Any Intrest in Custom Aluminum Rads?

I'm due!

As seen in my overheating problems, I am due for a new radiator now Mike! But....
How much???
What will I have to modify to make it fit?
How much better than stock? (4 core?)
 
Oh Boy....Here we go again.

Lots of interest from club members, none from the manufacturers.

Mike, God Bless if you can get this done.
 
I would be interested if good quaility stuff at a good price. I quess just like everyone else!

Mike Tuck
Super XR7
 
The parts are on the way. Fabrication should begin next week.
I'll post more info on the progress when parts start coming in hopefully by mid week.;)
 
Sign me up as well if you can beat the $550 price on Griffins.

When & how much is pretty important for me, as I'm just finishing up putting in a new motor right now.

You could not have had better timing.:)
 
That's for the "Standard". Actually $515 for manual, or $540 for auto.

For the "High Perf" it's $100 more. That one extra row makes a difference I guess.
 
There are some qeustions I can answer now so as to help some of you decide if your interested at all.

Bob:As seen in my overheating problems, I am due for a new radiator now Mike! But....
How much???
What will I have to modify to make it fit?
How much better than stock? (4 core?)

As far as price goes I know its gonna be higher than a stock replacement, but my goal is to come in lower than the smaller Griffin. I'll know more about the price once I get things in hand. I just want to make sure whats coming is going to work first. I really dont beleive theres going to be a problem but just as sure as I open my mouth and commit myself on a price something will go wrong and I'll end up looking like crap so price is not set yet but I have stated my intentions. Modifications: No doubt about it, You cannot get a downflow core to the dimensions to exactaly copy the SC rad so I'm going with crossflow instead. This is going to cause you guy's with auto trannys to either use an external tranny cooler or if you must have a cooler in the rad you will have to cut your tranny lines close to the rad and use new lines from the ends of the cut lines to the new inrad cooler. This is not as big a deal as some may think. After making the cut the new tranny lines will bolt right in no problem they will be prebent and the appropriate fittings installed at each end by me. You will just bolt them right up just like with your stock rad and cooler only they will be in a diferent location, but will work just the same as stock. How much better tan stock?: Well for about 3 weeks now I've been talking to people that are using this rad, they range from street rodders to circle track racers(asphalt and dirt) Drag racers and guys with hot street cars with engines sizes from small blocks to big blocks and not 1 person yet has been disatisfied. Every person I talked to had nothing but praises for this rad. Some of the street rod guy's are runing big blocks with AC and they say theres no problem at all. I got to compaire a Griffin an AFCO and this rad side by side and theres no compairision. I'm more than satisfied that the rad can handle anything we throw at it. The quality of this rad just leaves the others in the dust.

SC crazy:

Oh Boy....Here we go again.

Lots of interest from club members, none from the manufacturersYoure right about the manufacturers crazy, only 1 makes a rad for the SC. I'm not waiting anymore I'm gonna do what I have to do to have a reliable cooling system with plenty of reserve capacity. I'm not gonna risk all the work and money that I have put into my engine with one of those puny stock like rads.

SuperXR7:
I would be interested if good quaility stuff at a good price. I quess just like everyone else!

Mike I'm not a salseman I'll tell you that flat out right now. I will let my work speak for its self. Once you see the finished product you can decide that for yourself.

Irsudog:
That's for the "Standard". Actually $515 for manual, or $540 for auto.

For the "High Perf" it's $100 more. That one extra row makes a difference I guess.That standard Griffin is actualy 2 row 1" tube core. The High Perf model has a 2 row 11/4" tube core. The tube header plates on those rads are glued together. The rad I'm using has a furnace brazed core tubes, no glue anywere in these rads.

I realize that I have not answered all qeustions but maybe this will help some of you decide if you are infact interested. I am doing this because I have to build one for myself and while I'm at it I can build more as well. Theres no problem at all if no one wants one. I just thought I'd offer since I was already going to the trouble to build my own anyway.
I see a pretty healthy hit count on this thread. Dont be bashfull if you think you may be interested ask qeustions I'll answer everything that I have an answer for at this time. Later on in the week when I have rad in hand I will post pics of it and you can judge the quality for yourself.
Thanks for the intrest expressed so far.:)
 
Absolutely interested. I really wanted to avoid the epoxied tanks on the Griffin, and recoring the stock rad with a 3 core Modeen core is only maybe 20% less then the price it sound like you're trying to hit.

I'll keep checking back.
 
One or more for me probably.

