The English Corvette - Our Triumph TR8

[hjames]

The fan is a PULLER by default, installed on the front of the radiator some time before we bought the car, working backwards from expected! WTF!

Anyway, its 74 degrees - a loverly cool morning! With the install kit from Tom, and help from Emma, we managed to get the fan mounted on the Motor side of the radiator. Haven't done a test drive yet, but all looks great and temp checks show it IS cooling. It hasn't got hot enough to actuate the heat switch for the fan, but we tested it in the manual ON position, and confirmed the fan pulls across the radiator toward the motor now!
I have not changed the thermostat from the 180 I installed August 2025 to the 160 degree I bought recently.
I did buy a thermometer from Amazon and Emma has been checking the temp as the car warms up

In place before I began today's work (wishing I had a garage!)


Fan on the motor side (no shroud available) Coil removed for clearance while I worked


Front of the radiator showing the cushion mounts


Showing the fan pulled the cardboard HARD against the radiator now!


Emma's action shot of me as I finished up and snipped the cable ties


Emma using the digital thermometer watching the heat move around the system

 

[spicer]

The fan is a PULLER by default, installed on the front of the radiator some time before we bought the car, working backwards from expected! WTF!

Anyway, its 74 degrees - a loverly cool morning! With the install kit from Tom, and help from Emma, we managed to get the fan mounted on the Motor side of the radiator. Haven't done a test drive yet, but all looks great and temp checks show it IS cooling. It hasn't got hot enough to actuate the heat switch for the fan, but we tested it in the manual ON position, and confirmed the fan pulls across the radiator toward the motor now!
I have not changed the thermostat from the 180 I installed August 2025 to the 160 degree I bought recently.
I did buy a thermometer from Amazon and Emma has been checking the temp as the car warms up
View attachment 3806197
In place before I began today's work (wishing I had a garage!)

View attachment 3806191
Fan on the motor side (no shroud available) Coil removed for clearance while I worked

View attachment 3806192
Front of the radiator showing the cushion mounts

View attachment 3806190
Showing the fan pulled the cardboard HARD against the radiator now!

View attachment 3806196
Emma's action shot of me as I finished up and snipped the cable ties

View attachment 3806189
Emma using the digital thermometer watching the heat move around the system

You will notice a difference.

 

[gadget73]

If it was pulling air though the radiator on the front side that can't have been working well. Maybe at idle but once moving it would have just been fighting normal air flow. Moving air in the correct direction has to be an improvement.

 

[spicer]

If it was pulling air though the radiator on the front side that can't have been working well. Maybe at idle but once moving it would have just been fighting normal air flow. Moving air in the correct direction has to be an improvement.

I'm thinking the direction of rotation, polarity was correct for pusher arrangement, otherwise would be grossly incompetent by the original installer. But, pulling is a whole lot different than pushing in terms of airflow through the radiator. Pushers are auxiliary, also improve A/C efficiency if equipped.

 

[peterp1]

The fan is a PULLER by default, installed on the front of the radiator some time before we bought the car, working backwards from expected! WTF!

Anyway, its 74 degrees - a loverly cool morning! With the install kit from Tom, and help from Emma, we managed to get the fan mounted on the Motor side of the radiator. Haven't done a test drive yet, but all looks great and temp checks show it IS cooling. It hasn't got hot enough to actuate the heat switch for the fan, but we tested it in the manual ON position, and confirmed the fan pulls across the radiator toward the motor now!
I have not changed the thermostat from the 180 I installed August 2025 to the 160 degree I bought recently.
I did buy a thermometer from Amazon and Emma has been checking the temp as the car warms up

In place before I began today's work (wishing I had a garage!)


Fan on the motor side (no shroud available) Coil removed for clearance while I worked


Front of the radiator showing the cushion mounts


Showing the fan pulled the cardboard HARD against the radiator now!

