Ally radiator............

[type26owner]

Okay, I tried it at work and it would not load up here either. I have a T1 connection with a gigabite of capacity per second. If I truncate the link it will go there. How do I navigate my way to the info?

[M100]

Keith:

Right click and save link as, no problem here on a 64k connection. Might be congestion at the server. If you have no luck let me know and I'll pop it on my site later on.

Dave:

Have you got the source (or navigation!) for that link? I've got the original magazine articles in Race Engine Technology but the graphs were so small they were barely readable, the pdf's for other two parts would be very useful!

I've got Blair's book on 4 strokes, been digesting it a few pages at a time for a while now!

[Dave-M]

Martin
here are all three url's

http://www.profblairandassociates.com/p ... 20Lift.pdf

http://www.profblairandassociates.com/p ... %20010.pdf

http://www.profblairandassociates.com/p ... %20010.pdf

Are these the team who did development work for the race engines for the top Jap Bike Manufacturers?

I realise it is getting a little off topic but the graphs showing the relationships between temp, oil viscosity and film thickness were quite interesting.

Kieth You got it yet?

Regards

Dave

[type26owner]

Okay, I read the articles. Nothing alarming or out of the ordinary there. Here's my contribution.
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/15378/
The funky part about the twinkcam is the oil only heats up to 60C (150F) with normal use. That's wrong and the reason the oil turns jet black so quickly.

[msd1107]

First, if you are going to be showing your car, or are otherwise committed to a stock appearing engine bay, then you are going to have to use the radiator that was delivered with your vehicle, whether narrow or wide.

Remember, the standard layout is inefficient, so you are always going to be close to the limits under some circumstances. Make sure your radiator is thoroughly cleaned, as a dirty scaled up radiator will not transfer heat as efficiently as a nice clean one, as well as the engine block. Re-core the radiator if yucky, use appropriate anti-freeze, and change it regularly. Take off the engine driven fan, it us useless at a stoplight, just when you want airflow. Besides, your water pump will like you. Next, make sure you have the electric fan installed. See section K.9 of the workshop manual, which allows the fan to be retrofitted to cars that did not have it originally. Use whatever thermostat setting you are enamored of, whether 70C, 75C, or 80C will not make much difference in the peak temperature reached in stopped traffic. Use a fan thermostat about 10C above the water thermostat, possibly with a mechanical override. Remember that the electric fan as stock is not very capable or efficient, compared with a modern ducted fan, so you are still marginal. Follow the recommendations in Section K.11 of the Workshop Manual (install blanking plate 036B 1145 and ventilation holes in the left hand wheel arch).

The other option is to install a modern aluminum radiator. Several web sites offer aluminum radiators. Look for something called drag racing. They will be 12X22 or so, and can be ordered with hose inlet/outlets where you want them, and the right size. Dave Bean has one of the right size in his catalog (R026K 0001, 10lbs), but I don?t know if it comes with installation instructions. Mount it down in the nose and use a remote filler - see CliveyBoy (www.cliveyboy.com), he has a nice one. A less expensive route is to use a Scirroco radiator, available frequently on eBay at quite reasonable prices. The only negative is the water inlet is on the upper carburetor side, but this has been covered in another post. Lastly, ditch the water pump and replace it with an electric water pump. Davies Craig sells an appropriately sized unit, together with an ECU that runs the pump only when it is needed. One version of the ECU will keep the water pump running after switch off until the water temp is less than a cut off value, preventing heat soak. The ECU can be adjusted from the cockpit to whatever temperature you want, so if you believe in it you can run cold for more power and hot for better fuel economy.

The last thing is to pay attention to under hood air flow. It appears the Elan traps air that came in through the radiator inlet or up from the bottom of the car, and it has a difficult time exiting the car. Not only does this decrease the efficiency of the radiator, but it increases the effective CD of the car, and promotes lift at the front. You can try adjusting the bonnet catch so that the rear is an inch or so higher than its normal catch point, which will allow some air pressure to exit along the sides and back of the bonnet. Although it will alter the visual appearance of the hood, you could cut ventilation holes in the bonnet roughly equivalent to the ventilating holes recommended by the Workshop Manual in the wheel arch.

Anybody have some other ideas?

[bill308]

msd1107 offers some good advice. Here's a couple my thoughts:

1. Seal the radiator to the body around the perimeter so that any air entering the grill area has to exit through the radiator. This won't work when stopped but will help at speed.

