Background: My FD came with an FMIC, and a Megan racing radiator mounted in an almost upright orientation with the stock fans attached and no A/C. I'm taking this build in a slightly different direction than the PO, and plan on restoring a working A/C system. So I'm in the process of mocking things up now - plan is to revert back to a stock (or stock like) radiator orientation, and go with a large core IC mounted in the stock configuration. I don't have an AST, and the battery is currently in the storage bin, though I'm planning on moving that back under the hood but use a Miata sized battery.

Take a look at these pictures and let me know if it looks like the radiator is oriented close to the OEM configuration. Looks like I'll have plenty of space to mount a AC condenser, and the fans clear the oil cooler pipes. Radiator sits securely; what I'm not sure of since the engine is still out is if the hoses will line up correctly?



View from the front, got a couple of inches between the radiator & PS cooling line to fit a AC condenser.

View of the radiator install from the top

And version 1 of the prototype bracket. Final version will probably be a continuous piece of AL bar stock, bent in the right places to match the critical dimensions.

 

Does the radiator sit on top of the oem radiator mounting point bump-stops? Or did you mount it above or below those points?

 

It's sitting right in the OEM rubber mounts, and the brackets the rubber grommets sit in don't look like they were bent in any way. The rubber pieces are a bit more worn than I'd like, as there's a bit too much slop in the mount, but I suspect that can be fixed by a new pair of rubber mounting grommets from Mazda.

 

If that’s the case, then I’d say it’s definitely oriented in the OEM configuration.

 

Why not restore it to stock mounts and brackets? Just curious. Looks about right.

 

I would try that if I had the missing parts. All I've got is the rubber isolated mounting studs that I attached my home made bracket to, and the OEM rubber feet/brackets that the bottom pegs on the radiator fit into. Finding OEM brackets used is probably easy enough, but then that's another expense that I'll have to wait for, and there's no guarantee that the stock brackets will fit well on my Megan radiator. The PO had to make a few tweaks to the Megan radiator to make the fans fit right, which I've had to improve upon (see the bolt & sheet metal tab on the top view picture).

 

Yeah it looks like you have it real damn close to stock mounting if not perfect.

Stock the IC duct goes between the top of the radiator and the cross brace at the front of the car. You want to have enough space there for the duct.

Also that radiator looks REALLY thick but it could just be the picture. Like thicker than the Koyo.

Getting the duct to fit and line up right can be a chore on a stock mount sometimes, you'll have to deal with that when you have your IC set up in hand.

Dale

 

not radiator related but i would change out the horns to Rx8 horns while you have access to it. The rx8 horns are cheap at the salvage yard and are a lot louder.

 

Cool, that's good news - not easy sorting these things out when you don't have an unmolested OEM model to work from! The Megan radiator is on the thick side, I know it's almost an inch thicker than the Koyo N-flow radiator I have in my FC. It cools really well though, so I'm going to keep it.

Figured the ducting will be a bit of a PITA - the stock duct will probably be useless as I'm shooting for the biggest IC I can fit in the available space when I get to that point. Probably will have to get creative to DIY build a duct with some sheet metal

You're the 2nd guy that suggested chucking the OEM horns while I'm in there. Can't say I disagree, those horns sound wimpy!

 

I did a thread ages ago on the Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager horns. I used to have a '95 Quest and it had a decent sounding horn - not fancy, just a good horn sound. Got a set for like $1 at the junkyard and they bolt on/plug in without any wiring or anything. They're also easy to get at the junkyard, both are on a bracket under the driver's headlight, remove the headlight, remove the bracket, done.

Pettit makes various fiberglass SMIC ducts. Not sure what SMIC you will be running but they can be a good way to go. If nothing else you can have 90% of it then you can modify it to fit if necessary.

Dale

 

Oh, BTW, I meant to say that the metal zig-zag line there is the power steering cooler loop. When I did my FMIC I replaced it with a small transmission-type cooler


You have room for that loop but that cooler is another good option.

Dale

 

I installed a set of the FIAMM freeway blasters and called it a day. No one will ever say these horns are wimpy lol

 

Update - well I thought I was done with the radiator mounting, but ran into another problem. Over the weekend I picked up a few used parts for my FD project - the bumper reinforcement piece, the plastic under tray and a good Denso A/C compressor. After installing the bumper reinforcement, and test fitting the radiator again, I'm finding that the radiator hangs up on one corner (upper hose side) against the bumper reinforcement, leaving about a 1-1/2" gap between my fabricated bracket and the radiator. As a result, the radiator top sits a wee bit too high, and it's a tight fit with the relay box wiring installed. Pictures below. I really don't want to have to grind down any of the bumper support to make the damned Megan radiator fit... Any other ideas? I suppose I can get a Koyo N-flow, which supposedly fits well in the stock mount configuration, but that would be another expense to replace an otherwise fine radiator.



Here's where the radiator hangs up on the bumper reinforcement.

This is the other side - radiator doesn't hang on the bumper on this side, but since it does on the other, you can see the big gap between the radiator & bracket that is supposed to be supporting it

Here's a shot of the tight fit with the relay box - radiator needs to go lower, but that ain't happening unless I do a bit of grinding on the bumper reinforcement - not an option!

 

That stinks! I don't think the Koyo has that extra hump up top either.

Really you can either cut that bumper bar or get a Koyo. It's up to you. Personally I'd get a Koyo and sell the Megan.

Dale

 

^I'm not seeing a better alternative either. Though while eating dinner the thought occurred to me that if I loosen the bumper reinforcement bolts a bit and pull it forward temporarily, the radiator might be able to clear past it, and once dropped down onto the bracket, not interfere with anything anymore. Down side to that is the next radiator R&R job will be a major PITA since I'd have to mess with the bumper to get it out.

 

Just grind down the bumper reinforcement! It looks like it won’t be too much to do. Besides, people have grounded down way more to fit aftermarket bumpers or lights.

 

So I checked to see if my idea of loosening the bumper temporarily would work - had partial success. The radiator clears enough to drop into the bracket like it should, but then the bumper still interferes with that very top hump on the radiator (by upper hose) when I try to re-tighten the bumper rebar. So it's either some grinding of the bumper, or a better fitting radiator.

I won't have to remove much material from the bumper reinforcement, but what bothers me is WHERE I'd have to remove the material from. Unlike just trimming along an edge, if you note in the picture, I'd have to remove some material from an area that has a compound curve in it. If I remember my statics & strength of materials engineering classes correctly from 35 years ago, by design these portions of the bumper reinforcement are where it gets much of it's structural strength. Normally won't matter, but in a fender-bender accident, that bumper reinforcement piece is already compromised, and probably won't do much to protect the underlying structure from further destruction.

 

I think you just need to get a Koyo, Pete. There's no sense hacking up the car to accommodate a poorly designed part that doesn't fit. The Koyo rads aren't very expensive and are of excellent quality.

Dale

 

Agreed, and after a little googling, I scored a new Koyo N-flow/dual pass radiator from Amazon prime for $228.xx last night. According to Amazon, it's coming directly from Koyo, so hopefully it's not a counterfeit POS - will send it back to Amazon if it is!