Emma's action shot of me as I finished up and snipped the cable ties


Emma using the digital thermometer watching the heat move around the system

It was a good move to not install the 160 degree, as others have said (it shouldn't be needed and could cause other issues)

It was an even better move to wear a Lotus shirt while repairing your British car, because no matter how bad the issue is, it reminds you how much worse it could have been

 

[hjames]

I'm thinking the direction of rotation, polarity was correct for pusher arrangement, otherwise would be grossly incompetent by the original installer. But, pulling is a whole lot different than pushing in terms of airflow through the radiator. Pushers are auxiliary, also improve A/C efficiency if equipped.

Yep, some squid had it arse backwards when we got the car!
It was in PULLER config but in FRONT of the radiator, so its been wrong for the whole time we owned it and for the previous owner as well.
I did NOT change the wiring polarity or flip the fan on the motor - all we did was remove the fan assembly, still in Puller mode, and reinstall it behind the radiator,
on the motor side, where it should have been all along.
Its not a stupid hot day, 80 degrees now, but we just did a 20 mile loop around Fairfax and Vienna. Some bumper to bumper and it mostly showed 3/8 temp, occasionally going to 1/2 at stoplights, then watched it lowering back to 3/8 once we started moving. Proper behavior.
Stopped at Pure Pasty in Vienna to grab their award winning Pasties (menu changes on Thursdays) - take home & freeze for a quick meal later at some date.
Then drove to a local Public House, The Hawk & Griffin, for brunch - a scotch eggs, Welsh rarebit, fish and chips for Emma, and a couple draft beers
to celebrate our success (Old Speckled hen, a "Hawk & Griffin" local draft, and Emma liked my Speckled Hen enough she had a 2nd)
I was driving, so 1 beer for me was fine!







Had no idea we'd go to the Hawk & Griffin pub today when I put the shirt on this morning -
I just wanted a clean black T shirt that wasn't falling apart like so many do!

 

[hjames]

It was a good move to not install the 160 degree, as others have said (it shouldn't been needed and could cause other issues)

It was an even better move to wear a Lotus shirt while repairing your British car, because no matter how bad the issue is, it reminds you how much worse it could have been

I had originally thought I'd get a Super 7 clone of some kind - then Tom in Md took us for a ride in his TR8 July '24 and my direction shifted.
Colin said "The Super 7 is the closest you can get to a motorcycle on 4 wheels "... but TRouble is just not that spartan
- m'gad, she even has a top that's fairly easy to open and close - and doesn't leak along the windshield like my '63 Giulia did!
... and has a few beans when I push the loud pedal ... lotsa fun!


And, unlike the SuperSeven or even the TR6, the TR8 is roomier - a better fit for wide-bodied Americans ...

 

[peterp1]

I had originally thought I'd get a Super 7 clone of some kind - then Tom in Md took us for a ride in his TR8 July '24 and my direction shifted.
Colin said "The Super 7 is the closest you can get to a motorcycle on 4 wheels "... but TRouble is just not that spartan
- m'gad, she even has a top that's fairly easy to open and close - and doesn't leak along the windshield like my '63 Giulia did!
... and has a few beans when I push the loud pedal ... lotsa fun!

View attachment 3806423

In my view, your TR8 is almost impossible to beat for how you are using it. Too vintage and too raw gets difficult to really use -- the car beats you up a quite a bit by the time you drive a long distance to get to events (voice of experience). The Lotus 7 is about as bare bones as you can get -- immensely cool -- but you couldn't do what you're doing with the TR8. Some creature comforts and the grunt/torque and sound of the V8 are hard to beat -- you found a great example and it seems to look better and better every time you post.

I've long wanted a Europa TC Special (I don't like the early Europa body style) -- which would fall somewhere between the 7 and the TR8 livability wise (probably closer to the 7). I've had the willpower to not buy any Lotus despite my desire for one. They're not expensive to buy, but NEEDY!! I'm normally an originality freak, but I'd only pull the trigger on a Europa if it's been engine-swapped with something appropriate (e.g. a Toyota/Honda 4-cylinder, had all of the frailties taken care of, and has A/C fitted). I saw once such car for sale a while ago, but didn't have garage space for it at the time.

