My brother in law has an E type V12 that gets very hot every time he uses it, its 32 years old and is on the original radiator he reckons, every time it boils he tops it up, it isnt used very often but always gets too hot, trouble is that the coolant has only ever (for at least 10 years) been topped up with tap water, i.e. no anti freeze. Its kept under cover in a heated room so it wont freeze but what damage will this have done.

I am assuming that the rad is knackered and the cooling system is sludged up, this without the anti freeze properties will cause the heat problem.

Any info gratefully received or any suitable forums.

 

Stuck thermostat? Radiator in need of a flush? Fan working? Water pump working properly?

Has he checked them?

 

Alloy heads. Tap water will start to corrode them when it is standing and begin to block the water ways.

A flush may make the problem lessen, but some cars need the heads grinding and rewelding.

Source of information: A car is reborn CD.

And, I remember people complaining of the same problem on Stags.

 

That was because Stag and Dolomite engines were only half developed by BL; the final development was conducted by their customers.....

My father had an original yellow and black Dolomite Sprint made just after they stopped calling it the Dolomite 135 (they couldnt maintain the tolerances) and it went like ****-off-a-shovel for a good 500 miles after a service.....

Simon

 

Then the head gasket blew, the head warped, and once you had paid to get that lot fixed, you found that the sills had dissolved.

Yes, I owned one

 

Our E-type (1 owner) gets hot then fries the ignition pack, so won't restart for about 20 minutes. Very embarrasing (sp?) when getting petrol!

As mentioned before you need anti-freeze to stop corrosion.

Check you have the right rad cap on, there are 3 different ones.

HTH
Steve W