Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello,

My stepmum has suggested I fit a Kenlowe fan to my radiator, as I drive through the very slow central London traffic quite often and my mog is prone to overheating as a result. She has just fitted one to her Stag, but I wonder if one can do so to a Morris?

I can't see where one would mount it bearing in mind the standard fan leaves very little space for one. Has anyone done this? Or something similar? Or indeed any other advice about avoiding overheating in traffic?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts...
Cheers, George

Hi George,

Here's a previous thread about fitting these:

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/index.php?name=P ... ht=kenlowe

Another option would be an oil cooler.

Electric fan - yes, good idea. Up to you if you think Kenlowe is worth the extra money - many other makes about - and of course there are many electric fans on cars in the scrap-yard!
Oil cooler - absolutely NOT - an oil cooler is necessary for completely different engine circumstances - basically where it is running flat-out full throttle for long periods. NOT for stumbling through London traffic!

Yes, I agree an electric fan is a good idea. Stop/start traffic is a good example of needing cooling air when the engine fan doesnt supply it and oppositely, driving along at a steady speed means you already get enough air through the rad just at a time when the engine fan is working hard to give you more. As one of the posters on the other thread said, you'll be surprised how little it comes on during normal driving. For the record, mine's a pusher from the front rather than a sucker from the engine bay. It is a tight fit in the gap but if you're careful to make sure the fan motor hub avoids the vertical bars behind the grille slats, it'll go in.
Best wishes, Colin.

Great, a massive help as usual. Thanks folks.

From reading this thread and the other one posted I will try and sort out a smallish suck through fan to go off centre on the rad, toward the passenger side. Will look at the prices of Kenlowe, but may go for something cheaper if its looking massively expensive.

Thanks for the help

In light of the comments on this thread I'm about to buy an electric fan for the radiator and have a quick question....

Rather than using a small suck through fan in addition to the current engine fan, is there any sense in removing the engine fan and fitting a large suck through electric fan that is on constantly?

The fan linked below draws 8 amps, would this be ok running constantly? I imagine the cooling power of a large electric fan would be larger than the standard fan (needed due to long periods of London traffic!)

http://www.classic-car-accessories.co.u ... 26#aCXE026

Cheers,
George

These things are never built to run constantly - only intended for periodic use. You really shouldn't have any 'overheating' no matter how long you sit in traffic - you could either fit two fan blades at right angles (so making 4 arms) - or the multiblade fan from a Marina engine. Much cheaper/sensible option - but you should also flush out the cooling system a few times - because it should cope easily with idling in traffic as standard.

the marina multiblade fan sounds like a good idea, i may couple it with a small sucker electric fan though... i believe my engine is pretty healthy, but imagine sitting in stop start traffic for two hours on a hot day trying to get out of London... this has lead to overheating before!
will also flush out as suggested
cheers

I cannot 'imagine sitting in stop start traffic - - trying to get out of London'! Can't even begin to imagine it! I lose the plot if held up for more than 2 minutes at traffic lights!

haha, indeed, I don't much like it either, but its a small price to pay for a weekend in the west country drinking cider and not listening to buses going by the window

Some nice preserved railways down there........

I had a Kenlowe fan for years, they specify quite a small fan for the Minor. However the amount of air they move is incredible, a short blast will pull temperatures right down even on the hottest days. It also makes the car run a lot quiter at higher road speeds as the fan isnt running constantly.

Indeed BM, the West Somerset Railway is my Dad's favourite day out

Thanks for the info on that minor_hickup, I'm going upgrade the engine fan and then fit a small electric fan on switch for very hot days / long traffic.

BM, would the mini 'hot climate' 6 blade fan be a good upgrade to the engine fan? I presume it will fit... http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=33081

Doesn't the Mini fan push rather than pull?

NO! Mini fan blows - you need a sucker! Both Midget and Marina had larger multi-blade fans. But you will get a useful improvement if you simply fit another standard blade to your fan - at right angles - so they form a X.

Ah. oops, thanks for pointing that out!

crossed single blades it is then

This picture - shamelessly pinched from 'Robins' - shows the crossed fan blades.<br><br>

Maybe this doesn't happen on a Minor, but I once had this cross blade arrangement on a cooper and was plagued by this wow wow 'hunting' type of sound. It was many many months before I traced it to the double fan blades. Resorting to the original was bliss. It's just something that's stuck in my mind, it was that annoying.

Yes - Minis used to do that - which is why the thin multibade fan with un-even blade spacing was brought in! But that (Mini) fan was contained in a casing - I think this will be ok.