I am in the process of restoring my '85 GSL-SE and need to replace the radiator. My goal is to restore the car to as close to original condition as possible. Does anyone have thoughts on what radiator I should get? I know they are no longer available from Mazda. Appreciate any feedback you can offer.

 

Ron Davis is a good radiator. I know it directly bolts into an FC3S. I'm unsure about the FB's but I'd say so. They work very good and will exceed what you're using the car for ( assuming daily driving ).

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Yes, it's for weekend driving - not racing.

Any thoughts on the Spectra Premium from Amazon.com?

 

Never used one. Looks good to me!

I would use it yes. Good price also

 

You get a nice replacement at rockauto for a very good price. It will look almost like
the original except it will have some automagic cooler lines that you won't use. You
can cut these off and it will look pretty much OEM.

That spectra is probably a good bet too! Rockauto has it for about $14.00 cheaper.

He said he wanted to keep it close to original condition. I don't think a Ron Davis radiator
really meets that requirement.

 

Thanks for all the information. I've read pros/cons of aluminum radiators versus copper, and from what I gather, I don't think it will make much of a different for how I plan to use the car from a performance perspective. Since originality is my main goal, I think the Spectrum is the best option. Thanks again.

 

I recently put a Spectra into my 80. Got about 10 miles' on it so far, and it works well; engine temps are very cool.

Only fitment issue I has was with the mounting points for the FMOC - - one of the threaded inserts for the left side FMOC mount was set about 1/8" too far to the rear. Otherwise fitment was very good and the look is pretty much stock, excepting the trans cooler lines T G mentioned.

One tip on any replacement rad; use some fine sandpaper to round the edges of the rad hose connecting tubes. They are very sharp, and (especially with that bastard lower hose) can cut the end of your new rad hose while you try to get it on.

This is especially bad news with silicone hoses; cuts in silicone hoses will 'run' over time like a crack in glass.

 

Also running Spectra's in my FB's with no issues. Hot summer days with a/c on and it cools just fine. Looks very close to OEM, close enough that no one would ever know.

 

I got one from Pep Boys, it was a POS. Got another from a radiator shop for the same price, it has been 16 years and going strong.

 

Just wonder what anyone thinks about the numerous aluminum rads offered up on ebay. Some look a bit crappy, but some look really well thought out, with apparent (?) care to mount points, 3-core, and hardware attachment points, etc...
And, well, cheap! under $140 in many cases.
Too good to be true?

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

very few of them bolt up properly or have heater outlet on the correct side or oil cooler mounting configuration right. I think its amazing they can say they fit 79-85 rx7's

 

Another option I don't see anyone mentioning is to re do the existing stock one. There are still radiator shops out there that can fix and replace radiator cores and tanks and make your original one like new again for about $100-150. Same thing with starters and alternators. I normally opt to rebuild my original parts instead of replacing them with remanufactured ones from the box stores.

The marketing gurus out there push to keep re-selling their products over and over and it has changed our collective mentality. More and more we are a disposable society. Unless you are looking for some specific upgrade in performance or weight savings, I'd consider refurbishing the original one.

 

I did that and it lasted a season and then finally had to get a new one. Good radiator
shops that still do this well are getting hard to find. I asked the guys that did mine
and they said all the new radiators are plastic and aluminium which they can't repair.
So its a dying art form really. They get less and less customers every year.

 

My personal experience/opinion is that they suck. While it looks like they've thought out the hose placement, oil cooler mounting points (for the 79-82 style) etc they do not fit well at all. Most require significant reworking of the mounting points, the angle of the lower hose is way off, oil cooler mounting points put significant strain on the rubber oil cooler mounts themselves (stretches them, twists etc)

If all that weren't enough, less than a year after I did several hours of reworking on the above rad, it started leaking in several spots (in the core itself, nowhere near the work I had to do). The seller was good enough to warranty it, only to have that one leak several months later. Colossal waste of time and money. I went with a spectra from rock auto and haven't looked back. It bolted right in and years later it still looks good and works great.

I also had one of those ebay rads on my old FC and same issues, didn't fit right, lots of problems all around.

Again, just my 2 cents.

 

http://shookmotorsports.com/
See if this guy will make u one still?? Love mine! It's aliminun and my temp never comes off the cold peg unless I let the car idle for an hour or more.. It's in my build thread if u want to see it..

 

Good to know - thanks guys....

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

i just went with a replacement one off of rockauto after my radiator got clogged. It has been amazing for me. I have driven the car on a few 5 hour trips and temps stay nice and low.

 

I've ordered 3 ebay aluminum specials. None have worked out.

1st one - they sent me a shorter 79-82 radiator - which i didnt mount right away and went way past the return deadline.

2nd one - waited a week and heard nothing from them, turned out they were out of stock and failed to let me know.

3rd one - "3 row GSL-SE radiator" came with shitty rattle can paint job that was peeling off, and worse off the lower hose tube points directly at the engine mount. No way you could possibly fit a hose on there.

As mentioned previously - I can't believe they get away with selling these as "direct-fit" or "replacements". In no way shape or form do these work! I've wasted months of my time and hundreds of dollars figuring this out - please dont make my mistakes over again!

I just ordered an OEM replacement Spectra Premium from RockAuto. Thanks for the tips guys!

~Geoff

 

 

Ummm. Ebay'd a Champion 3 row aluminum radiator.

Fit my 85 gsl-se first time with no issues what so ever. I love it!

 

How does the second one count at all?

It may count as time spent without a radiator, it could not be considered as a second trial with a product!

I would also assume the first radiator was a buyer error, although it could of been an honest mix up from the seller.

 

Glad to hear you got lucky with the champion 3 row. Our experience has been the 3 row is too thick (see above) and the two row is what fits.

 

just installed this one.

1979 1982 Aluminum Radiator for Mazda RX7 79 82 S1 S2 S3 MT 2 Row New | eBay

needed to cut the lower hose shorter to fit but otherwise bolted right in.

 

I wanted to share a quick update on my radiator replacement. I ordered the Spectra Premium model from Amazon. The radiator itself fits, but the port to connect the hose is different than my original. Perhaps it's the correct radiator for a 12A? After calling Spectra, they told me this one could be modified to work. My question is why do I want a modified radiator if it's the wrong fit? Fortunately, Amazon took it back.

I tried another radiator from Atkins since the photo on their website is for the correct model. Unfortunately, I ran into the same issue since the radiator received did not match the photo.

I am looking at ordering the PRO radiator from RockAuto, but it's tough to tell from the photo if I will have the same issue. Has anyone else run into this issue or know a radiator that definitely fits a GSL-SE?

 

Champion 3 row radiator in a stock gsl-se.

Fits perfect, proper hose routing, no issues at all.

I'm using an Efan. But it has screw locations for the shroud.