A New 330
A New Series II 330GT 2+2 was delivered to the shop this week. It’s a light blue metallic car with a black interior. The owner recently purchased this car and was looking to straighten out a few issues, first and foremost an overheating problem.
It didn’t take long after a test drive to see steam rising out of the radiator. None of the temperature gauges were working, so a quick check with an infrared thermometer showed the coolant to be in range but it was obviously escaping from a leak in the radiator.
I removed the hood and pulled the radiator to have it pressure tested and repaired, but wanted to check the rest of the cooling system. A blown fuse was the reason for the non functioning gauges, but it was the cooling fans that blew the fuse in the first place. The Lucas fan motors are notoriously power hungry even when they were new, and progressively get worse as they age. In hot weather, there is so much draw from these motors that they will melt the fuse panel if they don’t blow the fuses first. For guys who drive these cars on a regular basis, I often recommend replacing these fans with a much more efficient modern electric fan that pushes more air, and draws less power. The motors on this car were shorted out and will be replaced with a modern equivalent. The original parts can go in a box and stay with the car if someone wants a bone stock car!