• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Radiator upgrade

Share this page

Bob_Spidell said:
I got one from Kees a couple years ago, but I'm afraid to install it. From what I understand, these 'fail closed.'
Click to expand...

Well Bob:

Just drill A FEW 1/8" holes around the out side of the top this will provide you with some safety margin until you can change it if the unit fails closed.

P.S. RR Comes this way with a very low temperature solder closing the holes until a thermostat fails closed--:highly_amused:
 
Last edited:
bluegrass john said:
Steve. I could not find the robertshaw 180 with a sleeve when I replaced the thermostat last year; I located the 160 unit from either Moss or BCS I cannot remember!!
Is there another source that I am not aware of..........I would prefer the 180. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John
Click to expand...

I was mistaken when I quoted the rating of my sleeved thermostat. It is 86 deg. C (188 deg. F, not 180 deg. F). I asked Kees if he had any more of them. Here is his response:
--------------------------------------------
[FONT=&quot]This is what I still have:

17 x Remax WT200/86 which is identical (same manufacture) to the Smiths thermostats, opening temp. 86°C/187°F
2 x AC TF1 which is equivalent to the Smiths thermostats, opening temp. 72°C/162°F
1 x AC TF3 which is equivalent to the Smiths thermostats, opening temp. 68°C/154°F

The thermostats will be $38 each and registered and insured shipping will be $26 up to 2kg, so the shipping for 1 or about 20 will be the same.

----------------------------------------------------------
Anyone who is interested in this can contact Kees directly at coudesluijs@chello.nl

[/FONT]
 
Bob_Spidell said:
I got one from Kees a couple years ago, but I'm afraid to install it. From what I understand, these 'fail closed.'
Click to expand...

I don't know the failure modes of the AC TF4 86 deg. C (188 deg. F) sleeved thermostat that I got from Kees, but I would think if it fails closed it would be evident pretty quickly. Anyway, I got an identical spare thermostat from him later to keep in the boot, just in case.
I noticed one difference from the non-sleeved thermostats I had used previously: at engine start-up from cold until the gauge stabilizes between 180 and 190, the temp gauge needle cycles slowly back and forth for about 50 miles.
 
Steve,

Something strange happening if the temp needle moves back and forwards. I've never had that happen. They are usually rock steady for a problem free engine.
 
bluegrass john said:
Steve. I could not find the robertshaw 180 with a sleeve when I replaced the thermostat last year; I located the 160 unit from either Moss or BCS I cannot remember!!
Is there another source that I am not aware of..........I would prefer the 180. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John
Click to expand...

John,
I bought the 160 sleeved Robertshaw from BCS and a 180 Robertshaw on Amazon and moved the soldered sleeve to the 180.
 
DerekJ said:
Steve,

Something strange happening if the temp needle moves back and forwards. I've never had that happen. They are usually rock steady for a problem free engine.
Click to expand...

DerekJ, do you have a sleeved thermostat? I never saw the needle cycle, either until I installed a re-cored radiator and the sleeved 190-deg. thermostat. I would suppose the thermostat is responding to changes in the coolant temperatures until the whole system reaches thermal stability. Then, the needle is steady. The cycling is between 160 and 190 and doesn't go over that.
 
Thanks Steve for setting me straight.......................I also have the 160 from BCS. I will try to do the same. Sounds like a straight forward task: If there are any pitfalls to this job let me know!! Sometimes the obvious has to be explained.

John
 
bluegrass john said:
Thanks Steve for setting me straight.......................I also have the 160 from BCS. I will try to do the same. Sounds like a straight forward task: If there are any pitfalls to this job let me know!! Sometimes the obvious has to be explained.

John
Click to expand...

First observe the placement of the sleeve ring on the BCS t-stat.

Removing the sleeve is easy - just unsolder with a propane torch.
If you try the torch on the new t-stat, it will open from the heat of the torch, shifting everything - not good.
To avoid this, I first tinned the three spots needed for attachment on the new one, then placed the ring in place, then heated each spot with a soldering gun. You can also surround with a wet rag.
 
