Hey, guys:
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Andy Walker and I live in Edmond,
OK. I'm a regular on the Tiger list, owning a '67 Mk1A, but I recently
acquired a 1960 Series I Alpine that's been converted to a vintage race car by
it's former owner, Carl McLelland out of Sparks, NV. You may have seen
pictures of the car on Steve Silverstein's Competition Alpine site that were
taken several years ago at Infineon Raceway (Sears Point). Carl had done a
very good job converting it from a street car to a racer, but had admittedly
been a little apprehensive about taking it all the way to "racerville"
(actually, another mistress crossed his path...a Lotus 61 Formula Ford...he
bought that rascal and has been very, very successful racing with CSRG and HSR
out west). Consequently, I'm now in the process of taking the Alpine that one
more step to complete, never-to-be-a-street-car-again, vintage racer.
Now, here I go with the questions. I'm probably going to have a million of
these, but I'll keep this e-mail to the subject of radiators and hoses. I'm
needing to put a more efficient radiator in the car as Carl said that it would
run pretty hot while being pushed to the limit on a hot day and, since the
group I will race with runs half of it's schedule in south-central Texas at
Texas World Speedway, heat will be a factor. Several other vintage racers
have suggested going to an aluminum unit. I took the radiator out last
Saturday and was very surprised to see it's trapezoidal shape. I began to see
some major dollar signs heading my way and, when I got to the radiator shop on
Monday, I found out I was right. No one makes aluminum tanks like the odd
shaped units on the early Alpine. Do some of you out there have aluminum
radiators? If so, where did you get them? Do I really need one? Are there
other, better options?
The other question concerns the radiator hoses. I've noticed that my usual
supplier, Rick out at Sunbeam Specialties, doesn't have them listed. Curt at
Classic Sunbeam has them listed but I'm having trouble getting ahold of him.
What are early Alpine owners doing for radiator hoses these days? Does
someone out there have the numbers of the some hoses that may be able to be
cut down to fit both the upper and lower applications?
Thanks for any help that I can get from you guys. I'm in a rush to get the
car ready to go as my first driver's school with the Corinthian Vintage Auto
Racing group is the weekend of September 10-12. I plan on getting some fresh
pics to Steve Silverstein for his site as soon as I've got the car ready to
go, so I'll let you guys know when that happens. Thanks again in advance for
any assistance.
Take care,
Andy Walker
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