Know any Radiator Specialists?
Discussion
I've got a Teal (Bugatti type 35 rep - pic on my profile if you're interested).
As the front profile is very narrow the standard rad I have fitted doesn't cope once the car is travelling below 40mph, so I'm thinking of having a nice new custom rad made which would be horseshoe shaped ie: follow the contours of the radiator cowling - but don't know where to look for a really high quality high cooling capacity radiator supplier who would be prepared to do a one off for me - any suggestions please?
Thanks
Igg
My goal is to be able to sit in traffic for more than 5 minutes without the thing overheating!
As the front profile is very narrow the standard rad I have fitted doesn't cope once the car is travelling below 40mph, so I'm thinking of having a nice new custom rad made which would be horseshoe shaped ie: follow the contours of the radiator cowling - but don't know where to look for a really high quality high cooling capacity radiator supplier who would be prepared to do a one off for me - any suggestions please?
Thanks
Igg
My goal is to be able to sit in traffic for more than 5 minutes without the thing overheating!
Forget horseshoe shaped rad.
Standard radiator cores have flutes that run straight, either up and down on 'tall' rads or side to side on 'wide' ones. Even custom rads tend to use these cores - unless you want to pay a fortune for an authentic early 1900s type rad.
Better to try and get the widest, tallest rectangular rad you can fit behind the cowl. You can also get thicker rad cores with an extra row of flutes as well as rads with flutes closer together, both of which increase the water and cooling capacity of the rad.
Worth checking Yellow Pages and phoning round to see if local radiator supply company can make one, maybe simply by fitting the top and bottom of your existing radiator to a taller core. Could probably only do that with brass/copper rad though, not alloy or plastic.
Might also be worth giving your cooling system a good flush in case it's just clogged up.
And if it has an electric fan, are you sure it's working?
Standard radiator cores have flutes that run straight, either up and down on 'tall' rads or side to side on 'wide' ones. Even custom rads tend to use these cores - unless you want to pay a fortune for an authentic early 1900s type rad.
Better to try and get the widest, tallest rectangular rad you can fit behind the cowl. You can also get thicker rad cores with an extra row of flutes as well as rads with flutes closer together, both of which increase the water and cooling capacity of the rad.
Worth checking Yellow Pages and phoning round to see if local radiator supply company can make one, maybe simply by fitting the top and bottom of your existing radiator to a taller core. Could probably only do that with brass/copper rad though, not alloy or plastic.
Might also be worth giving your cooling system a good flush in case it's just clogged up.
And if it has an electric fan, are you sure it's working?
What about an extra radiator somewhere? Oil Coolers aren't the greatest thing in the world but they do increase the amount of oil in the system...
Make sure you ensure that any air coming in through the grille actually goes through the radiator and not round the sides/top/bottom.
My car had the same trouble and it uses a Austin 1800 radiator which was recored with 3cores a year ago. It still struggled so adding a Pacet Super Clover 11" from www.s-v-c.co.uk has pretty much cured the problem. For effeciency it'd be better to put the fan behind the radiator rather than in front mind. Mine is here.
Lovely car you have there!
Make sure you ensure that any air coming in through the grille actually goes through the radiator and not round the sides/top/bottom.
My car had the same trouble and it uses a Austin 1800 radiator which was recored with 3cores a year ago. It still struggled so adding a Pacet Super Clover 11" from www.s-v-c.co.uk has pretty much cured the problem. For effeciency it'd be better to put the fan behind the radiator rather than in front mind. Mine is here.
Lovely car you have there!
Thanks everyone.
I have exactly the same fan already fitted (behind) the rad with manual over-ride etc. I've also fitted ducting to ensure that any air that does come through the front grill actually goes through the rad core.
I think the problem is that the original cars used to overheat if going slowly (they were racing cars afterall!), so it's more a problem of small surface area trying to cool a large 2.7L straight 6 which only just fits in under the bonnet.
I'll give Anglia Radiators a call as Cambridge is just up the road from me - thanks John.
Oh, and thanks for the comments about the car - I like it! It goes to Le mans every 2 years, so if you are gong next year look out for me!
I have exactly the same fan already fitted (behind) the rad with manual over-ride etc. I've also fitted ducting to ensure that any air that does come through the front grill actually goes through the rad core.
I think the problem is that the original cars used to overheat if going slowly (they were racing cars afterall!), so it's more a problem of small surface area trying to cool a large 2.7L straight 6 which only just fits in under the bonnet.
I'll give Anglia Radiators a call as Cambridge is just up the road from me - thanks John.
Oh, and thanks for the comments about the car - I like it! It goes to Le mans every 2 years, so if you are gong next year look out for me!
If you are getting adequate cooling above 40mph then it would seem the radiator is adequate if you are moving enough air through it. It might be best to look at the your fan arrangement first.
Ducting sounds good, but perhaps it could be re-engineered? Maybe it is creating a bottleneck to the air flow. If the rad is very tall and narrow, then are you using two fans, one above the other, or are does your ducting cone it to a single fan? I'd suspect that a single fan with cone shaped ducting would constrain air flow. Are your fan capable of moving enough air volume? Don't just look at diameter of fans - CFM, the volume of air it moves is more important. You may just need to upgrade your fans to higher CFM models.
If you have the right fan setup and it still gets too hot, then a larger or otherwise more efficient rad may be the solution. You could go for a thicker rad of the same height and width, but will need stronger fans to move the air through the thicker rad. An ally rad of the same height, width and thickness should be more efficient. They are more expensive, but have the advantage that you shouldn't need to modify other parts of the cooling system, such as the fans and ducting, if they are already optimal for the old rad.
Brise motorsports ( www.motorsportfabrication.com/index.htm ) in Dartford quoted me "about £275" when I asked for a rough price for ally rads whilst enquiring about something else.
Ducting sounds good, but perhaps it could be re-engineered? Maybe it is creating a bottleneck to the air flow. If the rad is very tall and narrow, then are you using two fans, one above the other, or are does your ducting cone it to a single fan? I'd suspect that a single fan with cone shaped ducting would constrain air flow. Are your fan capable of moving enough air volume? Don't just look at diameter of fans - CFM, the volume of air it moves is more important. You may just need to upgrade your fans to higher CFM models.
If you have the right fan setup and it still gets too hot, then a larger or otherwise more efficient rad may be the solution. You could go for a thicker rad of the same height and width, but will need stronger fans to move the air through the thicker rad. An ally rad of the same height, width and thickness should be more efficient. They are more expensive, but have the advantage that you shouldn't need to modify other parts of the cooling system, such as the fans and ducting, if they are already optimal for the old rad.
Brise motorsports ( www.motorsportfabrication.com/index.htm ) in Dartford quoted me "about £275" when I asked for a rough price for ally rads whilst enquiring about something else.
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