My 1971 BMW 2800CS has overheated in summer traffic since it was new but has always run cool when motoring steadily at over 30 miles per hour. If your car overheats at steady speeds, you have other problems: clogged radiator, faulty thermostat, non-sealing pressure cap, etc. This fix will solve your problems if you have none of the above deficiencies.

I added an electric cooling fan, made by Flex-a-Lite, available from good ol’ J. C. Whitney (catalog number 73-2889W) for $60. I do not have air conditioning on this car, with the condenser coil and fans already mounted up front. The fan mounts with four long bolts thin enough to slip between the fins in the radiator. It is controlled by a thermo static switch which has a sensor that is placed inside the upper radiator hose. The switch is adjustable, and I set mine to turn on at 180° so that the fan will operate only in city traffic. My coupe will now idle continuously in 95° heat and the temperature gauge never exceeds the halfway point.

Author: Steve Brenneman