I own a few SCs and have serious problems in this TX heat. I will at least get one if it looks right. I run 5spds mostly. With one new radiator I can run it on a 100+ summer day on the road track and give it the real test. I only have one SC that can go 20 minutes on the track but then the AOD overheats after a few sessions. I need one for the 5spd cars to go 30 minutes pretty much wide open thottle in 107 weather. Presently I only get 15 minutes and have to take cool down laps. Is this a one time build? Or will you make more if I am staisfied with the first one? Griffen will make one with the very largest tube they told me a year ago or so. At the time that was slightly larger than what they offered to us at SCP etc. But I had to argue with the engineer that I wanted overcapacity for my HP. I just droped it and did other things.
 
RE: Radiator

I just had Beko Radiator of Concord, CA. recore my 89 radiator with a heavy duty 3 row dimpled tube core. He did a beautiful job and charged me $150. If anyone is interested I'll try to dig up their e-mail address. GRClarke aka the SonySC@hotmail.com
925-984-3785 cell.
 
Doug the rad I'm getting has been run on dirt tracks around here for a couple of years and I know most of those boys, every single one of them has told me there is no problem with this rad.
They've all changed from Griffins and AFCO's because they tell me its that much better. Our weather around here 95% of the time during summer comes directly from your state of Texas so I know what your talking about. To me that is a good test of cooling system capacity, if it runs cool in Texas and similar climates then no one else should have any problems.
As far as the looks go. Could you elaborate on that for me?
I am interested in satisfying as many concerns that people have and would like to hear more from you on that.
This would not be a one time thing and I am willing to work with anyone on any kind of custom arrangement that might better suite there needs. However I have absolutely no plans to turn this into a huge buisness that has the attitude "this is what I make take it or leave it" as is the case now. Since you are a racer I'm very interested in your input. I've said before that I have spoken to several racers about this rad and beleive that I have come up with the good basic building blocks of this cooling system. What I have in mind is not a 1 size fits all type thing. I am willing and can work with people on a one on one basis to better taylor the system to meet that individuals goals.
Many options are available to me on this rad and I'll elaborate more on this later into the week. I think most people will be suprised at what can be done.
I know there is alot of skeptsism out there about this subject because of the way the last rad deal went. That was no fault of the guy's that were trying to make it happen. They put alot work and effort into it but in the end the manufacturer said NO.
So I'm tired of trying to get there cooporation on this and have just accepted the fact that they are not going to cater to us and work with what is available and known to work.
ALL input from everyone that may be interested is welcomed and WANTED by me on this. Afterall I am a fellow SCer and plan to be for some time. My only true goal is to help end this problem we have with our cars, so let me hear it!:)
 
Mike I just looked on the Griffin web site and it has changed so I cannot see the specifics anymore. The tubes are oblonged as I recall and I wanted the most oblonged tube sized used. For the SC they use a tube a little less oblonged. They would have built it for me but I got sour with them and thought I would rather work with someone more willing. I wanted overcapacity for my HP because I did not want to buy a radiator just to try it. The engineer owned a N/A T-Bird and he was probably right in everything he told me but then we got into HP and you know I don't know what HP I will wind up with on this 95 when I get into it. Now for those that I V8 I am not worried as I won't have an IC in the way.

Yea you sort of have to experience this heat. Actualy it is hotter on the track. There are no trees so we won't hit anything if we slide off. It is asphalt. I seem to make it out there between 2-5PM which is about the hottest part of the day. Even in winter I cannot get over 15 min starting with a cold engine. An hour later in a second session I have to do cool down laps 2 to 3 times which really brakes the concentration, and fun. I know I am a bit crazy for running a SC engine on a raod course but I like the cars is my only defense. I may not be as tall as Randy but the little cars worry me on head clearance in case of a roll over, even with a cage. You need some crush space before your neck gets rammed. ha.

Well I can't wait to see it.
 
Crossflow and Downflow Illiterate

Mike, I'm a little radiator stupid here other than knowing mine sucks.
So what is the difference between crossflow and downflow?
Does aluminum cool better than plastic or brass?
Mine is a 5-speed, so I wont have to worry about the tranny lines, but what about the IC mounting? Will new rad have a place to mount on rad?
 
Bob those are things I can answer now so here goes.

