Triumph Sports Cars

I have a 1980 TR8 with the 3.5L motor that has been doctored a little by Woody at the Wedge Shop. The problem I have is that I live in Georgia and the summers here get very hot and humid. My TR8 does fine on the open highway, but in town, with the stop and go traffic it will overheat very quickly. We have the electric fans in behind the radiator, but they are blowing into the radiator, not sucking the air through the radiator (it was set up that way when we purchased the car 4 years ago). It has the 4 core radiator and it has been checked and is in perfect working condition. The car is missing the bottom front spoiler due to our driveway, which keeps dragging it off. And forget about trying to run the air conditioning -- even on the open road it will overheat if I turn it on for more than 30 minutes. Which is another problem, even after being charged, the A/C will only blow cool (not cold) air for about 20 or 30 minutes then it is just slightly cooler than the air outside, which isn't enough to be comfortable with the windows up. However when it rains, the windows have to go up and the interior becomes a sweat box. So due to these problems, I don't use the A/C, but would really like to since I would like to enjoy my car more than just Spring and Fall.

Hopefully someone will have some suggestions as to how we can resolve these problems.

Getting the electric fans to pull air through the radiator the right way should be as simple as reversing the wires into each motor. There's just two wires for each motor. Probably someone carelessly connected the two wires backwards once upon a time.

That will probably help a lot, but for extra credit (and even better fan performance) another idea is to reduce electrical resistance in the fan circuit(s) by one or both of the following two methods:

(1) replace the fan wires with larger diameter and/or shorter wires,

(2) if the fans are turned on an off directly by a switch or by a thermostat, consider adding a relay (i.e. remote switch) into the circuit.

Generally, resistance in any circuit is a function of wire diameter, wire length, number of interconnections between "terminals" or "contacts", and how physically clean the terminals/contacts actually are. By eliminating resistance in the circuit, you actually make more power available for the motors and free them to move more air!

You should address your cooling as a system and they all need to work together.
1) follow Curtis's step and get the electric fans working for you not against you. They need to help the air thru the radiator not fight against it.
2) check your thermostat, do you have the correct one for your driving conditions. Based on your location, I would say a 170, not a 200 or 210. Also check that it is installed correctly.
3) check your hoses, as the water temp changes, weak old hoses will collapse and restrict your water flow. (its very hard to detect)I would install ALL new.
4) your driving a WEDGE and there is a reason for the front spoiler, to help direct air up towards the radiator and create some down force. I would also look at your radiator and see if you can install a shroud. The more air that is moving around your radiator and not thru it impacts your cooling.
5) get Roger Williams book on the TR7/8, a great resource. (see the section below that references overheating)

[books.google.com]

Sorry, I'm not an AC person, but it sounds like the condenser or expansion valve, but I would wait till others on the forum chime in on this one.

Well if the fan's blowing instead of sucking, then it's blowing hot air from the rad over the condensor - which is right in front of the rad. That's not going to help much. Rewire the fans as a first step...

most electric fans require the blade to be switched the other way as well as reversing the polarity, the fan running backwards if it is a pusher will not be efficiant if it was meant to be a sucker

the big name fans like Hayden and Perma Cool are not usually reversable

are your fans factory? the factory ones on AC cars ran two speeds if the Ac was on the high speed would come on

you need the spolier and the cardboard pieces between the radiator and the body too, I had overheating issues with my TR8 and solved it by making sure everything was intact

If you can, post lots of pictures. They're worth a thousand words each! Maybe they'll help us spot something that's amiss or missing.

I agree with all said by others.
Here are a few more thoughts -

Re AC:
1. If your AC only runs cool after a few days, you have a leak in the system.
2. You might also want replace your compressor with one from a late model V6 Camaro or Firebird. It's a rotary design that is smaller, lighter, requires less HP to drive and has greater output.
3. Add a set of footwell vents from a non-AC TR7. Easy to do and makes a huge difference with the top up.

Re cooling:

1. Fan should only push air if it is in front of the rad.
2. make sheet metal or plastic shrouds to funnel air through the rad.
3. I've seen home made air dams/scoops under the front bumper that look good, work well, and are high enough not to be torn off by your driveway eregonomics. Be sure to include vents to push some of the air towards your brakes.
4. Have your block professionally flushed. If a P.O. used the wrong coolant, you may have a significant build up within the passages restricting flow and thus cooling ability.
5. In addition to a 170 thermostat, you might try retarding your timing a few degrees (but not so it detonates). It's an old timer's trick to help the engine run a bit cooler.

M.