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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:<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.classictbird.com/Water-Pump-Modified-for-Higher-Output-1-Per-car/productinfo/8501HO/">https://www.classictbird.com/Water-Pump-Modified-for-Higher-Output-1-Per-car/productinfo/8501HO/</a><br>
<br>
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).<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Bob<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 3/6/2021 5:57 AM, Michael Salter via
Healeys wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAB3i7LLZLHx2ZCo4FP=D0jg2cC+Bm9YY16JOHyrWOyz2u11hKw@mail.gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div dir="auto">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.
<div dir="auto">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. </div>
<div dir="auto">After bench testing one of the prototypes is now
fitted to my car awaiting a test drive as soon as the snow is
gone.</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri., Mar. 5, 2021, 11:13
p.m. S and T Miller via Healeys, <<a
href="mailto:healeys@autox.team.net" rel="noreferrer
noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">healeys@autox.team.net</a>> wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<div>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?</div>
<div>TY, Shawn</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The Millers<br>
<br>
"Always drive them, but remember each drive in an antique
car is a test drive."<br>
</div>
</div>
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