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Midget 1500 radiator question

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tosoutherncars

tosoutherncars

Jedi Knight
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Well, the cooling system seems to have taken a bit of a dump recently... still holding pressure, but running very warm (3/4 or higher on gauge). Could be a number of contributing factors...

1) the 'emergency fix' rad cap I have at the mo' is 16 lbs. Shouldn't this be more like 5 lbs?

2) new water pump. (brand new, looked fine)

3) new thermostat... supposed to be 165 deg., didn't check it before installing. Moss supplied.

3) rad and block recently flushed. (maybe it disturbed some sediment which is now blocking up the rad?)

Got some sodium citrate today, will clean and flush, and perhaps swap back in my old (known good) t-stat just for good measure.

Assuming all that doesn't work... what's the current consensus?

New stock rad?

Recore existing rad?

Rad swap? (if so, info / details / pics for a 1500?)

On a high note, the engine smokes less and less, I think the new rings are seating. :smile:
 
My car had a 10# cap when I got it. That wore out and I bought the cap the parts store listed as appropriate for my car. It was 14#s. I was having some minor cooling issues at the time that were made major by the fact that the system could not pull coolant back in from the overflow tank because of the overly high cap rating. I replaced the cap with a 7# cap and have been very happy with the results.
 
Might also be time to check the guage.
 
No, the guage read perfectly before the rebuild, and the engine *is* throwing off a lot of heat, so I'd say the guage is pretty accurate.

I really can't imagine that it's because of the new electric fan... the old mechanical one was so useless, this one has to be pushing at least as much air. But it boiled the gas out of the carb yesterday, after a long drive, then a long shut-down (about three hours). Thankfully, it died right next to a parking lot with a fountain, and a couple of bottles of water poured over the carb sorted things out.

What's first? Flush? Thermostat? Any way of testing whether the water pump is pushing enough water through the system?
 
Vic Brit has them, Just shy of $200 for a 1500 radiator. the consensus was they were not the greatest, better to get a used one. I got mine from British Masters in Vista Ca for $75.00 Has held up for six plus months.

I see them on E Bay every now and then
 
I know that folk with 1275s are using Suzuki and VW rads - cheap and available. the challenge would be plumbing but it shouldn't be too hard.
 
I was looking, today... there are three hoses going into the rad. Lower left (large bore), lower right (large bore) and upper right (smaller bore, all as viewed from the driver's seat.)

Don't most modern radiators simply have an "in" and an "out"? Can someone explain the flow for me?
 
duncan, I have a great used one, Jes pulled from my 75. Had it boiled and tested and painted less than two months ago. For racing its just not cold enough so jes had a custom Aluminum one made. PM me if interested
 
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