[Healeys] Thermostat discussion - Part 2

[Bob Johnson]

I agree with Steve about "empirical" results. My experience was going
along these lines: In normal driving conditions of 35-65 mph my car
regularly registered very near to 190 degrees. I wanted it cooler
because literature indicated that the car theoretically had a 180
thermo. I deduced that this was what the design spec was. So, I bought
a new 180 thermo. Temps ran exactly the same. OK, time for a test. Put
the old thermo in a pot of water on the stove with my wife's candy
thermometer. When the thermometer read 180 the thermostat was fully
open. Humph! Put the new thermostat in the water, fully open at 180.
After many (2-3) seconds of deep pondering it became obvious that the
problem is the temp gauge. If it ever bothers me enough, I will adjust
the gauge. My suggestion to others who are bothered by engine temp not
being what you expect: Test the thermostat. It very well could be OK
and it is simply the gauge that is off.

Bob Johnson
BJ8

On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 1:06 PM, Dick Matson<medlabinc at msn.com> wrote:
> Hi Steve:
>
>     With some possible exceptions my guess is that the field experience
> you've had with Bj8 coolant temperatures - described in your posts to the
list
> parts 1 & 2 - is typical.
>
>     I wonder how many temp gauges have been checked - verify the needle is
> indicating 212F in boiling water/altitude factored in.  That would be
another
> good starting point to diagnose a possible heating issue.
>
> Dick Matson / Bj8
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: BJ8 Healeys<mailto:sbyers at ec.rr.com>
> To: healeys at autox.team.net<mailto:healeys at autox.team.net>
> Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 9:24 AM
> Subject: Re: [Healeys] thermostat discussion - Part 2
>
>
> I am not convinced that Big Healey cooling systems have the capability to
> "overcool" the engine.  The system was not designed to a gnat's eyebrow by
> computers, and most parts came out of the BMC parts bin and were not
> designed specifically for the car.  The close quarters of the engine bay
and
> the marginal size of the radiator made such modifications as fender vents
> and bonnet louvers necessary even on the works cars and are still being
> installed in an effort to get the heat out of the engine bay.
>
> By the way, the factory parts manual lists a blanking sleeve to close off
> the bypass "For use in extremely hot climates in lieu of thermostat".
> Apparently, the factory didn't consider leaving the thermostat out would
> cause the coolant to flow too fast for the radiator to cool it.
>
>
> Steve Byers
> HBJ8L/36666
> BJ8 Registry
> Havelock, NC  USA
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