[Mg-t] Overheating

[Stuart Keen]

In the summer heat here in Venice, FL my TD9s water temp usually runs in the
90 - 95 deg C range. I am concerned that the Rallye to Reno might be a
problem when crossing the Nevada desert. When I drove through the Mojave
Desert  in October 7 years ago, the air temp in the shade was 110 deg F. It
caused my water to BOIL. This resulted in putting a hole in #2 piston. Don9t
want to do that again; though, I do not think the desert of Nevada will be
quite so hot mid June. So I am wondering what can I do to get the
temperature down. I have already removed the many car badges in front of the
radiator (they were there when I went through the Mojave). Also, I am
already using a MGB 7 blade plastic fan.

What should I do and not do. Here are my thoughts:

1) Have local Leyland trained Brit garage  professionally set the timing. I
may have been running high all this time. Should I have them set the
carburetors? The plugs are brown, not black or ash white.

2) Should I remove the radiator and have it boiled out or is just flushing
and refilling with antifreeze and Water Wetter sufficient? Somewhere I read
about a caustic solution you could run through the radiator, but I do not
know what the product was called and I wonder how safe it would be on the
engine components and fittings. Comments?

3) Should I install an oil cooler? Are they really that beneficial? I
question doing too many mods on the old gal before a long trip. It has been
running fine except for possibility of overheating.

4)  I think there is no room for an electric fan in a TD.  Are they really
that beneficial, anyway?

5) Any other considerations?

Cancelling out of the Rallye is not an option. Glutton for punishment, I
plan to drive from Venice to Ocean City, MD so I can start on the East
Coast. That will mean an additional 1000 miles for the total trip.

Thanks

Stu Keen
1951 MGTD Mk II