Blair's area code has changed to 850.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Littlefield <dmeadow@juno.com>
To: simbafish@home.com <simbafish@home.com>
Cc: mg-t@autox.team.net <mg-t@autox.team.net>
Date: Thursday, July 06, 2000 4:40 PM
Subject: Re: Thermostat
>Stuart:-
>
>Here is an easy way to eliminate your angst--
>
>Call Blair Engle in Tallahassee. Send him your thermostat housing and he
>will adapt it for a "modern" style thermostat and send it back. The
>service is inexpensive (I think he charges $25) and you can buy
>thermostats at your local auto parts store.
>
>Blair Engle
>The Classic MG Shop (904) 385-2821 EVENINGS.Northern Florida
>(engle@phy.fsu.edu)
>
>David Littlefield
>Houston, TX
>'62 MGA MkII
>'51 MGTD
>'88 Jaguar XJ-S
>
>On Thu, 06 Jul 2000 15:53:59 -0400 Stuart Keen <simbafish@home.com>
>writes:
>> The original thermostat in my 1951 MGTD MKII is defective and a
>> similar
>> type is no longer available. What should I do? Please bare with me
>> as I
>> explain in somewhat detail; history and what has been done to date.
>>
>> When I purchased the TD, the thermostat was the removable type, it
>> had a
>> center brass bolt which bolted to a cross arm in the upper parts of
>> the
>> housing. The bolt was affixed to 1) a 1 7/8 inch diameter, 5/8 inch
>> high
>> brass band (which affected the flow in the bypass tube) and 2) to
>> the
>> thermostat diaphragm. The bottom of the diaphragm was bolted to a 2
>> inch
>> diameter flat ring via three supporting arms. This lower ring fitted
>> into a grove in the housing. To install, the thermostat was inserted
>> through the bottom of the housing until seated and the top bolt was
>> inserted in the crossarm and the nut tightened.
>>
>> The thermostat was inoperative when I purchased the car. The
>> previous
>> owner had soldered the diaphragm in the compressed (open) condition,
>> saying that driving in Florida, the thermostat would be open all the
>> time anyway. He emphasised the need for some restriction in the
>> water
>> flow path.
>>
>> When the engine was rebuilt in January, the machine shop saw the
>> soldered thermostat and junked it; ie. returned the TD with no
>> thermostat installed. I have the old thermostat but it is in pieces;
>> i.e butchered.
>>
>> Being advised I should not drive the TD without a restriction in the
>> water flow, I ordered a thermostat from Moss (also tried Abingdon,
>> but
>> they had none available). The Moss thermostat was completely
>> different,
>> just a flat circular plate with a small thermostat system protruding
>> from the center. The replacement fit loosely in the grove in the
>> bottom
>> of the thermostat housing, so I flattened the raised edge to make it
>> more snug.
>>
>> I am concerned about the thermostat since I am about to make a 5,000
>> mile trip in the TD. I was about to order a housing with
>> non-removable
>> thermostat from Moss, but would like advice first to know if this
>> expense is really necessary.
>>
>> Last night I read over 200 archived messages about thermostats. The
>> common thread is that you should have some restriction in the bypass
>> outlet. The original unit provided this with the brass band, but the
>> Moss replacement does not provide any restriction. Is control of the
>> bypass really necessary if I am driving in a hot climate all year?
>>
>> I ask if it is really necessary because I have now driven approx
>> 4,000
>> miles with the Moss replacement thermostat installed and with no
>> restriction in the bypass outlet. Much of the driving has been in
>> Florida, but even here my water temperature gauge (rebuilt several
>> months ago by MoMa) never registers higher than 83 deg C, usually in
>> the
>> mid to high 70s. The water temperature seems to be okay, so should I
>> even be worrying about the quasi thermostat installation in my TD.
>> Am I
>> just being a perfectionist and a worry wart?
>>
>> I am not even sure I installed the replacement thermostat correctly,
>> but
>> it seems to work. The unit is marked with the words "TOP" on the
>> ring,
>> with the spring and housing protruding below. This is how I have it
>> installed. However, there is an annotation on the side saying "Flow"
>> and
>> an upward arrow. What is the direction of water in the system? Is
>> water
>> coming from the top of the engine, UP into the thermostat housing
>> and
>> then into the top of the radiator to cycle downward and be cooled.
>> For
>> some reason I thought it was the reverse. Shows how little I know
>> about cars.
>>
>> I am listening to all advice, such as
>>
>> 1) leave well enough alone, the water temperature seems to be okay
>> now
>>
>> 2) order a housing with non removable thermostat from Moss
>>
>> 3) put some kind of restriction across the bypass opening as
>> suggested
>> by some of the archives.
>>
>> Thanks for your patience in reading all this detail, for putting my
>> mind
>> at ease and for any suggestions.
>>
>> Stu Keen
>> Venice, Fl
>> simbafish@home.com
>
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