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+--- Thread: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator (/showthread.php?tid=9904)
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Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Martin Baker - 19-03-2025
Having boiled 5/6 times on the way to Curborough and back I've decided to bite the bullet and get my radiator recored.
Before selling a kidney or so, I thought I should check I am starting with a correct rad. My suspicions are that it is in fact an early version due to the lower outlet pipe angle and is solid brass rivetted on. Has anyone a photo of a correct Sports rad?
Perhaps someone has a duff rad they would be willing to sell?
Photos of current rad attached.
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Peter Butler - 19-03-2025
or 2?
Peter Butler
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Tony Griffiths - 20-03-2025
It was good to see the two Speedies side-by-side at Curborough. If the radiator fits, it might just be best to have it recorded? One wonders if a Speedy radiator is specific to the car in some detail way, and so not the same as Nippy/65?
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Mike Costigan - 20-03-2025
The 1937 Nippy parts list quotes 9E103 and 1A825 as alternative part numbers, which suggests the Sports radiator is common, or at least interchangeable, with the non-sports early radiator.
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - dickie65 - 21-03-2025
I would not worry about the top and bottom tanks being 100 percent correct as long as they are in good condition and fit the car.
My new radiator for the EB65 was over £800 Original pattern core though ( About four years ago )
My top tank is incorrect as it has a screwed cap on it which has been on the car since the 1960s.
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Malcolm Parker - 23-03-2025
Looking at your radiator, which looks undamaged, I think I would see if it could be flushed out with something to dissolve the internal lime deposit.
I used to have some liquid that was used to clean the toilets in a Nottingham school. Before you ask me how I got it, the chap who restored my Austin had previously been a teacher.
I don't know what the chemical was but if you briefly dipped a heavily corroded piece of non-ferrous metal into it, it would come out gleaming like new.
Worth trying before shelling out £800?
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Chris KC - 23-03-2025
Having boiled 5/6 times on the way to Curborough and back I've decided to bite the bullet and get my radiator recored.
Have you looked at your block and manifolding? I would certainly do so before shelling out the better part of £1000 on a new radiator (yours looks pretty good to me).
One thing I've found in the past is that if you use a radiator flushing chemical (e.g. as sold by Halfords) it may clean the radiator and cooling passages, but all the debris then collects in and obstructs the side water manifold, and will not be shifted no matter what you do with hosepipes. It needs to be removed and physically scraped out.
Getting your block cooling passages clean means having the engine apart, but the improvement to cooling can be dramatic - depends how bad it was to start with.
Also check your hoses aren't kinked - the bottom hose on A7's is often "pinched". I had one made up with a bend in it for about a tenner.
If after all that you still feel the radiator is underperforming, call Lincolnshire Radiators and have a chat. They will bend over backwards to help you and I imagine they have the means to dip and clean yours (and seal up any leaks which might result), worth a shot prior to a re-core.
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Martin Baker - 23-03-2025
Chris
Thanks for the suggestions.
To clarify:
- the block was a new Tony Bett about 3000 miles ago
- the lower hose is a special silicone version with a 45 degree bend to avoid kinking and restricting flow
- a four blade fan is fitted
I got the Speedy on the road 25 years ago and in the subsequent 20,000 miles it has always had a tendency to overheat. The only thing I haven't changed is the radiator. All the advice I have seen on the forum is that it is nearly impossible to unclog a choked radiator by chemical means. Happy to be disabused.
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Malcolm Parker - 23-03-2025
It would be good to establish whether the overheating is due to the cooling system or another factor. It looks likely that the block and hoses etc are okay and I would not write the radiator off just yet. If the water isn't circulating properly, that leaves little else other than the cylinder head. I would whip it off and check for blockages. I had one where a flake of rust was acting like a butterfly valve in the outlet. Might be worth fitting a known head just to see if it makes a difference.
With the head off you will also be able to get a good idea on whether the mixture is right. I run on an SU and on the rare occasions that it runs hot I find that if I enrich the mixture by just one flat on the adjusting nut it will cure the problem. So my engine, at least, is very sensitive to the slightest change in mixture. I always run on super unleaded (E5). If I were to use normal supermarket unleaded the engine would overheat and the mixture would need to be made richer by two flats. It would still run hot compared to running on the super unleaded.
As a true Yorkshireman I would explore every avenue before shelling out serious money!
RE: Sports (Nippy/Speedy) Radiator - Greig Smith - 23-03-2025
Martin before you start delving into the engine, there's a very simple trick to check what is circulating in your coolant system.
Drain the radiator, remove the top hose at the head fitting and using the handle of a screwdriver, push a short length of ladies stocking up the hose, wrap the open end over the hose, refit to the head & put the clamp over the stocking & hose. Refill the radiator with water and go for a good drive to get the engine nicely hot. Watch for any signs of boiling.
Back home, allow to cool a bit, drain the radiator and then remove the stocking - the microfine filter catches everything that's circulating in the system. if it's fairly clogged there's a good chance the big flakes / chunks / particles are in the header tank blocking the cooling tubes. A good radiator place can take the top and bottom tanks off and rod out the core for you.
Problem with cooling systems is that as soon as the water stops circulating, the detritus settles and almost immediately sludges and refuses to drain out or be flushed out. It circulates only when hot which is why the stocking trick works, but you must insert it into the bottom of the top hose so it sits inside the smooth bore of the hose, if you fit it at the top, the direction of the flow blows it into the header tank and it snags on the sharp edges of the core tubes.... guess how I know.
Aye
Greig