Hey Guys,

Well I finally got the rebuilt radiator!

So I figured I'd post with pics of old vs. rebuilt for your enjoyment.

I think they put 3 cores in it, but I don't know how to tell so I shot a pic looking down the filler cap. It shows three tubes going down, so I assume that's what they mean when they say "3 core". This is an '84-85 radiator so it's the tall and slim one, but I told the rad rebuilder guy to squeeze the best damn core he could into this thing.

So now my attention turns to mounting the new e-fan. I've included a pic of it sitting on the radiator but as you can see, I don't have any way to affix it to the rad right now. The metal strips the fan's previous owner used to bolt it to the rad aren't long enough, because he had an '83. I'm also thinking that I probably need a shroud for it, because I often hear people saying that you'll run too hot without one.

I don't know any local places that do sheet metal work, but I'm thinking of mocking up a shroud using bristol board and taking it to a sheet metal place and saying "make me this".

For the time being though, do you guys think I'll get enough cooling without the shroud? (I'll just use small strips of metal to bolt to the brackets). Do any of you run without one?

Jon

 

The new rad looks good, as do the socks. :P

Depending on the CFM of the fan, I imagine you could get by without the shroud. It doesn't look like it'd be too much of a PITA to make a shroud for it though.

 

Well I debated just making a sheetmetal cover for the parts of the rad not covered by the fan, but realized that would mean no air would ever go through those parts of the rad :o

So then I figured I'd need something to mount the fan about 1" off the rad, and funnel the air to the fan. At least that's the working plan.

So I'll mock that up by making a 1" thick square around the edge of the rad, and another 1" thick square around the edge of the fan, then connecting those two squares with pieces at 45* angles to make it lift off the rad. I guess that doesn't sound like it makes much sense when I type it, but in my head it does.

Jon

 

Efans and shrounds . You should do fine with the clutch fan.

 

Looks like my setup on the widebody Jon, haven't had any trouvle with it. The key is having a fan with enough cfm and low current draw.

 

If I understand correctly, wouldn't you want like 1/2" around the edge and say 1" around the fan, to get a slope to funnel air to the fan? Also, the better you seal around the edges of the shroud to the radiator, the better airflow through the radiator will be, as opposed to flowing in the gaps between the shroud and radiator.

Don't forget the powdercoat. Hehe

 

Jon will be good with his setup. And the shroud is powdercoated. I didn't think of coating mine when I put it together. Since I have done Jon's, now I have to take mine off and do it. LOL.

 

Lol, he's talking about the shroud I'm going to make for the fan and rad, not the rad panels that I already have powdercoated

But yeah, I'll need to coat that too.

Jon

 

I doubt that you'd get it hot enough in Canada to be a major issue unless you do some endurance racing with it.

 

Good.. so that means I can drive with it like that until I get the shroud I want fabbed from sheet metal.

I was just worried about it being so imperative that overheating was guaranteed without it. I kinda figured it wasn't that bad.... but I wanted to make sure.

It's still spring here, hovering between 10-20 degrees C (50-70F), so if I drive for another month like that, I don't expect any problems.

Thanks guys

Jon

 

I just bought a Derale e-fan too... going in my TII.

 

John, i had the shroud off with that fan on for two weeks in the middle of summer when i was cleaning and then painting the shroud and other stuff, i didnt notice any real temperature changes, so youll be fine.
I think that fan is a 2700 cfm fan, so no worries.

 

YES! I net an ub3r-power fan. Thanks

Jon

 

BTW, What size fan is that and around-about what cost? My GSL-SE could use one...

 

is that a black dragon fan? (victoria british)

 

Jon, that fan covers so much percentage of the radiator, I can't see you having any problems. Some of the e-fans people have posted cover a lot less of the rad. Than I'd be concerned. But especially with a 3 core rad, I think you're fine.

What you could do is rig a manual override so you can also turn the fan on by a switch, that way if in doubt, you can flick it on.

 

As long as you mount the fan up close to the radiator, you should be fine without a shroud. I'm currently running only one of my two MR2 fans due to mounting issues, and it only covers about 35% of the radiator. My engine always runs cool, so I'm in no real hurry to get the other fan mounted up. I'm also using a 2nd gen radiator, but with your 3 core I'd imagine you'll have far more cooling capacity than you'll ever need, especially in Canada.

 

It's.... 16" I think.

Cost and type? I got it second hand from a forum member and I'm unsure even what I paid HIM for it (I bought it over a year ago!) so sorry.. :S

Jon

 

not a problem, I don't mean to hijack but is the VB/BD fan worth buying? Its $125 with the thermostat

 

Yea that looks like the one in the BD mag.
http://blackdragonauto.com/icatalog/rx/0058.html

 

can do what i did with mine (b4 i sold it) if you have access to aluminum sheet metal about 1/16 or an 1/8 of an inch. i used aircraft grade. and go to town with a derimal and you can use bolts on the top holes on the radiator and zip ties on the bottom. i used 1 inch bolts to mount the fan to the shroud with self locking nuts(the ones that irregularly shaped not the nylon lock nut)

 

Second thought, yours has straight blades and the BD one has curved, also theirs is 14"

 

You brought up the VB fan at just the right time. The answer is no. It is an Imperial fan, 1600 cfm, and can be found at most auto part stores for $40-50 less. I have 2 of them, one bought at VB, the other one I saved by buying it at Advanced Auto.

The fan keeps my bp cool, so far, no summer heat test yet. I did not keep my 2nd gen cool enough, to the point I put the stock fan back on the 2nd gen.

 

Ok guys, I just gotta say this.

In Canada, it isn't winter all the time, and we don't live in igloos (at least most of us, lol). In the summer is easily peaks over 90 F with 85+% humidity for many days at a time. Where Jon and I live the average is well over 80 for most of the summer.

End of Rant/thread hijack lol

 

LOL, this from the guy who states he is from "the 2nd coldest capital in the world".

Anyway, I live in Michigan and I'm pretty sure that Canada is somewhere to the North of me... So you're probably not living in an environment that is hotter than mine, unless you guys know something that we don't. lol