Hi there,

In my seemingly neverending quest to solve overheating problems in my mini, I have replaced the following (in no particular order):

Water pump
Radiator
Thermostat (+housing)
Temp sender
Head gasket
All hoses

After doing this (and learning a lot ) I have the following position of the radiator and fan:





My questions are: 1) Is the large gap between the radiator and wall an issue for cooling, and would it need a different top bracket to fix it? The top currently leans in slightly towards the engine.
2) The fan is sticking out of the shroud towards the engine a little too much for my liking. I assume this could substantially affect cooling? It already has one spacer, can a second be added to help rectify this?

If these things are not going to affect the cooling ability of the car very much, I am at a loss as to what is causing it to overheat all the time.

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'77 Leyland Mini Van

The gaps are not a problem.

For full efficiency, the fan should have a spacer beneath the pulley to push it deeper into the cowl. The back (engine) side of the fan should be nearly flush with the cowl. This limits the high pressure side bleeding back out through the blade tips.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

It appears to Me that You may not have a Clubman type top bracket
they are a bit longer AYG2247, The spacer mentioned above is the Aluminium type

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" A Hundred Years From Now It will not Matter what my Bank Acount Was,
The Sort Of House I Lived in, Or The Kind Of Car I drove ... But The World May Be A Better Place
Because I was Once Important In The Life Of A Child"

yep, John has it right
you need the clubman/Leyland mini type (longer) top bracket & the wide alloy spacer under/behind the fan

& we usually use single sided sticky-foam to seal up the gap between the rad shroud & the rad.

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Thanks for all the advice! I'll add another spacer/replace the existing with a thicker one and put something in the gap, if only to hide it a little! Hopefully she will run slightly cooler

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'77 Leyland Mini Van

I would be changing the top bracket When You put a bigger spacer in

_________________
" A Hundred Years From Now It will not Matter what my Bank Acount Was,
The Sort Of House I Lived in, Or The Kind Of Car I drove ... But The World May Be A Better Place
Because I was Once Important In The Life Of A Child"

Ah yes, I forgot to list that, but fully intended to do it!

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'77 Leyland Mini Van