Discussion
Anyone out there able to recommend a company around the Maidstone, Kent area that can recore my rad.
Also interested in having a larger core fitted.
Anyone done this?
Does the rad still fit or are mods required & does a larger core make a difference in running temperatures?
What sort of price should I expect to pay?
Also interested in having a larger core fitted.
Anyone done this?
Does the rad still fit or are mods required & does a larger core make a difference in running temperatures?
What sort of price should I expect to pay?
Chris,
I can't give you any local contacts in the Maidestone area, however I know a little about the radiators having removed the one from my 4.3 Chim yesterday (with the help of my 13 year old daughter!)
It did not take long to remove (with fans still in situ) took the bonnet off, disconnected hoses from rad, connectios to fans, 2 nuts on bushes and out she came.
I had found a place in Coventry that would do me one in aluminium (3 core) for about £250, however it would appear that the one fitted to my car has 4 cores (upgraded I guess?), this would cost about £350-£400 to do in ali and would be wider than the original.
The chap reckoned that mine was in good condition, (I thought that this should be the case as I have a bill from a previous owner for a replacement in June 1999 and the car had not covered 10k since) it just needed a repair to the drivers side header as the soldering was poor. The cost would have been £50, however he would take the rad apart, flush it out, and resolder both sides (offered to clean, polish and lacquer brass too) for £80.
I have decided to go for this option, the car ran well with this rad, so upgrading it may cause problems (and cost cira £300 more), I have heard that they can run too cool as well as too hot!
Hope this helps,
Steve. G.
I can't give you any local contacts in the Maidestone area, however I know a little about the radiators having removed the one from my 4.3 Chim yesterday (with the help of my 13 year old daughter!)
It did not take long to remove (with fans still in situ) took the bonnet off, disconnected hoses from rad, connectios to fans, 2 nuts on bushes and out she came.
I had found a place in Coventry that would do me one in aluminium (3 core) for about £250, however it would appear that the one fitted to my car has 4 cores (upgraded I guess?), this would cost about £350-£400 to do in ali and would be wider than the original.
The chap reckoned that mine was in good condition, (I thought that this should be the case as I have a bill from a previous owner for a replacement in June 1999 and the car had not covered 10k since) it just needed a repair to the drivers side header as the soldering was poor. The cost would have been £50, however he would take the rad apart, flush it out, and resolder both sides (offered to clean, polish and lacquer brass too) for £80.
I have decided to go for this option, the car ran well with this rad, so upgrading it may cause problems (and cost cira £300 more), I have heard that they can run too cool as well as too hot!
Hope this helps,
Steve. G.
Similar theme discussed just before Xmas:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=143568&f=8&h=0&hw=aluminum
If that helps?
Trev McM
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=143568&f=8&h=0&hw=aluminum
If that helps?
Trev McM
Chris,
A bit more, the original bill was from one of the "main TVR specialists" and was for about £400, from memory:
Reconditioned rad £180 +VAT
Replace coolent and test and labour made up the rest.
It took Sam and myself 1 hour max (and this included a cup of tea!), I will get Wixer to help me refit it though as he is a stronger than a 13 year old (not by much
), I am not sure what his labour charge is either!
Steve. G.
P.S. As my car is circa 93 it does not have the cowling around the fans so I will be addressing this and air flow to the rad too.
A bit more, the original bill was from one of the "main TVR specialists" and was for about £400, from memory:
Reconditioned rad £180 +VAT
Replace coolent and test and labour made up the rest.
It took Sam and myself 1 hour max (and this included a cup of tea!), I will get Wixer to help me refit it though as he is a stronger than a 13 year old (not by much
), I am not sure what his labour charge is either! Steve. G.
P.S. As my car is circa 93 it does not have the cowling around the fans so I will be addressing this and air flow to the rad too.
Paul,
On mine there were 2 bolts either side that fixed into the inner wing, I left the hinges in situ, to be honest I did not mark the position of the bonnet prior to removal, but this is fairly straight forward to line up when you come to re-fit.
Just a couple of things make sure that ther are at least 2 of you, and put some corrugated cardboard in the gap between the leading edge of the bonnet and the body work, as when the bolts are loosened the bonnet can slip forward,I even taped some accross the front of the bonnet in case I needed to lean it against the wall.
Cheers,
Steve. G.
On mine there were 2 bolts either side that fixed into the inner wing, I left the hinges in situ, to be honest I did not mark the position of the bonnet prior to removal, but this is fairly straight forward to line up when you come to re-fit.
Just a couple of things make sure that ther are at least 2 of you, and put some corrugated cardboard in the gap between the leading edge of the bonnet and the body work, as when the bolts are loosened the bonnet can slip forward,I even taped some accross the front of the bonnet in case I needed to lean it against the wall.
Cheers,
Steve. G.
You don't have to remove the bonnet. When I did mine, I put the front wheels on ramps to give access to the pipework from underneath the car and propped bonnet open with a six foot plus length of wood. This gave more than adequate access.
Just remember to cover both wings with blankets or something, to avoid scratching the paintwork when man-handling the radiator out of the engine bay. Its quite heavy with the fans attached.
Just remember to cover both wings with blankets or something, to avoid scratching the paintwork when man-handling the radiator out of the engine bay. Its quite heavy with the fans attached.
PeterC said:
You don't have to remove the bonnet. When I did mine, I put the front wheels on ramps to give access to the pipework from underneath the car and propped bonnet open with a six foot plus length of wood. This gave more than adequate access.
Just remember to cover both wings with blankets or something, to avoid scratching the paintwork when man-handling the radiator out of the engine bay. Its quite heavy with the fans attached.
Peter,
I guess you don't, my problem is that I am in the middle of some work on the engine: larger throttle inlet/thermal plate / bling up, as the fuel rail and injectors are out I can't drive the car up ramps, thinking about it you could get away without putting the car on ramps too.
I just thought four bolts, couple of minutes, just had a full repaint so don't want to be damaging paint work etc, plus loads of access to tidy paint work around radiator, also it has given more room to do some airflow work around the radiator.
Cheers,
Steve. G.
Regal Rads. in Frittenden fitted an extra row in the rad for my 4.3 Wedge, together with a proper screwed boss to take the otter switch. From memory it was c. £150, but they did a good job - its a one man operation. It was getting a bit marginal on Track days in Summer (more power, more heat) and it now runs at least 5 degrees c cooler, which is fine in Summer, but means that the heater is hopeless in winter, even after changing the stat from 74 to 82.
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