If you bought any Lotus -- you have to rename it from "TRouble" to TROUBLE!!!

The newer Lotus are pretty reliable -- I don't like the Elise/Exige much -- but the Evora is very cool. I love the Emira also -- good to see a new higher-end sports car that still has manual and is not overly complex.

A guy I bought a car from previously just sent me a Lotus 7 in inventory (Restoration and Performance Motorcars - INVENTORY) -- it's a pretty cool car. The sold Evora on that page is also nice.

 

[Christian B]

Having driven a Super 7 I have to agree. At 6' with size 12s it definitely was not designed with me in mind.

 

[spicer]

I had originally thought I'd get a Super 7 clone of some kind - then Tom in Md took us for a ride in his TR8 July '24 and my direction shifted.
Colin said "The Super 7 is the closest you can get to a motorcycle on 4 wheels "... but TRouble is just not that spartan
- m'gad, she even has a top that's fairly easy to open and close - and doesn't leak along the windshield like my '63 Giulia did!
... and has a few beans when I push the loud pedal ... lotsa fun!

View attachment 3806423
And, unlike the SuperSeven or even the TR6, the TR8 is roomier - a better fit for wide-bodied Americans ...

Yep, some squid had it arse backwards when we got the car!
It was in PULLER config but in FRONT of the radiator, so its been wrong for the whole time we owned it and for the previous owner as well.
I did NOT change the wiring polarity or flip the fan on the motor - all we did was remove the fan assembly, still in Puller mode, and reinstall it behind the radiator,
on the motor side, where it should have been all along.
Its not a stupid hot day, 80 degrees now, but we just did a 20 mile loop around Fairfax and Vienna. Some bumper to bumper and it mostly showed 3/8 temp, occasionally going to 1/2 at stoplights, then watched it lowering back to 3/8 once we started moving. Proper behavior.
Stopped at Pure Pasty in Vienna to grab their award winning Pasties (menu changes on Thursdays) - take home & freeze for a quick meal later at some date.
Then drove to a local Public House, The Hawk & Griffin, for brunch - a scotch eggs, Welsh rarebit, fish and chips for Emma, and a couple draft beers
to celebrate our success (Old Speckled hen, a "Hawk & Griffin" local draft, and Emma liked my Speckled Hen enough she had a 2nd)
I was driving, so 1 beer for me was fine!
View attachment 3806345
View attachment 3806417
View attachment 3806347
View attachment 3806348
View attachment 3806349
View attachment 3806350

Had no idea we'd go to the Hawk & Griffin pub today when I put the shirt on this morning -
I just wanted a clean black T shirt that wasn't falling apart like so many do!

Well, comments about how it would act with the fan blowing against the road draft were correct but honestly it seemed a bit incredulous, hard to believe, that anyone installing it would have it, essentially, running backwards. I'm surprised it didn't overhear at speed more than it did. Glad you got it worked out.

Nice adventure and enjoyed the pictures. Take care.

 

[hjames]

Agreed - its just hard to believe that someone would have installed the fan so it functioned backwards. I was figuring every other possibility ---
but, we don't drive the car in traffic, and at speed, the airflow was enough to overcome the fan flow.
But the club did a ride through a brutal hot day in June - and when traffic backed up a bit, the problem arose.
Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it over the next couple months - August and early September can be brutal too!

 

[spicer]

Agreed - its just hard to believe that someone would have installed the fan so it functioned backwards. I was figuring every other possibility ---
but, we don't drive the car in traffic, and at speed, the airflow was enough to overcome the fan flow.
But the club did a ride through a brutal hot day in June - and when traffic backed up a bit, the problem arose.
Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it over the next couple months - August and early September can be brutal too!

Yes, hard to believe. Who doesn't put their hand in the air stream to feel it after installation, such a natural thing to do. It ought be super good now.

