Life in the fast lane

Keeping cool when testing race car engines

Sporting & Historic Car Engineers Ltd is one of the most successful historic motor sport specialists in the UK. Established nearly 30 years ago, they restore, service and prepare some of the most iconic and valuable sports racing cars in the world and have enjoyed consistently high levels of success in historic motorsport.

Engine build and development is a key part of the company’s operations and covers everything from competition 4 cylinder engines, through to the most exotic 12 cylinder multi-valve engines for sports racing cars which include Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin and the legendry Ford GT40.

The company prides itself on the quality of its work and to ensure consistently high standards, carries out all engine development work in-house – including testing in its own ‘state of the art’ engine test cell facility.

Bowman header tank heat exchangers are used within the test cell to cool the jacket water of engines undergoing testing. As the test procedure simulates the temperatures and pressures an engine must endure under normal race conditions, it is vital that the equipment used is capable of handling these demands reliably and efficiently. So when the company recently needed to replace one of their heat exchangers after 16 years reliable service, they naturally ordered a Bowman unit to take its place.

‘’Efficient cooling is vital when testing high performance race engines’’ said Duncan McLellon of Tim Samways, ‘’they generate significant amounts of heat, which must be controlled to enable the engine to achieve its full performance potential and protect from overheating. In all the years we’ve used them, we’ve always found Bowman header tank units to be extremely efficient and reliable in operation.’’

Bowman header tank heat exchangers are used extensively for automotive engine and are the first choice for many vehicle and engine manufacturers, specialist testing organisations and motorsport teams.