2. Raising the hood a little in the back may not help hot air exiting the engine compartment at the back of the bonnet, as this should be a relatively high pressure area, that's why the interior ventilation opening is sited here. However, air leakage along the sides of the bonnet will likely be enhanced as these should be relatively low pressure areas.

Bill

[elangtv2000]

Hello,
Here in California, USA, I bought a nice condition used Triumph Spitfire rad (full width), and took it to a radiator shop to have it steam cleaned, the top hose fitting replaced, one bracket resoldered, and the whole thing repainted. Cost me $45 for the work, and $30 for the radiator. Fitted a 10" fprimary an alongside a 9" fan, and since installing, the secondary 9" fan has come on only when outside temps have been above 90F.
In my experience, it isn't expensive to have a new filler neck installed, so don't rule out that option.
Cheers,
Greg
1971 S4

[msd1107]

RE: Aluminum radiators.

Bill308 makes some good comments.

Lets look at the hood. As an experiment, loosen the adjustment for closing the hood so it stands proud as much as possible (you do need it secured). Take the car out on the road at as high a speed as you can. Look at the hood position. If the air pressure on top exceeds the under hood air pressure, the hood will be pushed down. Otherwise, it will remain secured by the closer.

If you are willing to alter the looks of your car slightly, try this. The FHC has two air exhaust vents at the rear quarter panels. Find two more of the chrome vent covers, or something along the same line. Take your hood off. Mark the exhaust vents on the hood, somewhat back from the front, but not all the way back. Cut holes in the hood, and secure the chrome vents to give a somewhat polished look. Remount the hood.

(For the super geeky ones, get an air pressure measuring instrument, and measure the pressure under the hood to see where the pressure is greatest. If possible, do the same thing on top of the hood to see the air pressure there also. Cut the holes where the difference in air pressure is the greatest. (Remember, in the early days of Lotus, they ran equivalent tests where the measurer was strapped to the bonnet or the passenger seat!). For the ultimate, construct NACA ducts, but there are under hood clearance issues about which to worry. Remember, this is a 45 year old design, they were not as aware of some of these aerodynamic issues as today, and the cars were built to a price, not the ultimate standard.

As for mounting the radiator, it is a good idea to keep air from infiltrating along the sides of the radiator. Get a sheet of 3mm or 1/8? aluminum sheet. Using cardboard or stiff paper, cut out a form of the inside of the car where you want to mount the radiator. You may want to mount it over the rack and close to the front opening, or a little more forward, and may want to experiment with slanting it forward or backward. You do not have to be too accurate with the template, just as long as it is not too big. Transfer the template to the aluminum sheet. Look in the car to determine suitable mounting points. Cut the aluminum sheet, leaving mounting strips. Take the radiator and place it on the sheet. The Scirroco radiator has 4 bosses on each side, which usually are used to mount a fan, but can either be shared with the fan or used on the other side to secure the sheet. Cut the interior of the aluminum out. Drill holes. Cut out on the carburetor side a hole to pass through the intake hose. If you are adventuresome, cut another hole on each side, and pass hose from the aluminum sheet back to a hole you have cut in the foot box. This, along with the exhaust vents in the FHC quarter panel, provides a low resistance path for the air coming in the front to exhaust out the back. Get some rubber trim strip and wrap it around the aluminum sheet. Push the sheet into the nose, secure the mounting strips, mount the radiator, hook up hoses (which will require sourcing non-standard lengths). Add anti-freeze/water. Start the engine, and run until all the air has been bled from the system, adding more fluid.

Anybody have some other ideas?

[builder618]

The oversize is from a triumph herald. Least that is what I was told in 1970 when I got mine. I spoke to the Tech Director from Flex-a-lite which is a manufacturer in the US in July. He was interested in creating a system for Elans. I anyone wants his name contact me.

[builder618]

The oversize is from a triumph herald. Least that is what I was told in 1970 when I got mine. I spoke to the Tech Director from Flex-a-lite which is a manufacturer in the US in July. He was interested in creating a system for Elans. I anyone wants his name contact me.

[pereirac]

I bought a wide 3 core raplacement Triumph unit for a local supplier (TRGB) and had the top hose modified by my local radiator repairer and fitted a modern Kenlow fan. Total cost was about ?200. The cooling is not as much as I had hoped for, about a 5deg drop but at least the temperature never rises to 'scary' hights in traffic like it used to.

I still have the original unit to fit back if I ever need to..

Carl