I'm in Adelaide, it gets hot here.

What's the consensus on a second radiator mounted behind the grill to get some decent airflow?

i was thinking a heater core and as i don't have a heater i could use the offtake on the head.

maybe in winter i can move the core to the cabin!

would a new oil cooler work? or is a heater core the best idea.

thanks.

Heater core would probably be the better alternative....either mounted behind the grill as you suggested, or get an under bonnet fresh air heater from a minimatic and mount it as it should be...that way it helps with cooling, and also you can use it as a heater/demister in winter...

Theres a couple on ebay at the moment (not mine)

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mini-Morris-Delux-Heater_W0QQitemZ280248060226QQihZ018QQcategoryZ6763QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mini-Heater_W0QQitemZ170242562670QQihZ007QQcategoryZ6763QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i don't think i need an actual heater, and for it to aid summer cooling i'd sweat my arse off! which admittedly would help performance (power to weight ratio!) i'm thinking a core behind the grille, maybe with a tap to isolate then i can control the flow....

also oil coolers? are they a good idea?

The minimatic heater was open all the time and was ducted to outside the car when the heater was off and switched to windscreen or cabin when required. At least I think thats how it worked...
This would give you a second 'radiator' with the option of using it to heat in winter

I have seen an oil cooler attached to a grille as an aid in a cooling system, am informed it works exceptionally well, but have no proof or experience myself.
Another solution could be a thermofan.
I will say however if you have a 'uk 3 core' radiator, then swapping it to an aussie radiator could make all the difference.

Look at your radiator as well rather than just patching the cooling system with a heater core . How old is your radiator , take it out and get a radiator place to take the tanks off and rod it out , you'd be surprised how efficient a standard radiator is when it's really clean . I've had some pretty wild motors in the sub-tropic's and haven't had overheating problems (except for once and it was a blocked head) .

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Correct, almost....there is a flap in the unit itself that has 3 stages... Closed ( air just goes back into engine bay), 1st stage open (allows cool air into the cabin)...., 2nd stage open (allows heated air into the cabin)

There was another flap inside underneath the dash in the drivers footwell that allowed you to turn off air to the drivers feet and have it all go to demist windscreen

I fitted this to my LS and it works a treat. Yes, the main radiator has been overhauled but I did it just for that extra protection..

Smokie, you might need that extra cooling now that your domicile is FNQ not Far Southern Victoria.

Here's a variation on the same cooling theme - a small oil cooler plumbed into the coolant system and placed up behind the grill, successfully drops the temp about 5-10 degrees.

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Curly
'64 Cooper 'S' (Group Nb spec)
'67 Mini Marcos GT www.mm7056.wordpress.com

I have a heater matrix out of a corona plumbed in and it works fine, a big difference in temps. I take mine out in winter when I notice the car running too cold and put it back in during summer when it gets hot.

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

don't bother with the above options. I got a ST 2 core radiator from england. I live in temps where it regulary gets 45deg C + and my Cooper S can idle all day long and not get hot!! and runs cool all the time. Single radiator and no other plumbing and looks great in the engine bay! it will cost you about 45 pounds for a new one plus postage. Chaeap as

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I'm with Sports850...

When we brought Olli back from Geelong we had a long, tedious 10hr drive at 55mph as a result of the car getting hot - 4/5ths - 7/8ths of the gauge hot! Nothing like tootling along at 45mph on the Hume while the car cools down and big kick ar*e trucks overtake.

After discovering a stuck distributor advance, changing plugs, having him tuned properly and doing an in-situ radiator flush with only minimal improvement I coughed up the cash to have the radiator rodded out..

So we discovered that it was 40% blocked. Not good for any car and certainly not for a 40yr old automatic - cool climate or not.

It was so well blocked that they could only get it 80% clear so a re-core was done and now (and I know it is winter) the gauge sits exactly on 2/5ths - just where I want it....

The only trade off is that the heater isn't nearly as good.....

K

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1969 Morris 1100 S Automatic

ahhhh......the interior smell of an old British car....

The radiator is something most people don't think of and since it's sealed up you can't see just how bad it is . From memory the doc mentioned it cost him about $80 to get one rodded not long ago so that's bugger all really for the peace of mind it will give . A good mini radiator is up to the job but doesn't have much extra margin so once you start getting a few tubes blocked you're losing a lot of it's efficiency and then it can't cope with the heat .

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I wasn't looking forward to summer at all...

Just a note though. You may be able to get it rodded out for $80 but only if you remove it yourself and not if you live in Canberra where prices are just silly...

K

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1969 Morris 1100 S Automatic

ahhhh......the interior smell of an old British car....

Yeah , that was a price for dropping the radiator off at the radiator place , remioving and installing yourself . Hopefully the doc can give the details .

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