Doug Jennings of Tiger Auto in Dayton, OH (ph: 937-252-3317) told me
yesterday that he just had a 12-14 unit run of aluminum raditiators made.
Delivery is supposed to be in the next week or so. All but a few are
spoken for. Price will be "about $375.00." Contact Doug directly for details.
Gary Schotland
> 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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