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need radiator FAST!! - please help!


Guest tom sixbey

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Guest tom sixbey

hey guys - wouldnt you know it, but 4 days before i have to make it to a tri-state autocross (200 miles away), my radiator quits... I need to know what (if any) radiators would make a good high-performance replacement that would be suitable to cool a v8 once i convert the car this summer. I have an electric fan, so clearance on the stock 3-row A/C radiator is already an issue... Lemme know what to do! - thanks guys... bonk.gif

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Guest Anonymous

What you're looking for is the Modine part #952 (20" core, for the 4cyl), and not the 951 (26" core.. for the 8cyl). Mike Knell was mistaken, the 952 only ever came on the 84-86 4 cylinder models. I know this after doing some browsing in a radiator catalog There is another one, the 919 I believe, which came on the 6cyl models that has a 23" core. Can anybody say if that would fit? It is identical to the camaro radiator we use except it is 3" wider.

 

Anybody have any experience with the 70-74 Nova/Camaro radiator he mentions? Its got a brass core instead of an aluminum core, and is roughly the same size...

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Guest Anonymous

I have the JTR book and want to do this swap as well. JTR mentions that the radiator is the same for for the 4 or 8 cylinder Camaro but the local store lists two different radiators. Can you guys spec which engine it is for? Radiator.com shows 4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines.

The JTR page for the radiator is here:

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZ_Radiator.html

I guess I will just order one icon_smile.gif but a first-hand confirmation would be great.

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I have seen the big radiator in the "mule" Z car and it works really well. However, if you look at the next page, you'll see the 400+ ci Chevy powered Z with the "wimpy" aluminum Camaro unit--no problems reported by them, and there are a number of guys running that same radiator. Just make sure the fan sucks enough (air) to cool everything down. I bought a JY Taurus unit as did some of the other guys, instead of the Flex-a-Lite Blak Magic fan. It was cheaper...

 

Davy

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Tom,

I made up a very simple rad mount which bolts to the tow-eyelets' holes in the chassis. Then I used the top mounting/fan mounting from a 86 Z28 to mount the top. Had to trim the plastic a bit on the top mount but very easy and neat. Click on the homepage icon above to see pictures. This also makes using the Z28 electric fan a VERY easy install 'cause the top rad. mount also mounts the fan!! I don't know how well the fan works, but if it's enough to cool the Z28, it should work with the Z.

Tim

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Guest Anonymous

Wait wait wait wait wait.... So you're telling me that the larger radiators fit? Which one are you talking about exactly, the 6cyl one or the 8cyl one? I will have to check those pics out a bit more closely... Did it bolt right in, or was some cutting or modifying (i.e. welding the end tanks up side down) required? I had a chance to buy a almost brand new one for a 6 cyl for $19 shipped, but I figured it wouldn't fit, so I passed on the opportunity malebitchslap.gif

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its not the radiator that makes you cool, its the flow of air you can get. i run a stock datsun radiator with a 327 in the forsaken SCARAB position, and i have had over 30,000 cool cool miles....baby

im running a flex fan off the motor because its dead reliable, and a 12 inch turbo saab fan in front of the radiator, i used to run 172 on a 160, if i turn the fan on it goes down to 162 constantly, and doesnt get over 175 in a stop and go situation.

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Guest Anonymous

So Tim, can you confirm that yours is indeed the 23 1/2 inch wide (fin to fin) model? And I'm assuming you didn't have any trouble mounting it. How much room do you have to spare?

 

And Leonard, the reason I'm so excited about this is because the larger radiators are much more common on Ebay and such, I'm telling you, I was this close to getting one for $5!!! yes, $5, almost brand new, and $14 for shipping. But I backed out because I wasn't sure it would fit, but if you guys say so then so be it! icon_smile.gif

 

This doesn't make much of a difference, but the bigger your radiator the smaller and thus quieter your fan can be. My fan clutch failed on my 240SX, so I took it off completely. So I had no fan cooling whatsoever. Car ran fine in hot SoCal weather with the AC on, and the temp guage would only start creeping up after idling for 10 min. I did have a bottle of Water Wetter in there though, so that might have helped a bit.

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Guest Anonymous

Tim240Z:

Can you measure the thickest point of the radiator? This will help everyone decide if it is a good swap for the inline cars. I would help me tremendously icon_smile.gif

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Craig,

Just shy of 2.5 inches. The actual core is only about 1 inch.

Tim

I snapped a couple of pictures quickly. Click on the homepage icon above. The first picture (they are posted right at the end of the list) is a little deceiving, there is about 1/8 inch clearance at the frame rail, about 1/4 inch on the other side, just because of how the side tank is shaped.

Hope this helps.

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