Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 DIY Urban Cooling Kit

Impressive stuff.

Was thinking the same thing ... nonetheless, very smartly done !

Thanks for the comments, one and all.

@Dan_L - I have run the fans for a while and looked at the current draw, which is indeed just around 4A. And you're right - this puppy pushes (in my case) around 400-450cfm of air according to the spec sheet. I will consider relays if the wiring takes a hit, but right now there's no sign of an issue and all wires, switches and connectors remain nicely cold.

WRT to positioning, it would have fitted behind the faux grill, or even of course in the under-bonnet area as well, but at that distance the effect of the air stream was slightly less (primarily because the air comes out in a cone shape and widens it's area with distance, so I wanted the fan as close to the engine as possible. That it is still pretty much hidden to most eyes even on the outside, made that an easy decision for me.

Re: the amount of air - it's pretty good actually and the hot air that gets forced through the engine and only your knees in front of the car is pretty significant (whilse wearing shorts, obviously....), so I am sure it will help. It's certainly much better than nothing.

WRT under-bonnet -ve pressure - that area really isn't sealed sufficiently well to make it a problem, as there's loads of access from the outside world in towards the fan around the bell-housing at the front of the chassis. It clearly does 'breath' well, as the exit air from the cowling is pretty warm, so it sure gathers energy as it passes the hot oil tank on its way through.

Were it not for the fact that the fan blade needs turned round as well as reversing the connections, to make it suck or blow, I'd rig up some method of making it directionally switchable, to blow oil-tank-heated air onto my feet. But as that's not possible, I'll just have to man up and wear more socks this winter!

"I'll just have to man up and wear more socks this winter!"

If your feet aren't too large, mine are an 8, I can recommend those sheepsking boots made by some Australian firm, Ugg or Celtic or something? But this is a whole new thread, isn't it?

Hi R1NGA,

on the pictures I realize that you have wrapped the front parts from the exhausts with some kind of 'Thermal' tape...is there an advantage by doing this ?...just curious, looks cool

cheers,
Smaug

Smaug, the simple answer is yes, there is an advantage in theory, but it also looks cool (and old school) which was my main driver!

Theory goes that if a header pipe is too cool, the exhaust gases nearest to the pipe walls will cool a little as well, causing a degree of turbulence within the flow and reducing the overall efficiency of the exhaust process. But if the headers are insulated then the temperature of the pipe walls remains higher, gas cooling is less, turbulence is less and flow is improved. However, this is probably more relevant to high rev'ing engines rather than big thumper twins I suspect, but there again our exhausts sit in a full hurricane wind most of the time, so the theory probably holds some water, even for us.

But they also look cool I think, make the car look even older and will save the odd burned finger or leg if bystanders get a little too close after a run.

Downsides are that they are buggers to fix properly, they get 'wind damaged' over time and will need re-wrapping eventually and you get itchy-scratchy little bits of fibreglass in your skin when fitting them if you're not careful and wear gloves!

There is a 'proper' procedure to follow when wrapping exhausts with fibre strip , as I found out when I did mine.
I cant find the link at the moment , but it was something like soak the strip in water for a few mins before fitting.
This helps the strip mould into shape and reduces the amount of fibres you get in your hands.
Tug it really tight so it binds well, start at the engine end , use a good overlap on the downward side( so it the overlap flares are away from the engine and on sharp bends you dont have any pipe peeking through ), try and keep the overlaps the same size and use stainless tie wraps to secure in place - one at the start and one at the end.
I wrapping stopped at the cat.
Let it dry overnight then paint with exhaust paint to colour of your choice - I painted mine white for a vintage look - my idea of vintage !
During the first run it smoked like mad - thought I was going to be pulled over at one point , but it soon settled down.
6 months / 2000 miles later still looks smart.
Try googling Harley exhaust wrap for more ideas.

nippymog, I beg to differ. Wrap from back to front, so that the wind can't get in between the turns. Otherwise the same - wet them, wrap hard and use gloves. Mine still smoke and smell at times, after at least a thousand miles.

Totally agree, start at the back with the wrapping. My mistake. A case of thinking one thing and writing the opposite without realising it!

That'll be why mine are starting to flare apart by the wind then! OK, next time I'll get it right. Agree about the smoking - quite alarming to me and more to the lady behind who looked as if she was calling the fire brigade....