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I have recently acquired a 2 litre low chassis supercharged tourer. It doesn’t have any kind of radiator cooling fan, as I’ve noticed others do, and I’m concerned that it could overheat if stuck in traffic etc (which is definitely a modern day phenomenon that wouldn’t have been such an issue back in the 1930s). If I was to fit an electric fan, can anyone recommend the type/size/make etc, and whether there any things to watch out for? Many thanks. Chris.
Hi Christopher,
In 1999 Wessex Workshops fitted a Kenlowe 10/S 2000 Series 10″ suction fan 10-90-12/6A/S to my 2 Litre and its worked well ever since. I have it set to a fairly high temp just below boiling point and unless climbing very steep hills, it generally only comes on if I have been running on the motorway for 30 mins or so and then come to a stop due to a traffic jam. The dilemna then is do I switch off the engine and hope it restarts OK or leave the fan running which I think is likely to gradually drain the battery, as I think that the dynamo struggles to cope with low revs. I do have a good battery however which seems able to make up the shortfall and think can run the fan for 30 mins plus in these conditions. When running up steep hills etc generally at high revs the dynamo seems able to supply sufficient power. When motorway driving I’m definately pleased that I have it ! I will attach some photos for info – due to the current photo size limits (2MB) may have to send in a few posts.
Best Regards,
David H
Second photo showing bottom mounting
Third photo showing controller position etc.
Top mounting.
Top mounting.
Thanks David, that’s really interesting (and useful information). I shall look into this further.
Kind regards.
Chris.
Both my 2 Litres do not have fans (which is original) but they never overheat, not even going uphill in low gear in tropical temperatures.
But the radiators of the cars are enormous, the waterpumps function as they should and, very important that, I use modern (pink) coolant – and THAT makes all the difference.My LG6 special was fitted with a Kenlowe fan by the previous owner. essential, as the special was built with a custom radiator which slopes backwards, leaving no room for the original engine mounted fan.
My experience was that the thermocouple was unreliable; sometimes the fan would be on when the engine was not that hot, and not on when it was! This culminated in a trip to Prescott, where unbeknownst to me, the fan must have been working permanently, with the battery finally running out of juice well into our return journey. For some reason I had a spare battery in the car! After that, I disconnected the thermo arrangement and simply switched the fan on when I saw the temperature gauge reading too high … and that worked very well. Clearly the LG6 has a substantial dynamo and voltage regulator. That said, when the regulator failed due to a fused connection during the Champagne Rally, I was able to start and drive the car for several days, with no charging whatsoever. The key was having a substantial battery … perhaps a battery with more amp/hours capacity would help.
Laurence
It’s an interesting comment regarding pink antifreeze.
Adding antifreeze should increase the waters boiling point (see below pasted from internet… hopefully correct !)
“The water will boil at two hundred twelve degrees Fahrenheit in sea-level atmospheric pressure. A glycol mixed 50/50 has a boiling point increasing at around two hundred twenty-six degrees Fahrenheit.”
However, I suspect that the above might apply to any type of antifreeze and it is important not to use antifreezes containing Organic Additive Technology in older vehicles which are often (but not always), pink in colour. For more info on this, search “antifreeze” on the forum.
It’s an interesting comment regarding pink antifreeze.
Adding antifreeze should increase the waters boiling point (see below pasted from internet… hopefully correct !)
“The water will boil at two hundred twelve degrees Fahrenheit in sea-level atmospheric pressure. A glycol mixed 50/50 has a boiling point increasing at around two hundred twenty-six degrees Fahrenheit.”
However, I suspect that the above might apply to any type of antifreeze and it is important not to use antifreezes containing Organic Additive Technology in older vehicles which are often (but not always), pink in colour. For more info on this, search “antifreeze” on the forum.
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