[Fot] Aluminium radiators

Tue Jan 4 06:21:39 MST 2022

 Hi - I'm not 100% certain about the thermal properties, but I'm certain that cost was a major part of the engineering decisions to use copper / brass back in the day. But for street-driven cars, copper / brass is superior for a lot of reasons if you leave out the weight as a factor. It's also more "forgiving" to road debris and flex than aluminium. For a race car, it's no brainer to use aluminium. Way less weight and they usually come with thicker cores and more "rows", hence better suited for the application. Aluminum does have a limited service life, but you can extend that with proper maintenance (flushing the system frequently if you use plain water as the coolant) and checking for cracks / pressure testing (catching problems before they become big problems).
Regards,Bob Lang

    On Tuesday, January 4, 2022, 07:57:24 AM EST, Alexandre Camoletti via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:  

Amici, just a question, doesn’t copper dissipate heat better than aluminum ?

Alex Camoletti 

De : Fot [mailto:fot-bounces at autox.team.net] De la part de John H. Hasty via Fot
Envoyé : mardi 4 janvier 2022 02:12
À : Dave Hogye
Cc : robert bownes; 'Friends of Triumph' Triumph
Objet : Re: [Fot] Aluminium radiators

We get ours custom made without filler neck ... side hoses... etc from Howe... $ 350 +\-

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 3, 2022, at 7:21 PM, Dave Hogye via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:

 I have been using a Griffin aluminum radiator for over 8 years now.  Also, nicely made and good fit in my TR3.  I ordered it with a shroud and puller fan. $700 total.  Radiator only, $500.  

They will build custom. I ordered mine without the problematic or crack prone factory style extended filler neck. I fill it from an expansion tank. 

Dave H.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 3, 2022, at 2:32 PM, Paul Ricco via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:

FOT, 

We have good experiences with Wizard as well. They have been reliable and the quality is very good.  As some people feel that oil coolers are a consumable a item, our research indicates the same may be true for aluminum radiators in cars with cast iron blocks. There are things that can be done to help them live for years. However, they eventually need to be replaced due to the relationship of cast iron, aluminum, water and electrical current.  

Also, I would say NEVER run any type of coolant stop leak product with an aluminum radiator, especially with an iron block. You will plug the radiator very-very quickly.  Not to mention the mess the stops leaks product makes where your block and head ports are supposed to be able to move coolant.  If you are swapping fluids, find the leak and fix it correctly. 

I am on year 5 with the last wizard that I purchased and it is still doing good. 

Paul Ricco

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 3, 2022, at 4:01 PM, Scott Janzen via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:

I got a custom radiator for the GT6 from Wizard a few months ago, and it is really beautiful craftsmanship.  I had them duplicate the dimensions of one I got twelve years ago from an outfit that went out of business.  They copied it perfectly. About a 6-8 week leadtime, maybe less if you are getting off-the-shelf. 

I will say that I’d had the prior one repaired a few times - they can be welded or sealed depending on where the damage is.  The last time I did some serious damage to it, so it was truly irreparable.

Much, much lighter than stock, too.

Scott

On Jan 3, 2022, at 4:05 PM, Robert Lang via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:

There are a bunch of answers here, but a lot of TR6 crowd buys them from Wizard Radiator (www.wizardcooling.com)

There's a guy on the Triumphs list - Art Lipp - that sells the Wizards at a discount.

My one concern about aluminium radiators is that most of the time you can't fix them, so if you crack them, it's in the bin for 'em. Copper / brass is more forgiving. Ally does have the "wow" factor, though.

c ya,

rml

On Monday, January 3, 2022, 03:55:59 PM EST, robert bownes via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote: 

Wise(ned) ones,

Where are folks getting (street) Al radiators nowadays? Just got the original TR6 rad back from the local radiator shop with an estimate of ~$360 to re-core, re-cap the lower end, and get rid of all the acorns the squirrels have thoughtfully stashed in mine, so I figure it's probably cheaper to get a new Al one than press my luck with the original. 

I found 3 row versions for a bit under $200, but they don't seem to know much about Triumphs (the pictures have the inlet/outlet pointing in the wrong directions) so I figured I'd check here...

Stay fast!

Bob

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