Keeping cooool !!

[nomad]

I'd like to keep my midgets a little cooler in our midwest heat without springing for an expensive aluminum rad. Used both downflow and sideflow radiators and they're not enough. My radiator guy is reluctant to try and put in more core. What works? Junk yard radiator? Appreciate idea's.

Tnx, Kurt.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

If the car is stock, then a standard radiator should be fine. If the std radiator is not keeping the car cool enough, then you have another problem causing the overheating.

 

[Pythias]

I ran mine fine without any problems right up over the rockies.. 1098, rebuilt radiator. I'm with Trevor on this, there may be some other problem?

 

[JPSmit]

However, Suzuki Swift and VW Golf are both fairly easy rad swaps - racers use them

 

[jlaird]

Miss Agatha, completely stock, runs at 180 even when it is 100 in the shade.

Clean the block and build em like you love em.

 

[texas_bugeye]

Make sure your timing advance is correct, to close to TDC can make it run hot. Also if you have ever over heated it theres a good chance your thermostat is not working corectly. Make sure hoses are in good conditon and they dont colapse.
Make sure your running 50/50 mix it provides the best heat removel.
I have a 948 with dead stock cooling system four blade pulley drive fan and run down the freeway at 70-75 here in dallas and it runs 185-190 all day long. You should have plenty of cooling capacity.
are you sure the fan is correct? not a mini?
hope this helps.

 

[jlaird]

Got to ask Chris, how you get that stock Bugeye to go 70-75 MPH?

 

[texas_bugeye]

Ah the cooling is stock
It is almost.. 30 over 971 cc HS2's Isky cam pertronix dizzy.
and oh Rivergate magic.
Putting a 12G295 in a few weeks. then I'm done! famous last words.

 

[jlaird]

haha, that's magic for sure.

Now, I would like to know the thickness of that 295 head after you cut it down to get the compression correct.

Hehe, put your mike on it please.

 

[livinginthepast]

My 62 was overheating... Troubleshooting eliminated the radiator, the head was fine...but the vacuum advance had failed. Fixed and the overheating stopped.

 

[aeronca65t]

In addition to looking at all the other stuff above, you may want to switch to a 165 F. thermostat.

This will not "fix" an overheating problem, but it will tend to keep the car running a bit cooler during low-load running.

So once you reach a point where you are putting a greater load on the engine (such as climbing a hill) the engine will start that load from a lower temperature and you have a greater "cushion" from overheating.

Running your heater "on" adds an extra, small "radiator" too. This can help in a pinch, but obviously *you* will get warmer if you do this.

 

[nomad]

Thanks for all the input on this. Engine is stock, head recently worked and cooked out. Block cleaned as good as I could on the bench. Distributor is an Aldon and I have'nt a clue what the advance curve looks like. Maybe I'll fit a stock and see if that helps. I've never had a british car that ran at what the thermostat says but also never stock and new.
I like the idea of Suzuki and VW rad. Give that a try second.
Thanks again, Kurt.

 

[Jer]

Ah the cooling is stock
It is almost.. 30 over 971 cc HS2's Isky cam pertronix dizzy.
and oh Rivergate magic.
Putting a 12G295 in a few weeks. then I'm done! famous last words.

ahhh I was with Jack thinking "how can he run 75 mph with a stock Bugeye" man I wish I could run my 1275 at 75 mph ! well I can but I fear for my engine ;-)

 

[toysrrus]

Miss Agatha, completely stock, runs at 180 even when it is 100 in the shade.

Clean the block and build em like you love em.

Howdy Jack,

When you say "Clean the Block"; Do you mean "Flush" all the coolant or "Clean" the exterior of the Block? Of course, Both is Best; I`m sure.

Thanx, Russ

 

[nomad]

Here in SD if you can't run 80+ you'll get run over. Governor figured he'd save money by laying off the highway patrol! Motorist's did what you would expect. The 1330 that this engine replaced did'nt have any trouble (datsun 5 sp.) Wondering if JP or others could tell me the years of Suzuki or VW rad's I
should be looking for.
Tnx, Kurt.

 

[livinginthepast]

So do the electric fan kits sold through Moss/vicBrit help? Anyone running one?

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Fans are only for idling and speeds less than 15 mph. If you are overheating at speed, then you need to look elsewhere.

 

[jlaird]

The block needs to be boiled with caustic soda by a machine/engine shop when you are rebuilding to get all the 50 year old junk out of the water jacket and especialy off of the cyl walls internal to the engine. The boiling also cleans out all the oil passages.

I tell em to leave it in for a week, it is small and will usually be out of the way of their regular work.

 

[nomad]

I should mention that the temp guage was'nt working on the 1330 so don't know how hot it liked to run. Did'nt boil though. I put this engine in as a temp to something more interesting later. Hav'nt decided whether to build up another 1330 or to fit a Datsun engine.
I know the block should have been boiled but you're talking complete tear down that I did'nt want to waste time on. I scraped all the crud I could get out with a bent and flattened wire then blew it out with a air hose! Hey, shop time is almost as much entertainment as driving ( Cept when the weather is nice! ).
KA.

 

[Sarastro]

I have an electric fan, which was installed by the guy who did the restoration. He lived in the desert near Sacramento and wired it so it was on whenever the ignition was on. It turned out to be a little too much cooling on cool days here near the coast--the engine never quite got really warm. So, I added an electronic thermostat. Now, it hardly ever goes on, and the car stays well below 180 most of the time, even with the stopped fan blocking the radiator a bit. On really hot days, in traffic, it will creep up to a level of borderline concern--like 190 or a bit above. Then the fan goes on.

Forced air cooling is surprisingly efficient. And, yes, the stock system should be fine if everything is right--but things, especially in these cars, don't always work perfectly. A fan gives you a bit of margin for that imperfection.

On the subject of imperfection, keep in mind that your temp gauge is probably not better than about plus or minus ten degrees. Also, the temperature of the water leaving the engine is quite a bit higher (~ 10 degrees) than at the gauge bulb. (I measured these temps with a thermocouple sensor in order to get the fan thermostat right; it's quite an education.)

If you do add a fan, which, frankly, I think may be worthwhile, don't just get it from the Usual Suspects, unless you like paying double what it should cost. Get it from your local Pep Boys or some similar place. Last time I was there, they had some nice ones for good prices. Electronic stores often have nice ones, too.