Hello David:
Please pass this to John and tell him that thank hime for his advices.
Actually it was Andy , but David is also a good friend!
Here is the advice from John in the overnight email/
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G'day Andy, as before, I can't help much without knowing the car.
But a few observations:
If the problem has occurred only after the radiator was rebuilt, that is the first thing to suspect. Depending on what was done there could be gunk inside the top tank (loose solder etc) fouling the downtubes. I suggest he pull it out , upend and reverse flush it. He should disconnect the two headlight brackets on the front upper suspension cross tube holding on the headlight bar, drop these resting on a blanket or something, remove the bonnet, undo the bolts (should be one at the top and one each side at the bottom) which hold the radiator in, also the hoses, and then lift it out. At a pinch it may be removable without dropping the headlights but the lower outlet pipe on the radiator may inhibit this, also it's not worth risking damaging the fins on the fan. As well as reverse flushing the radiator, reverse flush the block.
When he replaces the radiator, refer him to the spring-loaded system for the lower bolts detailed on "Morganatica".
While he has the radiator out, check that there is no blockage (i.e. a piece of errant cloth or gunk) in the inlet/outlet hoses and water manifolds. If the overheating correlates with the engine rebuild, check the fit of the small gaskets on the top of the cylinder head for the water outlet manifold _ these can be a bit fiddly, but only do this after a test drive. Another thing is that after the engine rebuild, if not many miles up, things may still be a bit tight, causing hotter running.
On the advice given it seems unlikely that the head gasket has blown. There is a problem with the Standard Special engine blowing head gaskets, however. Cylinders 1 and 2, also 3 and 4, are siamised with little distance between them. This is a design fault common to quite a number of British designs, and in the case of the Series 1 and some others, it can lead to burning through of the gasket at this point. It's because with the lack of cooling this area of the engine gets hotter than elsewhere. There is considerable loss of power, but no evidence of either water in the oil or bubbling in the radiator. If he wants to he can test for this with a compression gauge, the readings should be even and around 125psi or better. Ultimately, the only solution if this problem develops is to dismantle the engine, surface grind the head and block, and glue the new head gasket down with one of the special copper-based products designed for this purpose. Note also that the new composite gaskets use a different substance to asbestos and need a rather more complicated retensioning procedure after they've run for a little while.
Interestingly, when Standard designed this engine, they used bore centres corresponding to the Flying Standard 8 engine rather than the Standard 10 unit. While both these side valve engines were fully water-jacketed, it meant the bore dimensions in the Standard Special (which uses the Standard 10 pistons) became too close together to allow it. This spare parts bin approach to engine design also meant use of the 8 crankshaft, and the one from the 10 won't fit except with modifications to the centre connecting rods, which theoretically at least is also not a good idea.
Finally, perhaps should have been first, operating temperatures for this engine are relatively high. 95 to 98 degrees C is about the norm. He could perhaps run it and see if it actually does start to go much over 100 or start to boil. If he is still worried, and everything else checks out, he might consider fitting a Davies Craig water pump. I've had one in my '49 car for over ten years now and it doesn't run over 80 degrees C. It's a bit of a juggle to fit in and needs also the control rheostat. One will also go in the '36 car, when I don't know given its funereal progress.
Can't think of anything else for the moment.
Best regards
John
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Plenty to think about there Gonzalo
