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From: amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of glennyrosa
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 10:25 AM
To: amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [amphicar-lovers] 1500cc Triumph & cooling<span class="781425510-29092006">
<font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#ff0000" size="4"></font></span></font>
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<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" dir="ltr" align="left"><font face="Tahoma" size="2"><span class="781425510-29092006"></span></font>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" dir="ltr" align="left"><font face="Tahoma" size="2"><span class="781425510-29092006"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Arial" size="2">My last post of the desire of more hp led me to the Amphicar
website. I had read where the 1500 Spitfire engine would bolt right
in. Further investigation indicates that the 1500 has a cooling
problem. Right now my temp stays pretty much in the center except
when pulling long hills or asking for too much power on the water
which converts gas to noise with no speed increase. I guess that
I'm pretty lucky in that respect when it comes to cooling from
listening to the whoas of others with serious problems in that
area. We have had triple digit temps in the NW this summer and the
thought of adding an electric cooling fan has never crossed my
mind. Whose to say that my temp gage or sending unit isn't fubar.
I could be sailing in bliss whilst I burn up my motor.
It sounds as if I should leave well enough alone and to avoid steep
ramps. I would be interested in hearing from others who have or
have tried the Spitfire engine. My experience with putting larger
engines in airplanes has led mostly to disappointment. Either the
performance improvement was too little gain for the expense, or the
flight characteristics went from good to something of a lesser
value. Not always. But mostly.
One thought: I have never driven my Amphi with the top up. Could
the top create a boundry layer or a reverse flow of turulent air
that inhibits the intake of cooling air? I could vision a dead area
over the loovers where there would be no ram air effect in cruise.
It would be like running your car with a load on the engine but not
moving. Anyone remember riding in the back of a pickup truck and
finding that one spot where the wind doesn't blow at all? Just a
thought.
glenn</font></font></span></font>
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<font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">Glenn:</font></span>
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<font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">Let me address a few points:</font></span>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" align="left"><span class="781425510-29092006"><font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">Don't get hung up on horsepower. You could double the horsepower, and still not see any appreciable change in water performance. (OK, lower mileage, more noise, more heat and a more foamy wake.) Hydrodynamics is cruel for a hull shaped like a brick.</font></span>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" align="left"><span class="781425510-29092006"><font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">Even if you had more horsepower, could you couple it into useful thrust? If you had more horsepower, then you would need larger diameter or steeper pitch propellers. The original props are matched pretty well already to coupling the OEM torque to thrust.</font></span>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" align="left"><span class="781425510-29092006"><font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">The Amphi is geared very high in first gear, so high that some people don't use it for street driving. You should be able to crawl up a ramp that truly frightens you. Tire traction is more of a factor than slope.</font></span>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" align="left"><span class="781425510-29092006"><font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">For land, more horsepower is nice. OTOH, upgrading the engine then suggests that you will need to upgrade the clutch, transmission bearings, differential andU-joints. Vehicle design is a systems problem; interacting sub-systems are all built not much better than they have to be. With a hotter engine, you are now working all of the rest of the drive train parts much harder. That means quicker wear and lower safety margins.</font></span>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" align="left"><span class="781425510-29092006"></span><span class="781425510-29092006"><font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">My prejudice is that I would rather have a smooth and reliable vehicle than to get an extra 10 MPH out of the top end.</font></span>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" align="left"><span class="781425510-29092006"><font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">I have always felt that air circulation is backwards on the Amphi. The outer louvers should face forward, to scoop air into the engine compartment. Then, the fan should push the air out past the radiator and have the air exit at the center, rear-facing louvers. Better aerodynamics, plus the engine fan would put a suction on the bilge, instead of a pressure as it now does. This is safer from a fumes standpoint, plus you wouldn't get the engine odor and hot air out of the shifter lever holes. All very reasonable, until you think about how those forward-facing outer louvers would also scoop up water from a wave. Oops, maybe rear-facing does have some value! <g></font></span>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" lang="en-us" align="left"><span class="781425510-29092006"><font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">Water cruising is when you need the most cooling. You are putting out continuous horsepower while moving very slowly, so there is maximum heat to shed and almost no ram air effect.</font></span>
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<font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">Ed Price</font>
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<font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">El Cajon, CA USA</font>
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<font face="Century Schoolbook" color="#0000ff" size="4">67 Rust Guppy</font>
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