I didn't know there were different sized pulleys available, but it stands to reason that a smaller pulley will turn faster and pump the water faster through the system.

I took my car out this weekend and it was about 98 degrees outside.  The car was running about 230 degrees at 65 mph.  Once again I was beating my head against the wall!  I had already removed the electric fan, changed the thermostat, radiator and water pump, as well as replaced the super two core with a radtec aluminum radiator.  For S***s and giggles I decided to remove the large diameter water pump pulley and replace it with the smaller one and bingo!  That was the issue!  I cant believe it nor understand because the large pulley is supposed to be for upgraded engines.  Needless to say I am now cruising 65-70 mph at 194 degrees and lower speeds about 180 - 185 degrees.  Im baffled but happy!

That's a great question that I wish I knew the answer to.  The aluminum on I installed has two 1 inch cores however the size of the header tanks resembles that of a 4 core radiator.  I am assuming it holds more coolant.

I run the 11 balde fans on Mini's with Super 2 core radiators and no issues, some have had factory electric fans but none aftermarket. Re install the fan and see what the temps get to then you have narrowed it down to either the radiator or plastic 11 blade fan. I would think the 11 blade fan made the difference although i heard from a Mini guy who has installed quite a few of the cheap Chinese alloy radiators with good results.

I suspect the electric fan was blocking air flow through the rad.

I also wonder what difference there is between the super two core rad and the curent one you put in - how fast the coolant flows through each. The super-two may have only two rows of cores but bigger and the aluminum one may have more but smaller cores. If the coolant flows through the rad too quickly, it may not have enough time to transfer heat. Or if the cores are too big, the water in each core tube may not be close enough to the core wall for full heat exchange - only the water clsoe to the core wall gets cooled.

I think I have finally fixed the issue!  But im not sure what the biggest culprit of the problem was.  I removed the electric fan, and super two core radiator.  Additionally I removed the water pump and inspected for damage but it was in perfect condition.  I couldn't get the 6-blade tropical fan to fit correctly in the shroud and it would not sit flush to the pulley so I reinstalled the 11-blade fan and put in an aluminum radiator made by radtec.  I took the car out in 90 degree F weather yesterday and the engine now runs at 194 degrees F highway speeds and 212 at idle in traffic and that is without the heater valve open.  Now im starting to wonder if the electric fan was the sole culprit or if the super 2 core is not so super.  Also I fixed the leak on the timing chain cover and the speedo seal and no more leaks are apparent.

Even with bad fuel and a fully loaded Van (well less than the 1,040 kgs. we started out with as we gave some gear to a buddy headed home ahead of us from Sioux City) we climbed the nearly 5,000 feet steadily to cross the Bighorn Mountains at some 9,000 feet and only had a brief fuel boil when we stopped part way up to take in the view...standard 1098 with 1 1/4" SU on std. in./ex...and with an insulating booty off a twin carb setup that Graham Russell & Keith Calver were using running a series of dyno tests in Australia. No coolant overheating with the extra rad. (from #4 cylinder to extra rad. to lower rad hose)

Apart from bad fuel, SU performed flawlessly at all elevations from sea level over all the passes getting to the prairies and getting home over the mountains.

Rick,

I thought fuel may have been an issue but I have filled up twice with 91 octane and still have the same persistent issue.  I backed of the total timing to 29 Degrees BTDC and still running with a temp of 115 Degrees C at anything above 50 MPH.  Im thinking maybe the tropical fan would help but im having some fitment issues with it to the pulley.

Small point and maybe irrelevant...is your source of fuel (station/stations) good?  I ask because we got 2 bad loads of fuel in Montana last summer, one in West yellowstone as we were heading north, the 2nd one before we crossed the border into British Columbia and began the climb over the Kootenay Pass.  1098 died.  Counter intuitively, I pulled out the choke and we climbed non stop over the summit...but the Mini ran poorly until we gassed up at the Esso Station in Salmo...end of bad fuel troubles.

A small point about the vacuum advance. since it works on vacuum, it fit is installed and working properly, it receives no signifiant vacuum at 3500 rpms, when your throttle would be pretty much fully open. The vacuum advance is intended to act at ilde and vey low throttle as an ecomomy feature - the engine will run on a leaner mixture with the spark advanced. It is intended to drop away so that the mechanical curve can serve the engine properly.

