Technical: Griffith header tank on V8S?

[marcello]

Hi Folks,

I just remounted the overhauled engine in my V8S and I want to continue with the cooling system. I had lots of cooling problems in the state my engine was. 'Fortunately' I've been able to remove lots of rust from the cooling system around the liners. So that should help. I also replaced the rusty pipes. I have 2 'idea's' to improve the cooling capacity of my V8S

1. Fit the header tank of a Griff on the same place as where it is mounted in a Griff (between chimney-exhaust and engine). It is a lot bigger than the original V8S header tank (=>More coolant, higher capacity) and it looks a lot nicer and is better situated than the original red beercan.
2. Fit 2 cooling fans next to each other on the engine side of the radiator. These fans will be switched on separately by a 'double' thermo switch, on different temperatures off course (eg on 82 and 88 degr.)

I've looked in the archives but did not find a topic about it. Did anyone 'implement' similar changes to his V8S?

Cheers,
Marcel Zwaneveld

[kevin secker]

Sorry I can't be of help but I am thinking of doing much the same when our new engine arrives. Please can you let me know how you get on? Best of luck.

Cheers

Kevin

[greenv8s]

Last year I replaced the V8S cooling system with a substantially uprated version - roughly double the original cooling capacity. To be honest though if the original system is in good order it should be perfectly adequate for a standard engine in normal conditions.

[granty]

Last year I had a bit of trouble with my V8S when the fan failed and engine overheated slightly whilst sitting on the drive. All due to a u/s otter (fan) switch. At the same time I had a small leak on the bottom of the rad, so I whipped it off to my local Serk Marston depot and they recored it, but you can fit in an extra core into the original frame (from 2 to 3). So this was done all for about £130. Just for info the tvr rad came from leyland daf, but they themselves sourced it originally from peugeot!! Also fitted new silicone hoses from ACT, I gave them the dimensions for V8S's so other people can source. Car temps have been better since with still original fan set-up. No further probs.

[shpub]

If you want better cooling to cope with a more powerful engine, look to increasing the rad's cooling capability. The header tank size won't make that much difference.

BTW the rad is sourced from Daf etc. Be very careful.... this doesn't mean that they are drop in replacements. Yes the cores etc are fairly standard but the pipe work isn't and it gets a bit embarassing when things don't fit. Getting a recore is often the best way forward as at least you know that the pipework will be correct.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[joospeed]

I too had my rad recored with an extra core, best 100 pounds i ever spent, std fan, std hoses, std thermostat .. no overheating probs even on that very hot day last year at Mania.
Extra cored rad the way to go

[marcello]

shpub said:

If you want better cooling to cope with a more powerful engine, look to increasing the rad's cooling capability.

I had the rad recored last year with a 'tropic' core, but afterwards it still overheated in traffic jams in very hot weather.No problems at all during normal driving. Because I had a lot of rust in my cooling system (former owner user water with anti freeze)I think that the flow of the coolant was too slow. It should be better now.

Regards,
Marcel

[greenv8s]

Make sure the stat is opening fully.

Make sure the radiator has been bled - it needs to be done regularly or air will inevitably collect there.

Before fitting extra fans, add ducting to stop hot air coming off the rad from being sucked back into the fan. Cooling is far more sensitive to air temperature than air speed.

You can go to multiple cores (mine was triple) for a relatively small gain, or an alloy rad for a much bigger gain - and cost. Alloy rads come with much higher fin density (the V8S original rad was designed for off-roading with extra large fins to avoid getting blocked with mud!), better thermal conduction, less restriction on the air *and* water flows and generally better all round. But you would need to either get a custom one made to fit or (what I did) change the radiator layout completely.

You can add extra fans, I have added the biggest fan Pacet do which will shortly be replaced by two slighty smaller fans for even more cooling, and you can add an electric water pump to improve water flow at idle (which is the worst case).

But bear in mind my system is designed to cope with a lot more heat output than you'll have, really you don't need to consider anything this extreme for a standard car and the original system should be fine as long as it is in good condition.