I got new fuel lines and clamps and replaced all of them. Started the car and tested for gas leaks and all was well.

Now I was letting the engine heat up so I could see how efficient the new high performance radiator would be. So the water temp needle kept climbing and climbing until it was hotter than the old set-up!

*%@$!!!

Ok, so maybe the thermostat is stuck closed. Out comes the old rubber mallet and whap, whap, whap.

Still hot, but it stopped climbing. I took a reading with an infrared thermometer and the thermostat housing was reading 198 degrees, the block read 203 degrees - way too high. Then the a/c cooling fans switch on… first time that has happened. I guess I did need that new switch sensor!

Back to the temp, I let the car cool down and I rethought the issue. I can’t believe that new radiator would actually run hotter than the old clogged one. I got real suspicious about the new thermostat. I go fetch the box and surf to Advance Auto’s website and search for the part number printed on the box.

Ah… they sent me the 195 degree thermostat instead of the 170 I ordered.

I go looking to see if I can find another 170 thermostat locally and found one at Auto Zone. AND they stocked it in my local store.

If you want your own, it is the Duralast Thermostat (low temp, 170), part number 15397.

So I tore out the 195 unit and plopped in the new one, cranked the wedge and prayed. I had the infrared thermometer on the thermostat housing and watched the temp climb. On up it went until 174, then it opened and the collant flowed into the new radiator and after the coolant had flowed through the radiator, the outlet temperature was 98.

I was amazed. That is the best control of heating in any TR7 I have ever seen.

I took the car for a long deserved spin. I got about a mile and the muffler fell off. On a previous jaunt at the VIR, the badly rusted muffler melted in two and the tips were dragging the ground. Evidently my patch wasn’t worth a damn. The car sounds better though.

The rest of the drive was a vibrant reminder as to why I love these cars.