A question for 1300 & 1500cc owners -Does your car have deflector boards fitted

[Richard the old one]

A question for 1300cc and 1500cc car owners – Does your car have deflector boards fitted and if they are fitted do they help prevent the engine overheating.

My assumption is that all SE may have them fitted what do SE owners think of them?

At the recent Northern Dolly day I noticed that Steve Waldenbergs 1500 SE had deflector boards fitted adjacent to the radiator grill, see attached photographs. I have owned over the years a number of 1500HLs but none of them have had defector boards fitted but today when I looked in my copy of the official Triumph Dolomite Range 1976 onwards Parts Catalogue it shows Deflector boards fitted to both 1300 and 1500 engines, Part numbers XKC 1291 & XKC 1290, on pages 1M 02L &1M 02R.

The official parts catalogue that I have does not actually cover the 1500 SE!

My assumption is that the deflector boards were introduced to force more air through the radiator and so improve the cooling hence should we be looking to fit some?

Looking at my 1500cc cars I consider that fitting some sort of deflector on the nearside might help but I think that the off side with the exhaust being fitted on that side I would still like a good flow of cool air passing down that side of the engine. The near side deflector would also be easier to make but I note that part of the deflector shown does have an area cut away to allow some air flow which I assume is to cool the alternator.

I have looked at the Rimmer's site and they do not recognize the defector board part numbers. Does anyone know of a supplier?

[captain_70s]

My '77 1300 doesn't have them, but then I've also never had issues with the engine running hot. I found it to be remarkably cold blooded, actually a detriment in winter when the heater was quite feeble!

[cleverusername]

Never had them on mine and to be honest the car was never in any danger of overheating. Are you having overheating problems?

[Steve28]

I have them on my 1500SE's and my 1980 1500hl, they were also on or with the 1979 1500hl auto and 1980 1500 base model that i broke up for spares, but my 1976 1500tc auto hasn't got them.

[xvivalve]

I thought the Club had these remanufactured a few years ago...?

[RobSun]

All models with 1300 & 1500 engines would have left the factory with them fitted, but being made from effectively cardboard they can easily be damaged and were not replaced.

[Mad Mart]

I thought the Club had these remanufactured a few years ago...?

That was for the Toledo.

[Richard the old one]

I believe that overheating is a common problem that 1500cc dolomites have when they are held up in very warm weather in slow moving or stopped traffic. The engine struggles to run and I believe it is caused by the petrol in the fuel line turning into vapour as once the car is moving again it returns to normal running.

In 1977 I purchased a new 1500HL and that was Ziebarted before the car was delivered to me so the deflectors could have been removed during the Ziebart process and not replaced but I have also had six or seven other 1500HL dolomites and none of them have been fitted with the deflectors.

A lot of owners put the overheating problem down to the waxstat jets weakening the mixture too much in hot weather.

It will be very interesting to find out what other cars still have the deflectors fitted and if they were fitted in general during the production run.

[xvivalve]

I thought the Club had these remanufactured a few years ago...?

That was for the Toledo.

Same radiator, isn't it...so they'd fit...?

[captain_70s]

The fuel evaporation issues are due to heat radiating from the engine/exhaust and the pump only pulling small amounts of fuel through at idle, so it is in the hoses long enough to heat up.

I suspect, if they had any effect, the deflectors would make matters worse by channelling airflow straight into the rad rather than around the engine bay.

They look like the same sort of material as the parcel shelf surround, which doesn't hold up terribly well even in the cabin...

[Mad Mart]

I thought the Club had these remanufactured a few years ago...?

That was for the Toledo.

Same radiator, isn't it...so they'd fit...?

[Steve28]

Original Toledo radiators are shorter than 1300/1500 dolomites.

[Russetauto]

My 79 1300. Still has them fitted. Buy they are rather tired and brittle now

[jackharper]

My dolly 1300 had it fitted, my toledo 1300 does not, in my experience the difference is negligble and both cars run a little too cold if anything. This may just be because they take ages to warm up unlike modern, alloy block engines which are run quite lean

[Richard the old one]

I would like to thank the people that have responded on this topic but as it has now been read by almost 200 people I would like to have seen a few more and am still hoping that we may get a few more.

Having discovered that Steve’s 1500SE has the baffles I have been studying my 1500CC cars and I have now noted that the radiator is not actually installed on the centre line of the car. It is fitted closer to the far side of the engine compartment and so the space adjacent to the radiator is not large as on the nearside. I have already stated on the discussion board I would not like to restrict the flow down the off side of the engine because the exhaust manifold and pipes run down that side of the engine. The baffle plates that were fitted during the build process were made from what looks like a stiff cardboard, not something that you would expect to stand up to getting wet when the car was being driven in the rain.

I do question the need for the baffles to be fitted but as the parts catalogue does indicate that they were fitted and I have now seen them on Steve’s 1500SE I decided to see if I could come up with my own design of baffle. The drawing in the parts catalogue for the nearside does indicate that the deflector does allow some air flow which I am assuming it is to cool the alternator. The design I have come up with just blanks off the nearside first two vent columns of the vent grille. To do this I cut up the plastic lid from a plastic tub and fitted it behind the vent grille. Being plastic getting wet will not be a problem but as the lid was green I sprayed the front side of it with mat black paint. I left the inner side green as it has been fitted onto my green 1500HL Dolomite and it will make it easier for other people to see what I have done. I used a spare vent grille that I had, to get the shape and to mark where the two holes for the grille fixings were needed. When it came to fitting the baffle I only had to take the two nearside vent fixings out as this allowed me to slip my deflector in behind the vent grille. Once in place it was just a matter of replacing the original fixings. I also like the fact that if the radiator has to come out for any reason you do not have to disturb the deflector.

It does now seem that we are about to get some hot weather but will I be caught up in slow moving or stopped traffic to see if it does make any difference. I still think that the tip that I was told, which is to release the bonnet catch, as this allows the bonnet to open a fraction and let the excess heat out, may be the best solution but I have not actually needed to try it since I was told the tip. As the bonnet hinges are on the front edge it is not going to fly up and cause any problems. I have found that on the odd occasion when I have had to use the built in emergency cooling system, switching on the heater, on a very hot day has no gone down well with the family.