re: 1800 Summer overheating.

Jim Inshaw

Solihull

In my experience with wedges especially 2200's its inevitable that at some point the car will over heat and I would advise all to fit a second fan with a manual override switch. Octane levels are much lower now than when the cars were new so they tend to pink in very hot weather under load, this is compounded by the extra traffic we have on the roads. I always flush the system every few years and replace suspect hoses, make sure the thermostat is opening at the correct temperature and that your fans are lubricated and of course that the thermo switch cuts in at the correct temperature. Always turn on the heater when flushing and refilling, oh and it is advisable to change the radiator filler tank cap to -this is still probably original! The gauges are generally reliable and I've only known one read wrongly in all the time I driven wedges. Normal on the gauge should read anywhere between 4 O'clock to 3 O'clock (this being the mid point), by 2 O'clock the fan should have kicked in, if not get the heater on the windows down if it gets to 1 O'clock and your not breaking free of the traffic pull over and get the hood up. I still have hot moments now usually queuing to get into or out of a classic car show so chose your moment. Never put cold water into a very hot engine, let it cool down so the temperature differential is not that great. If you run an Auto consider an oil cooler. Its all part of the fun off old cars