foam trim under hood?

[type36lotus]

I sealed the radiator against the bonnet(hood here in the US) with a 2" x 2" square foam used for sealing window A/C units. It was a few dollars at my local home improvement store. I might have sucessfully attached a photo. Also from the Home improvemnt store is a foam strip near the windshield. Well it looks like not.

[mac5777]

Hi Guys
When I first got my elan I saw an elan that had the foam glued to the rad and asked what it was for.
Answer- to force the air through the radiator. It wasn't very pretty but served the purpose. Thought that maybe I'll need to do that.
My question is-- was that a standard part for the elans? Or was it a fix for overheating problems in slow traffic.
It seems that today we have electric fans that work much better. Most elans I have seen use electric fans of one sort or other, including myself. Which leaves the gaps for cool air to pass over the carb and engine exhaust areas.
So maybe get a good fan or two and let the engine compartment breath.

If you use the foam, don't put any presser on the warm fiberglass or you may end up with a bump in you hood/bonnet.

Sarto

[Emma-Knight]

...to DJThom:

there is no place for foam on an S2 with original big Marston radiator.
Even the rubber washers on the bottom fixing bolts have to be very flat,
in case there are any. (I used 2mm semi soft rubber plates). Even then radiator likes to crack bonnet paint... Its a tight fit!


Anna

[stuartgb100]

The use of offcuts of under-carpet sound-deadening felt seems to have worked - so far !

To ascertain what thickness was required, I simply cut 4 pieces 2 inch wide, and long enough to fit full width either side of the filler cap.

I then ran the engine up to temperature, and turned it off. I placed two pieces on the rad, either side of the filler cap and closed the bonnet. After a couple of hours I carefully opened the bonnet.

Removing the strips showed an imprint of the rad header on the underside, so I could clearly see where contact (and a good seal) was being made. Two thicknesses were good enough for me. Three coats of matt black and it looks pretty tidy.

Regards,
Stuart.