When the weather was cool the indication on the temp gauge of my 74
Spitfire was normally around the center mark. Now that the weather has
warmed up the indicator is normally at the mark just below the Hot mark and
sometimes in traffic its even slightly higher. Is this about normal for
these cars in warm weather, or should I start looking for a problem? If
there is a problem should I start by looking at the thermostat, radiator
cap or water pump? The cooling system has been thoroughly flushed, but I
did not boil out the radiator. Would it be ok to run without a thermostat
in the summer? Will an oil cooler give much help?
At this higher temp the car stalls. It does this mostly on acceleration,
but it has occurred at constant highway speeds as well. To me it acts like
a fuel starvation (vapor lock) stall. However, a recent thread on the
newsgroup indicates it's the coil that failing. But, I noted that the
person who posted the original message (Erik) replaced his coil and it did
not solve the problem. Where should I start, fuel pump or coil?
Thanks for you help. I really appreciate it!!
Barry H. Adams
74 Spitfire
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