Cooling System Updated (Again!)

1. As advised by Tiger I originally ran the car with no thermostat and no bypass plumbing.  I understand this is a fairly standard set up for race cars.  However, if quickly became apparent that the engine was being over cooled.
2. My next configuration had a thermostat with a 3mm hole in it as a bypass.  This worked very well all summer - the engine stayed at a constant 88oC, unless the fan needed to cut in.
3. Once the cold mornings of autumn arrived the engine started to run cool again.  Things were fine at lower speeds, but once there was a significant air flow through the radiator the coolant temperature struggled to maintain 80+ oC.  So I decided to introduce a full bypass pipe and fit a thermostat with no bypass hole.  To do this I had to fit a thermostat housing from an earlier Silvertop Zetec.  This was necessary in order to fit the coolant temperature sensor in a place where it would get a reading prior to the thermostat opening (as the Blacktop Zetec housing has no sensor holes and I'd previously had the coolant sensor in the main pipe to the radiator).  This set up generally worked very well, but there was one problem: somehow air from the expansion tank would make its way to the top of the radiator, which is higher than the pipe that feeds it from the thermostat housing.  A little bit of air would get trapped there each time the engine was run until there was sufficient air there for the flow of coolant to break down - not good.
4. So one more modification and hopefully the final configuration.  A 8mm hose barb was welded on to the top of the radiator and plumbed into the pipe joining the thermostat housing to the expansion tank. Now all works well.  Any air can return to the top of the system and an added bonus is that the hole coolant system is now self bleeding, which will help when I come to renew the coolant at future services.

Here is a schematic of my final cooling configuration:

8mm hose barb welded in to the top of the radiator.  It is just above parallel with the ground.  This is to allow it and the pipe to fit under the curvature of the nosecone.

Full routing of the new pipework (apologies for the poor quality mobile phone pictures, must use the proper camera next time).

C-shaped brackets were fabricated from aluminium strip.  These were fixed under the camshaft cover bolts and rubber lined p-clips were riveted to them.

Clutch Cable

With the Tiger floor mounted pedals the brake pipes are routed along the lower chassis rail.  Unfortunately this is where the clutch cable would normally be tethered.  There is pretty much only one routing where the clutch cable does not foul the brake pipes - that is in a vertical curve.

I fabricated two brackets and used rubber lined p-clips to hold the clutch cable in this configuration.  The clutch action seems nice and smooth and the cable stays clear of the brake pipes, oil filter and lower steering column.

This large bracket came in a multi-pack from Screwfix.  It is normally used to hold kitchen cupboards together.  After adding a 90 degree bend in the vice it is just right for the job.

Brake pipes fitted

Front and rear brake pipes fitted using 'p-clips' and rivets. Brake light switch and brake fluid reservoir also fitted to master cylinder. Bleed screw to be added to upper front hole later. The rear brake pipe is connected to the master cylinder via a compensator, which reduces the braking effort on the back wheels.


The front brake pipes will be cut to length once the exact position of the braided flexi hoses is established. After cutting the ends will need re-flaring with the appropriate tool.