Subject: Aluminum Radiators (sorta long post)
Hi Ray,
To answer your questions with my personal experiences with an aluminum
radiator:
>How well do they work both moving and stationary?
I live in Tempe Arizona and have been driving in ambient 123 degree summer
heat. Under those conditions, stationary will tend to creep up on the temp
meter pretty quickly. But, not to the point of puking fluid. On a normal 105
degree day it will take 15 minutes of idling to see a temp around 205 on the
"calibrated" meter. Under normal running conditions, mine stays at 195
solid. Mine works well enough, that I was able to put an air conditioner
condenser core out in front of it, and that sure makes life more enjoyable
inside while taking trips (of course the air goes off and the top comes down
when we get there for "cruising". On the way back from Big Bear last year,
out on the desert it was hot enough (both air temp and radiated road heat)
to boil the gas in the fuel line (read attempted vapor lock on cheap gas)
before it got to the pump without over heating (air conditioner was on full)
the engine. On that day, the meter was reading around 220 (the highest I
have ever seen on it).
>Is there a full wrap shroud available with it?
The stock Tiger did not have a lower half on the shroud. To make one go to
the drug store and get a big sheet of construction cardboard, take a first
guess at what it will take, cut and fit. If its too small in an area, use a
stapler and put some of it back by overlapping the cardboard. Once you have
one that "fits" pull it out and use it as a template to cut some sheet metal
from the hardware store. I bought mine at an "ACE" hardware. I attached my
final lower half to the original shroud with a single sheetmetal screw (one
on each side). The lower shroud tucks under the bottom of the radiator.
>Cost?
$480.00 about three years ago.
>How long did it take to get?
About three weeks. This totally depends on their work load and the time of
the season. They build a LOT of radiators.
>Where did you get it? What is their phone number and location?
The radiator is custom built by "Ron Davis Racing Products" on the West side
of Phoenix. The address is:
Ron Davis Racing Products
7334 W. 108th Ave
Glendale, AZ
85307
(602)-877-5000
There are a lot of other "considerations" to implement that will help the
situation out a bit. They include, closing off the holes on either side of
the radiator with clear Plexiglas to prevent recirculating the hot air, a
modified six blade "rigid" Ford fan blade (that has references on previous
postings) with about 1/3 of the blade surface sticking outside the opening
in the shroud. Seal the edges of the shroud contacting the radiator with
sticky backed foam rubber to allow for a "low pressure" area to form inside
the radiator/shroud compartment. It is this "low pressure" that sucks air
through the radiator and is blown out the back by the fan blades. Run no
more than a 50/50 distilled water and antifreeze mixture, error on the side
of more water if you are not sure. Calibrate your temperature meter so you
know where you "actually" are operating. Check your ignition timing so as to
minimize excess heat generation. AND AN ABSOLUTE MUST if you use an aluminum
radiator, put some zinc or magnesium metal in the system as a sacrificial
anode for the electrolysis to eat-up. Several auto parts stores sell chrome
plated (outside) thermostat housings that are almost pure zinc. They are
cheap, $10 (relative to the radiator) and easy to change out and discard
every couple of years. Use a normal pressure radiator cap (for other
considerations, i.e. heater core). Use a thermostat, (mine is a 180 degree)
with 4 additional 1/8" holed drilled through the area outside the valve. All
of these valves require 15 degrees to move from where they are rated (start
of opening) to where they are fully open. I have not found even one
exception to this observation.
Hope this helps,
Cullen Bennett (B9472658)
Tempe, Arizona USA
P21988@email.mot.com
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