mysterious sheet in front of radiator

bought a 156 2.4 jtd last week,having a good poke around and i have noticed a thin sheet of metal 2feet wide and 6 in high in between the bottom grille on front bumper and the radiator.
i am confused can anyone help.

if it is upright and not bolted in ie blocking air to part of the rad a previous owner has probably put it there to increase water temp to avoid changing the thermostat (horrid job)
just my thoughts on it

yes it does look like it has been put there to block air to the bottom of the radiator.

I remember seeing vans years back used to block up the radiator vents during the winter to increase the temperature of the engine ... increasing the temp of an Alfa is not usually necessary

or cortinas with silver foil orver the front grill does anybody else remember that

Originally Posted by nelly

or cortinas with silver foil orver the front grill does anybody else remember that

I do, it was nearly always cortinas. I don't know why, the mk1 cortina had the first proper heater in a mass produced car. Up till then heaters were usually an option.
You used to be able to buy a proper radiator blind as well, had one on my first car(morris 1000).


Diesels are notoriously slow to warm up,perhaps thats why someone thought he'd try a mod on the JTD

I used to own a Land Rover, and you could buy special radiator grill "cosies" for the same reason. They were considered a desirable addition to your vehicle.........