Ye olde Radiator question....

[whoizrob]

So now that my SIV Alpine is up and running I now turn to reliability questions and first and foremost in my mind is the issue of cooling as it it sunny and hot here in California and my son is dying for an extended drive in the car.

So far my search has opnly turned up the option of recoring the original radiator which seemed like a good option till I recently priced it out and it was "starting at $500". I looked around for an aluminum option but there were none to be found for an Alpine but two or three for a tiger.

So my question is: did I miss another option? Any good finds where a stock junkyard option was modified to fit? Any Summit Racing/JC Whitney radiators modded to fit? If I chose an Aluminum radiator for a Tiger, fitment should be no issue, but what about hose location (ignoring that I will need a dedicated fill/overflow tank).

Any ideas to save the day would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Rob


PS. I allready have the pusher electrical fan and a few articules printed up on fixing air flow issues....

 

[bashby]

The custom aluminum radiator for my modified Series V is by Wizard Cooling as was $500, it works very well (and should).

 

[whoizrob]

wizard radiator

Did you have to send in your old radiator for them to pattern off of or were they able to fab one up based off of mesasurements? I wonder if they still have your design as they dont list it as an option on their website. Can you PM me more details? Thanks!

Rob

 

[bashby]

I sent them my old radiaitor with the specified modifications that I needed.
billashby@msn.com

 

[steven]

Down under in Aus, they still had radiators for hillmans, same size.

 

[DanR]

Radiator Blues ?

I had my SV stock radiator up graded from the 9 fins per inch to 17 fins per inch.

Total Cost to up grade $460.00

It was a Moline mfg'd core

The Factory Rep and my Radiator Shop Man said that the more fins the more cooling capacity....

Happy Touring,

DanR

 

[whoizrob]

Ali radiators

Have a few leads which look promising for generic universal all aluminum radiators in the ball park of $250. I need to recheck my measurements but a few look like they will work with a custom bracket. Will keep updated as it seems like this would be a good thing to know since our cars seem under cooled.

Rob

PS. For those of you who also run an electrical fan did you wire directly to your fuses or did you use a relay? Any pictures of your install including power take off points and thermo sensor locations? Thanks!

 

[twospeed]

Have a few leads which look promising for generic universal all aluminum radiators in the ball park of $250. I need to recheck my measurements but a few look like they will work with a custom bracket. Will keep updated as it seems like this would be a good thing to know since our cars seem under cooled.

Rob

PS. For those of you who also run an electrical fan did you wire directly to your fuses or did you use a relay? Any pictures of your install including power take off points and thermo sensor locations? Thanks!

On the fan wiring--always use a relay----always.

 

[Paul A]

PS. For those of you who also run an electrical fan did you wire directly to your fuses or did you use a relay? Any pictures of your install including power take off points and thermo sensor locations? Thanks!

Most electric cooling fans draw enough amperage that I always use a relay when wiring them in car as an "add on". Also, be sure to use at least 12 gauge wire to be able to handle the current/amperage. You will want to use a 30 amp relay.

There are a lot of fan wiring kits available that include appropriate wiring, relay, switch, and heat sensor to trigger the fan on/off function.

Pete. Www.petesperformancewiring.com

 

[whoizrob]

My final choice...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GRI-2-55185-X/?rtype=10

It's an all aluminum Griffin radiator for $300. It almost perfectly matches the stock radiators dimensions. All I need to do is weld some mounting tabs which should be fairly easy. I'll be deleting the mechanical fan so clearance should be adequate. I'll post pictures of progress one I get the radiator in hand. Initial fan duties will be handled by an inherited flex-a-lite pusher, if cooling is still an issue then I'll go for a dual, set up. Oil cooler is in the works too.

Rob

 

[sunbeamowner]

"Measure twice cut once"

Hi Rob
I see by your final choice that this radiator is a 'cross flow' style. My concerns for you are
1. If you are converting from a 'down flow' (header tanks on the top and bottom compared to tanks on the side). Then the placement of the top of the radiator needs to be higher than the top of your thermostat housing . If it is not then you will not be able to completely fill the system with coolant without it running back out the filler neck.

2. This leads me to my next concern and that is the filler neck on the side. The front edge of the bonnet of the Alpine is curved ,with the highest point being in the middle (where the standard radiator neck is) when closed. This could cause clearance issues with the neck on the cross flow design.

3.The next concern is the bottom outlet. There is very little clearance between the edge of the outlet and the sub chassis (unless you have the outlet modified to point up at approx 20 degrees).

How do I know all of this you may ask ? "Been there done that" (see photos).

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[whoizrob]

Thanks for the heads up!

Good thing you replied to this thread as I was about to buy the radiator!

The good news is that griffin sells the same radiator without the fill neck and I can easily add an in-line filler neck in the same location as you have. The bottom out let DOES look pretty close but it should clear. If not I'll just have the radiator shop cut and weld it at an angle as you suggested as I'll be having them weld in a bung for a fan temp sensor anyways.

Anyhow thanks for the reply and your engine bay looks AWESOME!

Rob

PS. I saw you had a valve cover vent coming off of your oil fill. Did you do the same for the crankcase vent? Considering T-ing the two together to one filter.

 

[sunbeamowner]

My crankcase vent was open to the atmosphere (series V engines were like this from the factory).

 

[alpine_64]

Pete,

IIRC the SV alpines didnt vent to the atmosphere stock.. they had a PCV valave that came off the filler neck and connected back down.. the early cars had an open system with a road draft tube that came off the pushrodf cover.