Re: Shutter Thermostat Mods

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2017/12/24 12:21:10

You've got to go back in time to the 20s and before to appreciate the need for winterfronts in general and automated versions as a great advancement in particular. Surely I'm not the only one here that can remember cars boiling over in the winter with sub-zero temperatures because the coolant froze solid within the radiator core? That's what could and did happen in really cold weather when you attempted to drive your car before your engine block was delivering hot water to the radiator; with no heated coolant, the wind chill factor simply froze the coolant in the radiator core before any heated coolant arrived. Especially a problem in the days of methanol antifreeze before the permanent types became prevalent; methanol gradually evaporated and your antifreeze required regular tests and replenishment to maintain protection. Radiator shutters were introduced to eliminate the potential for that problem; both in years before and after shutters, in colder parts of the country inserting cardboard to cover a portion of the radiator core to keep it from freezing served the same purpose and was commonly done in colder climates.

I'm sure many of us have seen photos of cars before the advent of the automatic shutters with various winterfronts, both metal and fabric, used to minimize or stop radiator core freezing. I'll see if i can find a photo, maybe someone else has some as well.

As to longevity, the Fulton Sylphon units tend to last very long, my first one I bought from Hirsch lasted more than 40 years.