Club 80-90 Forums

I have been dying to do some experimenting with our van, regarding how slow it is warm up during cold mornings,days and evenings.

I have started early in my quest to find a solution to the expected slump in fuel consumtion by using a tried and tested technique found in motorcycle racing.
We often used to tape up the top sections of the radiator in an effort to get the 2 stroke motors up to temperature on cold and chilly mornings which would mean a slow practice due to a rich mixture, Or a cold siezure as happened to us at the TT one year.
Instead of completely covering the top and bottom grilles with anything from cardboard to kitchen foil, I have decided to use the good old fathful 'Duck 'Tape to blank off the top third of the main front radiator.

3 full lenght strips have been used in this initial experiment so I can judge if the correct amount of rad has been covered,,,,,,,,,,so far the time taken to get to full warm up seems to me to be about the same as it would be during the summer, lets say after a run of about 2,5 miles or so.

The important thing is the needle stays right where I want it to be (in the middle of the gauge, just to the left of the panic lamp), where as before the temp never seemed to get to where it was supposed to be.

I'm expecting the weather to get a bit cooler so my theory can be tested to the full ,,,,,,,,so if anyone would like to try out this test to compare results during cold conditions you are most welcome......

Regards,

Fritz,,,,,,,,,

Which engine is it petrol or diesel?.The distance from rad to engine coolent return flow back to thermostat is long.My 1.6td is fitted with a genuine VW thermostat after aprox 2miles on a cold day the needle is in the middle.But i bet the rad is not even warm it takes miles of driving to get a good flow going through the thermostat .If the rad was close to the engine example enduro water cooled MC or the old fashion coolent system BMC mini car yes i would consider your idea regards to covering the rad to work .There used to be a radiator blind as an optional extra that could be fitted in front of the rad and adjusted from inside the car .So your idea must work .I think you should test your thermostat on your T25.

i did this in december when we had some frost, basically its was taking forever (6 miles) to get warm. in went a new stat, still the same, so i covered ALL of the rad with cardboard. it warms up after about 1 mile and stays constant, however when i use the motorway it does get a little too hot, so i move the cardboard over 12" and back again. i doesnt bother me too much as long as everything is ok for summer.. (1.9d)

Yes I was hoping at least one of you was wanting to try out my theory so we can compare notes >>>>>>>>>

So to fill in our motor is a 1.9 DG watercooled Petrol , with new antifreeze,thermostat, engine bay bleed pipe, and that is it.

It is the time taken to warm up and then hold that point during any particular cold snap,,,,,is the reason for my experiment.

You will find even during the summer that the lower portion of the radiator stays cold compared to the rest of the rad (summat to do with the laws of radiation) physics and all that "Balls"....AND during very cold moments the bottom section has been known to freeze sold, due to wind chill/lack of antifreeze etc ,etc

So my question is :::::::Is the radiator on a T25 far too big to start with or is it the size it is 'Just in case we ever get stuck in traffic for long periods of time '?

Your thoughts are most welcome,,,,,,,,,,,

Reagrds

Fritz,,,,,,,,,,,

PS, if you think about it a motor running a couple of degrees higher than it should (even during the summer) has to be more fuel efficient than one run as the manufacturer suggests........

My 2.1 velle gets up to temp pretty quick without any shuttering on the rad. 1 - 2 miles.

As the cab heaters are fed from the coolant system before the thermostat should we block these as well