Mike, I'm a little radiator stupid here other than knowing mine sucks.
So what is the difference between crossflow and downflow? Bob if you look at your SC rad you will see a header tank on the very top. The top hose on the rad is the inlet meaning water comes from your engine and enters the top header tank. The water then flows down through all the tubes being cooled as it pass's through then comes out of the core tubes and into the bottom header tank. The hose on the bottom is the outlet and the water then flows out through the hose and into the water pump where the whole cycle repeats itself. A cross flow rad has the tanks on each side of the core instead of on top and bottom. Coolant from the inlet side of the rad flows across the airstream to be cooled and enters the outlet tank where it then flows back to the water pump just as before. All hose connections will be at the same stock locations with the new cross flow rad. The only thing that will be different in that regard is the tranny cooling lines. That will only need to be addressed if you insist on using a cooler in the rad. My own personal settup will not have a cooler in my rad. I'm using an external cooler for my tranny in order to have a cooler running tranny and cooler engine. But others can have whatever they want. However adding coolers to the rad for the tranny cost extra just like with Griffin.

Does aluminum cool better than plastic or brass? Aluminum transfers heat better than brass or plastic. Plastic parts of the rad are the tanks. The core which is the part of the rad that actualy is responsable for the heat transfer is always aluminum or brass, but nowadays most cores are aluminum.

Mine is a 5-speed, so I wont have to worry about the tranny lines, but what about the IC mounting? Will new rad have a place to mount on rad?Well Bob since you dont want a cooler in your rad yours would be the least expensive model, and yes all the framework will be there to mount the IC bellows and the IC will be in the stock posistion. There will be other models that can sport an even larger rad for guy's that are doing FMIC's which is also what I'm doing with mine. I can also build the framework so that you can just bolt in the framework then bolt in the rad seperatly. That way incase you ever needed to remove the rad for servicing you dont have to disassemble the IC or anything related to it. Thus speeding up the job by not having to deal with removing parts that dont have anything to do with the problem plus you wont have to worry about if the IC tubes sealed this time. ;)


I'm pretty flexable on what I can do. I can literaly within reason build whatever you want or need.
I spent nearly 5 hours yesterday afternoon running around in a very hot street car that has this rad in it. The cooling system was setup for 185 deg and it never got over 188 deg, and that was after 3 consecutive 1/4 mile pass's. This car packs the front wheels on launch and is.....uhh.....faster than the fastest SC in the 1/4 that I know of, he's makin some serious power so this rad can handle it.:D ;)
 
Last edited:
Very ingeresting...

Nice work Mike. Glad to see someone is tackling this issue for real.

I'm interested to see what you come up with - can't wait to see pics of the rad.

Gee - how about engraved scroll work and mother of pearl rad cap like the old west Colt .45's??

Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Mark
'93 SC - auto
Tranny cooler ready and waiting
 
a little clarification

I am interested in a better radiator but not now, first my SC don't work, and i'm at school, 300 miles away. so for now, this is a non option.

anyway.
you say that all these "people" are running this radiator. you do mean this brand, style, type, (whatever) of radiator. you mentioned big block, small block whatever it may be.
However, i would presume that they do not have the same sized radiator that we have in the SC. they should obviously have a proper sized radiator for thier application.

so here comes the point. what we are dealing with here is: the limited amount of space we have for a radiator. from that comes the question as to the design of the radiator.

crossflow, downflow, whatever, brazed aluminum, great. i think the best help for us would be to know (approximatly) the number of tubes, diameters, and thickness of the new radiator.

because thats where the true cooling comes from. i haven't looked into griffin at all, but in reading this thread, i found that one of thier models has 2 (only) tubes, that are large (obviously). this seems just rediculous to me, besides the fact that their fins are glued on.

i really think those dimensions would really be most helpful to the community. they may not present a precise way of figuring heat transfere capabilities, but that would help in comparing radiator types.

ideally i would like to see a radiator with more tubes with smaller diameters.

granted i'm not a thermal tech, and don't know too much about that kind of stuff, but its all about increasing surface area and the amount of fin touching the tube, and the smaller diameter the tube, the less liquid there is that is not touching the walls.

i know i haven't said anything you don't know, but i just wanted to make my point clear.
i know your sole purpose is to get a high quality radiator, but since you are pitching this idea, i just want to help you bring the most pertinant information to the table.


Jim
 
Thank you for the comments James. I Should be able to address all of your issues sometime tomarrow.
Hopefully the Big Brown truck will come and you can see for yourself. All that will be shown is the actual rad itself. I will still have to fab up the framework and mounting brackets, but hopefully more info tomarrow.:)
 
Back
Top