Kurt,
The 6 cylinder, and probably the 4 cylinder, Healey engine can withstand a
lot of abuse, I have driven my '63 BJ7 at least 15 miles with no water in
the radiator as the bottom hose burst and dumped all the water. No damage at
all.
With my '62 BT7 some five years ago on a long trip, I often saw the
temperature gauge hit 230 degrees F, in fact. at one stage, the needle even
went up to 100 psi on the oil pressure gauge - still kept running and didn't
miss a beat. The temperature in the cockpit was recorded at 54 deg. C (129
d. F). Running a 50:50 antifreeze/water mix.
An electric fan, mounted in front of the radiator, with thermostat, will
keep down the coolant temperature when you turn off the ignition.
If the heat is building up in the cockpit you may consider lining the inside
of the transmission tunnel with a heat reflective material. Lining the
engine compartment/bulkhead is a good idea but can only be done properly if
the engine is out.
Enjoy,
Peter Hunt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kurt Leslie" <kansl@net1plus.com>
To: <healeys@autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 11:17 AM
Subject: enginetemp
> It's been a hot and humid summer in the NE and I have been driving my
> newly restored bt7, I had heard all the info about the cars running hot,
> but I am concerned about how hot. The car runs about 190-195 as long as
> moving along, but will rise close to 200-205 if stopped for any length
> of time. My other concern is when I shut off the car engine the temp
> will rise to 220+, can this damage the engine?. I was originally running
> a 50-50 mix of antifreeze and water and reduced this to 75-25 mix which
> helped a little but I don't think enough. Car is all original including
> 4 blade fan. Are there other things to be concerned about. kurt
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