Yes, you caught me on the Peter Egan quote! BTW in his latest column, he
gives a pretty good rationale for LBC ownership (or should I say
"non-rationale"?)
I actually don't understand why people use 165 degree thermostats in the
summer. It seems completely pointless, since the normal operating
temperature of the engine is 180-190. The lower-rated thermostat just
opens sooner (one minute instead of one-and-a-half minutes, maybe) and
then stays open all the time -- it doesn't make the engine run any
cooler. So why bother with it? As you say, the car runs better at a
hotter temperature. I use a 190 year round, and the gauge pretty much
sits at 190 all the time, except 1) idling in traffic on hot summer days,
when it will creep up to 200-210, and 2) driving at freeway speeds on
very cold winter nights, when it may never make it up to 180 (and thence
the thermostat never opens, presumably).
MGRagtop@aol.com had this to say:
>Wait till you experience the "half-dead hamster breathing through a straw"
>
>You must have got that from Peter Egan of Road & Track fame... I remember
>reading an article he wrote about 15 years ago about driving a LBC from the
>frozen north to California in the middle of winter, and I have used the
>Hamster-through-a-straw line on more than one occasion!!!!
>
>As for getting decent heat, go with a hotter thermostat. I am running a 165
>TS in my 63 B, as fall progresses I feel that I need at least a 180, the car
>seems to run better at a hotter temp. Also,in regard to blocking off the air
>flow to the radiator, The Proper MG sells radiator muffs for the earlier
>chrome bumper cars. These look like the same thing as seen in Porters Guide
>to DIY restoration. This for sure beats a piece of cardboard behind the
>grille, and they look pretty sharp to boot.
>
>Stephen P Bartley
>Portsmouth NH
>1963 MGB
>http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Show/8052/home.html
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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