. The radiator, which to all outward appearances was fine, was recored. Since then, it operates at 172 deg no matter how long I idle, where I drive, or the load on the car. This is pretty amazing as I am in the Mojave Desert. It was also a relatively cheap fix.

Good luck.

Bob.

I'll second that on having a good radiator. I have a 4 row core in mine, with original tanks,
and in 100 degree weather stays around 200-205 in stop and go traffic. 190 on the highway. The only time I've lost coolant is after a fresh refill as it seeks it's level.

Thanks for the replies. Does anyone have an internet address for Tigers United?

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by pmenhusen:
Thanks for the replies. Does anyone have an internet address for Tigers United?<hr></blockquote>

Look at the header in the Sunbeam Forum here - there is a link to them there.


BasilSunbeam Main Forum

[ 07-24-2002: Message edited by: Basil ]</p>

In Bill's note on cooling he notes he has a 302 in his Tr. I had heating problems to solve when we fired up the 351 in the alpine.Was ready to give up almost but moist were solved.