Please pardon our dust while we improve the website over the next few days.  If you need anything please feel free to call 616-301-2888 or email Mike.  Thank you!

Q & A: Hot Running

Hi guys, and greetings from down under in New Zealand.

Its another stinking hot summer here in Auckland, and the outside temperature gets up to around 28+ degrees. Not the kind of climate MGCGTs like for keeping the engine temperature down, and herein lies my problem.

My 68CGT is fully restored, and this includes a recored radiator far superior in cooling capacity than the original (so I'm told!). Still however I see the temperature gauge get up over 212 degrees in the traffic; the car gets so hot that the fuel evaporates in the carbie bowls despite the presence of a new heat shield and the fact that the exhaust is fully wrapped. I know the heat is doing damage to the car; I am very concerned about warping the head etc as these are only available on an exchange basis now.

The car is running a non standard eectric fan after the original one broke. This covers around 60% of the radiator surface (not enough!). I have 2 questions for you guys:

1 - how hot should these cars get - I am told normal running temperature even stuck in traffic should not exceed 190 degrees;

2 - can you suppy a very slim line electric fan to fit the car and cover a good % of the radiator surface? I don't imagine that UK owners have the same problems given its much hotter here, but the cars do run hot, so someone must have a solution for it. I had heard Kenlowe (?) did a fan?

Love to hear from you as I am getting desperate here and there may be one less CGT on the road at the rate I'm going....

Cheers

David Sellars
MG Car Club, Auckland
New Zealand.

DAVID!

Barrie Cartmell was here for our summer party in August -- and his car ran relatively cool all the way from Maryland to Grand Rapids (about 1000 miles). Just about when he wanted to return, it began to overheat. Fina... read more