Hi Tess, I would suggest that the writer was talking about removing a radiator cap to refill the cooling system of an engine that had overheated and the cooling system had boiled over. Cooling systems were not too efficient back then (yes, they did have water pumps and thermostats) and it was a rather common occurrence. Heck, it was somewhat common when I was a kid back in the 1950s. One safety precaution that was always stressed was don't open the radiator cap when the engine was hot. Even with the water level being low, boiling hot water would spray out and could scald your hands, arms, face. Not pleasant.
Kirk Fergus Tempe, AZ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 17:34:18 -0700 From: [email protected] Subject: [alfa] ancient history Hi guys, Long time no hear! You guys know me from my wacko questions in the past, and I have another one. It is an ancient history question -- maybe Alfa related, maybe just generally automotive related. You guys always have such a fount of knowledge I thought certainly you'd have an answer. I have been translating some old letters from Swedish to English. In one of the letters, from the 1930s, the writer starts talking about cars. What I want to know is how water was used in engines from the 30s -- were they water cooled, air-cooled, etc.? Did they have thermostats? Was there anything special about cold weather? The writer is describing how to avoid a certain kind of accident where you burn yourself from boiling water -- he doesn't say whether in the engine or in the radiator. But apparently whatever procedure they are doing, it is a procedure one might encounter routinely. Did people routinely add water to the radiator in those days? I've been trying to think of a situation where I would regularly come in contact with hot water in my 'modern' (1980s) cars. The thermostat deals with that. Thanks for any ideas! Tess in Bellevue, WA USA ------------------------------ End of alfa-digest V10 #2726 **************************** -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