 

[kirk57]

Having driven a Super 7 I have to agree. At 6' with size 12s it definitely was not designed with me in mind.

Colin Chapman was not a tall person, and it shows in the cars he built. My neighbor had a Lotus Europa; I’m 6’1” and could not fit in the thing.

 

[hjames]

Since we are considering some shows a bit far from home, I did a Hot Day test drive today. 91 degrees and very muggy - top down motoring between noon and 2PM.
Club member was selling off his stash of Whitworth wrenches and sockets and - perfect for old British Motorcycles ands cars (not TRouble - standard tools are great for her).
Anyway - TRouble did great - ran at 1/4 levels most of the day - hit 1/3 at higher speeds on Rt 66, got caught in some multicycle long lights and she never hit 1/2!



Of course at highway speeds she's barely ticking over in 5th gear

 

[grey]

Yes, hard to believe. Who doesn't put their hand in the air stream to feel it after installation, such a natural thing to do. It ought be super good now.

Agree. If I can't feel flow at the back of the engine bay in the heat of summer for my old fan clutch junk, the clutch or cooling stack is suspect.

 

[spicer]

Since we are considering some shows a bit far from home, I did a Hot Day test drive today. 91 degrees and very muggy - top down motoring between noon and 2PM.
Club member was selling off his stash of Whitworth wrenches and sockets and - perfect for old British Motorcycles ands cars (not TRouble - standard tools are great for her).
Anyway - TRouble did great - ran at 1/4 levels most of the day - hit 1/3 at higher speeds on Rt 66, got caught in some multicycle long lights and she never hit 1/2!
View attachment 3815185
View attachment 3815186
View attachment 3815187
Of course at highway speeds she's barely ticking over in 5th gear

There you go!

 

[prww]

I had a friend with a 1956 Chevy. A local shop installed AC for him with an electric fan in front of the radiator. Belted fan was still behind the radiator. It was overheating. As we stood in front of the car with the hood up and engine running, I could feel the hot air blowing on my legs. Unplugged the fan and reversed the plug. No more hot air on the legs, and no more overheating. Both fans now working together. Heather, Is it now "No more TRouble??" Paul.

 

[hjames]

I had a friend with a 1956 Chevy. A local shop installed AC for him with an electric fan in front of the radiator. Belted fan was still behind the radiator. It was overheating. As we stood in front of the car with the hood up and engine running, I could feel the hot air blowing on my legs. Unplugged the fan and reversed the plug. No more hot air on the legs, and no more overheating. Both fans now working together. Heather, Is it now "No more TRouble??" Paul.

Seems like that problem is resolved!!
But ... it IS a British car ... saying "no More Trouble" is asking a bit much!
...
I was driving in a rural neighborhood today and I saw a car on a sidestreet - so, I tapped the horn (end of the left stalk off the steering column)
- and - the ignition died, tach went all weird! I let off the horn and everything was fine. Tapped it again and - engine died - resumed as soon as I released it!
A mile or so later I tried again - and - the horn button resulted in Horn sound and the engine was undisturbed!!
Hey, its got Lucas Electrics - bound to be some odd stuff now and then! Said a prayer and got home just fine!

 

[GordonW]

Seems like that problem is resolved!!
But ... it IS a British car ... saying "no More Trouble" is asking a bit much!
...
I was driving in a rural neighborhood today and I saw a car on a sidestreet - so, I tapped the horn (end of the left stalk off the steering column)
- and - the ignition died, tach went all weird! I let off the horn and everything was fine. Tapped it again and - engine died - resumed as soon as I released it!
A mile or so later I tried again - and - the horn button resulted in Horn sound and the engine was undisturbed!!
Hey, its got Lucas Electrics - bound to be some odd stuff now and then! Said a prayer and got home just fine!

Could be those crazy British, putting the horn and the ignition coil on the same fuse...

Regards.
Gordon.

 

[gadget73]

yeah high resistance somewhere might have drug the coil voltage down too much. Horns pull a pretty good amount of current.