Radiator Recommendations

[Guest SAL]

I have an ageing series 1 with a 2 litre engine - gets VERY hot indeed. I have read all the postings on fans etc and now have a really good idea of how to deal with that side, but is it worth buying a custom radiator or is the new Coolman radiator from RHE worth using? At £75 it seems to be a lower cost alternative than a custom job.

[Jon Bradbury]

I think the coolman radiator is a Cortina pattern rad.

 

I'm using it on my car (2 Litre DOHC / Carb) and it appears to do the trick. Certainly the car can be left at tickover and get pretty hot, then it cools right down when the (also RHE-supplied) fan kicks in.

 

Only problem with this rad is you may find the inlets are inconveniently placed, but its relatively easy to get round this.

 

Take a look at my website for some piccies.

 

Cheers

 

JonB

 

PS, is that a picture of Kylie you got there?

[chris27]

Hi Mate

 

The colman brass radiator from RHE is the same as an old transit radiator.

 

I bust mine and sent it for a re-core under the asumption it was a cortina . The guy phoned me back to say it was a transit as it has bigger header tanks and its apparently a bigger core ....... more money!!! :gdit:

 

You might want to look in the scrappies....

 

It does work well once fitted

[Guest Ianz]

Chris

Have you retained the viscous coupled fan???

As in my 3a i have the Cortina/Coolman rad,and

I wish to avoid fitting an electric fan....due to extra cost/

hassle etc,I may change my mind post SVa .

 

Cheers Ian

[chris27]

Hi Ian

 

I've got a 2003 2B plus....

 

I scrapped the Viscous fan due to the lack of space between the engine and the front crossmember..... plus I got an electric one with the kit

 

 

I have fitted the electric one infront of the rad however I have had to take a piece out of the bottom of the nosecone so it would fit over

 

I've no idea how much space there is on the 3a.....

 

cheers

 

Chris

[Big Jim]

The answer to cooling problems is no so much the radiator, but the amount of air volume that you push /draw through it.

If you're using an electric fan, you need to get it as close up to the rad as possible, or cowl it in. (The RH fan is barely up to the job IMHO)

If you are using the viscous fan, then you need to make a cowl for it. just look, there is about a third of the fan UNDER the bottom edge of the radiator core, so that's doing bugger all.

 

 

This was the cowl that I made out of fibreglass when I still had the Pinto in my Hood, cured overheating completely!