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V8 Column for October 2003 published in Safety Fast!, the award winning monthly magazine of the MG Car Club This
month sees the final event in the V8 25th Anniversary 2003 year
-and the V8 Cornish Tour plus a reminder of the Club's
Annual Dinner at which the V8 Register has a table The focus
of the anniversary year was on a full week before the Club's annual
International MG meeting at Silverstone in mid June ending with
the V8 Dinner on the Friday evening in the BRDC Clubhouse at Silverstone
- a memorable evening. Many members from home an abroad joined in
those celebrations and others sent messages wishing us well. The V8 Cornish Tour 2003 over the long weekend from Friday 3rd to Monday 6th October 2003 is proving popular. The base hotel is in Falmouth by the sea from where the event organiser Gordon Hesketh-Jones has arranged an interesting programme of visits and tours. Full details of the programme of events, information on the hotel, costs and booking forms are on the V8 Website. Members without internet facilities can contact Gordon for an information pack at Manningford, Trew, Helston, Cornwall TR13 9QW or on 01736 763053. His email address is at manningford@btinternet.com for any queries. The Annual Dinner of the MG Car Club is on Saturday 18th October and always an opportunity to meet members from all parts of the Club and this year it will be the final event in the V8 25th Anniversary 2003 year. The location of the Four Pillars Hotel is convenient, just south of the Oxford ring round so there are excellent links from the M40 and A40, and from the M4 via the A34. Contact Club Office on 01235 555552 for tickets and ask to be placed on a "V8 Table". The V8 Gathering at the Shoulder of Mutton on Hazeley Heath on Sunday 17th August proved as popular as ever. We will have a photo report next month.
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Cooling
and overheating concerns with V8s A significant improvement in cooling results from fitting a Special Tuning air dam (original ST part number STR0189, available from Moss as a "pattern part") and repositioning the front number plate up from its original position under the rubber bumper and on to the rubber bumper. He feels this is essential to ensure there is an unobstructed flow of air through the duct in the air dam and onto the oil cooler. Jeff's V8 has been fitted with an ST air dam for 25 years and he reports that "in addition to reducing temperatures, the "recovery time" down to normal running temperature after running in slow traffic is very short indeed". He adds "for my money, the air dam is an inexpensive modification which does not spoil the looks of the V8 - it was an ST option after all - and it works! It needs respraying to match the body colour of course". Jeff also adds that if you have a manual override switch for the fans, then it enables you to switch on early in anticipation of slower running conditions which are likely to lead to heat building up under the bonnet. |
