Fast Marina Magazine

Just a thought.

Apart from the obvious 'brass monkey' problems for drivers and pushers, do think about your engine block and radiator.

Is your anti-freeze up to the right concentration? If you are lucky, not enough antifreeze in the coolant can result in burst radiators and popped core plugs. If you are unlucky then possible cracked blocks.

With temperatures down to -18 degrees in Gloucester last night (Bedford was 'only' -10 degrees) normal levels of antifreeze may not protect your engine.

Next time you start up, let her run a while to ensure the system is completely thawed out before setting off. Puddles of coolant are noticeable under a stationary car, but once moving, the first you may know is the engine missing before seizing up. No coolant in the system means that the temperature guage doesn't register (never warms up) and the heater doesn't work. So warm the car through until the temp guage is registering and you can feel warm air on the screen and/or your tootsies.

If you haven't added any fresh antifreeze lately, or it is low concentraion, drain some of the existing off and top up with neat antifreeze.

Fruity should take note! Though his Marina is off the road this winter he had TWO bursts last winter!!!


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There have been some articles talking about modern antifreeze against older chemical mixes.
I think it refers more to the modern engines having alloy blocks and heads with steel liners rather than the cast iron we have.
A good article is http://www.rrbew.co.uk/Pdfs/Derek%20Har ... 9%20V8.pdf, but better have the wrong antifreeze for a winter than a cracked block or seized engine.

Quite a few Marlins suffer from overheating and taking a lead from Spitfire pilots, have filled their cooling systems with almost neat antifreeze. They will never freeze up!

Neat anti-freeze will reduce cooling if I remember correctly but in this weather I would think it would not be a problem.
I have 33% in mine and have not checked the car for 2 weeks but the temperatures although lower than the south coast are not as low as up country so should be OK.

I use a 50% mix all year round in all the cars, so this weather shouldn't be a problem. In October, I took a small amount from each car and put it in small jars in the freezer for a week. None of them froze, so I think I'm OK!