[Healeys] 100 water pumps

[Bob Spidell]

I sold my late father's 1955 Thunderbird to my BFF. These cars have a 
very similar problem to Healeys overheating, esp. at idle. When Ford 
stuffed the 292ci Y-Block into the T-Bird, they found the engine was 
(essentially) too short for the long-hooded car, so they 'engineered'--I 
use the term loosely--a cast iron spacer to move the fan closer to the 
radiator. The spacer had the added 'benefit' of severely limiting 
coolant flow through the pump and radiator; there are some aftermarket 
fixes and my friend, after doing the usual radiator re-core, better fan, 
etc. installed both a better pump (larger vanes) and a re-engineered 
spacer. Attached pic is not of the spacer he used--I can't find the link 
to it--but it shows the general idea (Ford basically put a 'dam' in the 
cooling system to block flow, and the improved spacers mostly remove 
it). It appears this approach has improved cooling, though the engine 
probably still gets warm if it has to sit too long at idle. Link is to 
one of the improved pumps:

https://www.classictbird.com/Water-Pump-Modified-for-Higher-Output-1-Per-car/productinfo/8501HO/

Anyways, after doing all the usual stuff to increase cooling, esp. on my 
BJ8, I've wondered if a similar approach would work on Healeys. Their 
pumps have very small vanes, and the cavity in which the vanes operate 
seems pretty small for such a large lump of cast iron (I'm guessing an 
uprated radiator core won't help much if the coolant flow is still 
hampered; at least, that's what I've found). This is probably not an 
option as, of course, our engines don't have a similar spacer to be 
improved upon, and it would be a major task to increase both the 
cavity's size and the pump (but I can dream).

ps. The overheating issue with Healeys is usually attributed to too big 
of an engine in too small of an engine compartment, and too little 
airflow. But, the engine bay in an old T-Bird is huge by comparison--and 
the engine not terribly larger in displacement--and still suffers the 
same problem.

Bob

On 3/6/2021 5:57 AM, Michael Salter via Healeys wrote:
> After a couple of premature failures of repro 100 water pumps I 
> decided to look into rebuilding them with a modern seal and sealed 
> bearings.
> I have some concerns about the small size of the annulus through which 
> all the coolant must pass in the original design so I have managed to 
> install a considerably smaller seal as in the pics attached.
> After bench testing one of the prototypes is now fitted to my car 
> awaiting a test drive as soon as the snow is gone.
>
> On Fri., Mar. 5, 2021, 11:13 p.m. S and T Miller via Healeys, 
> <healeys at autox.team.net <mailto:healeys at autox.team.net>> wrote:
>
>     What's the skinny on the repo 100 water pumps? Hear they leak and
>     need broken in dry. Uprated pump any good? Moss states the brass
>     tap can be screwed into the uprated pump, but from the pictures it
>     actually looks like the standard has threads and not the uprated.
>     Can anyone confirm? Rebuild original?Thoughts/ advice welcomed?
>     TY, Shawn
>
>     The Millers
>
>     "Always drive them, but remember each drive in an antique car is a
>     test drive."
>

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