Jemal,

when you are discussing total advance are you recommending nothing over 29 degrees BTDC at 3500.  From what I have seen 3500 is where you want to check total timing since it is the critical point of detonation problems however if I set the revs higher say 4000 or 4500 the distributor will continue advancing till about 35 degrees BTDC with the vacuum pipe disconnected.  I am using an A+ plus Aldon Yellow with vacuum advance.  CR is about 10:1.  Can anyone confirm if this is too much mechanical advance from the distributor or if I need to back it off some?  Thanks.

First one is the daily commute in the morning, home for lunch, and back in the afternoon.

Second one is every other month

The distance is in Miles!  That's quite a drive... not a daily commute I'm guessing!  It sounds quite exotic, but big changes in elevation over short distances is not that unusual really.  From our town of Grass Valley, CA, Its only about 50 miles to Truckee (often the coldest national overnight temps in the summer time, on the eastern slope of the Sierra summit over I-80),  and in that distance you'll be anywhere from 1500 feet to nearly 8000 ft.   Maybe someone will chime in from Maui.... the summit of Haliakala is well over 10,000 ft and I think its right around 20 miles to the beach!

A word of caution on timing.  You really should stick to the total advance of UNDER 30 degrees when fully advanced, particularly with the long stroke engines (1275 and 1098).  Any more advance looses power and risks a great deal of destruction! What you really want is the ability to increase the compression ratio. Engines have to work much harder at higher elevations, as they produce significantly less power as the elevation rises.  Advancing the timing is a Band-Aid at best!  It does 'help' a little because your effective compression ratio is lower, but a long stroke engine 'fights itself' with more advance.... 

This is my drive between the two cities where I live and work

This was a great read and it makes a lot of sense!

Richard I live and work at 5000 ft.  Very good input from someone who does the high elevation journey on a daily basis.  I could try a leaner Needle probably BDR would be the closest and bump the timing up a couple of degrees.

How about a comment from someone who leves part time at 6000 ft and part time at 1000 ft?

The trick to altitude with a carburated engine is you need to advance the timing as you go up. There are times when I'm driving from 1000 ft to 6000 with higher peaks that I stop and cnage the timing twice, especially if I'm in a hurry.

I have a timing light, but have not used it to set timing for more than 40 years. I set the distributor to where I have the best (smoothest, highest rpm) idling engine, then turn it back just a touch. I drive accelerating hard from low speed and listen for pings. If it pings, I set it back a bit more and try again.

When I set up my Corvair I was at my office/shop at 6300 ft. I had it running perfectly, but since my house is at 5700 ft, I found it pinged on my drive up to work, so I had to set it back a bit more for 5700.

I also set the carbs with one of the smallest jets that Chevrolet recommended (.051) since the air is thinner at altitudes.

Fixing timing and mixture will halp temps, but double check your gauges with a cheap laser gun. A lot of gauges are off.

This is my daily drive

Jemal the fan is on the right direction and I am not bypassing the heater core.  The engine was built a year ago by minimania and I never had a problem until coming up to a higher elevation.  Not sure if they use the high output water pumps with the cast iron impellor or the one with the folded tin but that may be my next step to look at.  If the temps outside are around 75 F I usually run below normal on the temp gauge.  The problem is when the OAT rises.

I know it's been mentioned before, but the shape of the yellow 11 blade fan is such that it is almost intuitive to install it backwards.  Whenever I hear of a mini running HOTTER at speed, I suspect the fan is not working that efficiently.   Study the shape of the air foil and the direction of rotation.... when correct, each blade "cups" the air and shoves it through the radiator.  When backwards, it still blows the right way but is an airplane flying upside down.  It works, but not nearly as well!

I suggest a 160 thermostat for hot climates, and do keep in mind that the temp sender in a Mini is located at the hottest part of the engine, just before the thermostat.  One other common thing that will have a mini engine getting hotter at higher revs is bypassing the heater and looping the water back into the lower Rad hose, where it gets sucked up by the water pump without ever going through a radiator.  If bypassing the heater, block the water from leaving the head, unless of course you want to run it through an auxiliary radiator!  There's another thread for that!

It's because leaner mixtures (and high octain fuels) require more ignition advance - be careful that you don't run into detonation problems if your CR is high.