I am restoring a 67 TR4A and the engine did not run 1983-2015 and now all restored.
The engine runs well and does not overheat with water hose squirting into the front of the radiator.j
I now have the elec fan installed (did 3/8 belt conversion kit)
But with fan the radiator is just not cutting it as it over heats rather quickly.
I have the fan on a manual switch and turn it on immediately after engine start.

The local radiator shop gave the old unit a clean bill of health... my guess the interior flows but is coated with solids.
I did have the head off to fix a few things (broken exhaust manifold bolt and hardened exhaust valve seats) and the area around the cylinder sleeves is now clean as a whistle (wow what a mess).

Engine has ...
new water pump
all new hoses
replaced steel interior heater return line with stainless
interior heater radiator has been flushed out.

What to do ? ...
Do a flush treatment ?
Remove the thermostat for the moment - Not sure I need this in Tucson anyway.
Do a flush treatment ?
Recore the old radiator.
... OR ...
Buy the wizard TR4A replacement (with the fan of course) $669.

Is everyone who is using an Aluminum radiator moving to the OAT based coolants ?
I understand these are best for Al radiators...
 
I used to have a 67 TR4A when I was home ported at Pearl Harbor in the early 70s. Here's what I found and did about overheating. I found that the thermostat housing was the high point of the system, not the radiator fill cap. Air would get trapped in the thermostat housing and prevent good coolant flow.

To solve this, and my overheating, first, I put a coolant recovery tank on the radiator overflow. Then I made an extension for the radiator fill using a Primo beer can. Why a Primo beer can? a - Since Primo is the local beer, they were plentiful. b - the can was a three piece can with a separate bottom that had a rolled seal at the bottom to side. This provided a flat bottom. I cut the top off the can and in the bottom I put a ~1" diameter hole in the center and a rubber gasket around to so I could hold it against the radiator fill spout. I filled the radiator using my Primo can with the engine idling until all the air came out. The I put the cap on. The overflow tank made sure that air didn't get into the system when the engine cooled off. Problem solved.
 
"Any one who has installed this radiator or knows of any success stories with this unit I would like to learn more. Any information would be much appreciated !!

John"

If your radiator is in good condition and works correctly, this might be the solution.
https://www.evanscoolant.com/vehicle-types/classic-cars/
 
Hi
I have installed an upgraded radiator (not aluminium) and have a plastic fan (not a Texas) on my BT7. The car runs fine but I have been thinking of installing an auxiliary fan for traffic jam situations. However I have a dynamo with positive earth and I have had a comment that there could be a problem with this set up. Has anyone got experience of an auxiliary pusher fan with positive earth?
thanks Steve
 
I'll be frank: I don't think the fan cares! Worst case is that it turns in the opposite direction, so reverse the + & - leads and go on with your life.

DO VERIFY that the fan is pushing air through the radiator, as if it's spinning in the opposite direction, the forward motion of the car will make life very hard for that electric motor!

I'm using a Kenlowe brand, with a mechanical thermo-switch sensing the water temperature in the top/return radiator hose; it's been on for years and I'm very happy with it.

https://www.kenlowe.com/CoolingRetrofit.php
 
As Randy says, you're not going to have an issue with positive earth, just make sure your fan is turning in the right direction. Put a piece of tissue paper in front of the grille with the fan running. If the paper pulls toward the grille, you're good. If the paper blows away from the grille, reverse the fan leads and that will change the fan rotation. The bigger question, as you suspect, is whether your dynamo can provide sufficient output for the fan's demands. Everyone's experience will be different depending upon the size of the fan motor, your dynamo output and the amount of time your fan is running. Ambient temperature will likely be the deciding factor. If you have a manually operated fan or one that only turns on when you reach a certain temperature, you have a better chance of it working with your dynamo than if you just keep it running all the time. If you only use the fan for short periods in traffic, you may be ok, but I bet it will be close. Why not talk to some of the UK suppliers that offer the fans and see what they recommend? They know what you're likely to face more than most of us in the US would.
 
Back
Top