Listers,
Let me point out a fact which may be moot at this point.
The typical +4 engine - lets say TR anything - is the heaviest iron hunk of
baot anchor ive seen compared to any new (read last 20 or so years) engine
on the market. The amount of iron in these engines, heads, etc. sure doesnt
act like a jeat sink wicking down the temperature.
Take a Harley Davidson for example (ok maybe near and dear to my heart) the
older Harley's of the "Iron Head" years have the same issue. They get hot
enough to roast your leg even with the help of oil cooling and oil heat
exchangers. On a hot day, to stop at a red light, is like stirring a pot on
the stove. Many a day I have parked my bike at work only to feel the heat
coming off the heavy iron engine from 20 or better feet away.
Metals that retain less heat, aluminum for example - which is where most of
the motorcycle heads have gone, retain less heat and therefore overheat (and
crack) less. Too bad there isnt an aluminum TR engine (is there?) - My guess
is it would run a whole lot cooler.
In reference to the oil coolers and air dams; if you mount the oil cooler
lower down -- say under an air dam - your cooling performance should be
dramatically improved at lower speeds. This would provide better airflow
through the cooler and the radiator since neither will be blocked by the
each other.
My suggestion -- and being new at this dispute it all you wish because i
could have my head checking for pollups -- is to design an air dam that
incorporates an oil cooler under it. This will provide two welcome functions
and possibly a fourth perk as well.
1- It will concentrate air across and through the radiator at speed - at low
speeds an electic fan with or without a shroud will bey key at this point -
with the air damn pushing higher volumes at speed the engine will stay
cooler even with the partial blocking caused by the fan. at low speeds the
fan will push (or draw) air through and should help there.(Perhaps a little
water wetter may not be a bad idea either - i know race cars/bikes pretty
much go all the way with the water wetter product.)
2- The oil cooler -- should -- help at speed. Im still not sure that it
makes a huge difference in any car not being pushed hard - but every little
bit helps. If this were located under the dam/scoop and built into it - then
air would be forced into and through that unit as well. with it mounted
below the upper scoop that directs air through the radiator there will be no
blockage to the radiator.
*perk* The scoop/dam with the oil cooler integrated in it would look pretty
damn nice compared to having the oil cooler mounted beind the grill!
If anyone is interested I have a drawing that illustrates this idea and will
be the basis for the fiberglass version I am going to fabriacte for my +4
(If and When it ever gets done!)
A little fodder for the string.....
--Scott
56 +4 4 Seat (more or less)
77 Harley Custom "Iron Head"
Scott Seidler
Senior Network Engineer, Sales.
Eastern DataComm, Inc.
Phone: 201-457-3311
Fax: 201-457-1811
Project Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/scottsmog
-----Original Message-----
From: Howie [mailto:hclark@mail.dcwi.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2000 8:51 PM
To: Chas Wasser; Morgans@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Louvers in the bonnet; conversations with Mauirce Owen &
Chris Lawrence
I seem to be drawn to cars that overheat. In addition to a Morgan +4 I have
a '47 Ford with a 400 ci smallblock Chevy, notorious for overheating due to
siamesed cylinders, and a '36 Cord with beautiful horizontal louvers
running around its "coffin" nose, but insufficient air flow. The
overheating problem with both of these non-Morgan cars could be cured with
louvers.
IMHO, louvers are for LOW SPEED heat removal. Heat builds up under the hood
as there are no low pressure areas to draw it out at low speed. Heat rises,
the louvers let it out. The Ford and the Cord only overheat in traffic.
I've run the Ford without its hood and viola!, no overheating -- even with
the air conditioner on. Whenever you see Cords stopped during a tour, you
see the hoods up. Passersby think we're showing off the engine, which we
are, but we are mainly letting the heat out so the d___ thing will restart.
This procedure is known as the "Cord Salute". With either car on a hot day,
when you stop and raise the hood there is a blast of hot air like dragon's
breath.
Morgans, however, will also overheat at speed, and the suggestions of Chas
Wasser, Maurice Owen, Fred Sisson, et al are directed to these problems. If
you remove those louvers, however, no amount of air dams shrouds or
whatever will keep it from overheating at slow speed. Open a louvered
Morgan hood on a hot day and there is a small rush of hot air, but nothing
like that of a non-louvered hood. OK, I acknowledge that the +4 is putting
out about 1/3 the heat of a 400 ci Chevy but it is also in a much smaller
compartment.
I think louvers got there start back in the early days of automobiles when
engines were huge and inefficient, speeds were slow, and engine
compartments were small. They still look cool.
Howard Clark
P.O. Box 413 / 100 East Third Street
Brookston, IN 47923
765-563-3210 FAX 765-563-8946
'65 Morgan +4 2 str, '36 Cord 810 Beverly, '47 Ford Street Rod
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