Grrrr. Car thermostats.

[rtbcomp]

^^ The 'stat in my un-pressurised Riley was 72 degC. I also had a muff the same shape as the radiator grille with a flap on it that you could close in winter.

 

[cardiffrob]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

The car was designed with a mahoosive radiator tank to run thermosyphon without a pump and thus it takes forever to warm all that water up. With the pump but no thermostat it may never get warm enough to run without the bleedin' choke on so I'll need to get one back in there. I have gone for 88 degrees and a 4psi rad cap to try and keep the Mayonaise out of the oil a bit more. Probably best to find a stock of old ones languishing in a garage somewhere from back in the days of the Empire, before China opened up.

One of our early Minors has a radiator roller blind (factory export option, BNIB), a thermostat, waterpump and a BRAY electric block heater. Finally got the solution!

 

[gordon stephenson]

On my Volvo 760 Turbo, it had a factory built in radiator blind for use in the colder months, Just like a recoil type window roller blind, took seconds to use, I often had the radiator fully covered in the winter and never had an over heating problem.

 

[stuvy]

I nearly had a fight with some monkey in a motor factors over a duff thermostat that ******** the head gasket on a, you guessed it Vauxhall Frontera.
It wouldn't budge when tested in a cup of hot water. He told me "you can't test them like that!"
Crap shop crap car!

That’s why they work behind a counter as there not mechanics

 

[daedalusminos]

Are you sure the replacements were mechanically compatible and not getting jammed shut by the thermostat housing or similar?

 

[cardiffrob]

Yes, bog standard shape with loads of room behind them for the expansion.

 

[Olderisbetter]

@cardiffrob , I am no expert on moggy thermostats but if you need me to take a look at it i will, Here is one i did today and as you can see i got the thermostat out very successfully

.

 

[stuvy]

Not only restored one but fitted a tvr engine to one many moons ago

 

[Olderisbetter]

Not only restored one but fitted a tvr engine to one many moons ago

What TVR engine did you fit, We have just started building this moggy in any spare time we have mainly to use up some of the nicer spares we have suck as a tuned 1275 midget engine and 5 speed ford box, It is also a learn as we go car for some guys we know who want to play with cars but don't have loads of experience.

 

[stuvy]

What TVR engine did you fit, We have just started building this moggy in any spare time we have mainly to use up some of the nicer spares we have suck as a tuned 1275 midget engine and 5 speed ford box, It is also a learn as we go car for some guys we know who want to play with cars but don't have loads of experience.

The engine was out of the customers old hot rod he’s had it for about 10 years. Apparently it was from a car that left the road and was a right off. The original owner didn’t go through the insurance as he had a few to many pints and drove

 

[Morrisman]

My Goodness, there's hardly an engine in that one. Better let it grow up some.

But it has the biggest radiator I’ve ever seen in a Moggie.

 

[Morrisman]

I slipped a RV8 into my old Morris some 15 years ago. It gave ‘adequate’ power.

 

[stuvy]

Super cool

 

[RWD3M]

I slipped a RV8 into my old Morris some 15 years ago. It gave ‘adequate’ power.

View attachment 169991

There's a really well executed RV8 conversion that comes to the Morris Register National Rally every year, a lovely maroon colour. Is this the same one?

 

[Morrisman]

There's a really well executed RV8 conversion that comes to the Morris Register National Rally every year, a lovely maroon colour. Is this the same one?

Don’t think so, this was still in flat black last time I saw it, maybe a year ago.