Morris Minor Owners Club

I personally would not bother with the heated part of the inlet manifold in summer or winter, just leave it disconnected. It's not going to make much difference anyway. I doubt you'd even notice the economy increase as it would only be very slight and not worth the effort of fitting a valve and modifying your plumbing.

bmcecosse wrote:The Minor radiator is about twice the size of the Mini radiator which cools exactly the same engine !!

That's VERY true and the Mini one is side mounted and blows air under the wing so is much less efficient than the Minor one being directly in the facing air. Incidently, that's also why the passenger wing is hotter than the driver's one on a Mini!

I *think* I was told that my new radiator can take greater pressure than the old one. I was *definitely* told that everything was running too hot for the old one. Hmmmm must write these things down. I'm going to ask for a fuller explaination when I go back.

Right, well if it's got a modified header to take a higher pressure cap then that's OK (although strictly if does not NEED it). The original cap is 4 lbs (which is what mine is) and the Ital one is 15 lbs (I think). If you are running 15 lbs then it will be less likely to 'boil over' than with the 4 lbs cap (as higher pressure pushes the boiling point up). But with the large surface area of the original radiator and the constant fan sucking air through it won't NEED it.

That rings a bell - sounds about what they said to me - EXCEPT for the bit about it not being entirely necessary! Maybe they were being cautious because the engine they put in has a guarantee? Or perhaps the guy just didn't explain to me in enough detail WHY I actually needed one, who knows but I guess a lot of these 'issues' can be down to poor communication more than anything (if i were to give them the benifit of the doubt!)

But was it listed as a reason for MOT failure?

No - not on my MOT sheet. It was a reason the mechanic gave me for putting in a new radiator - that 'they' were not happy with the running temp of the vehicle.

Aha - I'd firmly grasped the wrong end of the stick then...

Not quite the wrong end - the mechanic implied that the 'they' was the MOT people. But like you guys said, quite what it's got to do with them I dont now know!

Right!

I'd also grabbed the wrong end of the stick (how many ends can it have? )

Currently I'm in cynical mood ......

All the best,

Colin