Split Peas new radiator

Well since i had a coolant leak i decided to finally install the aluminum radiator i bought off ebay a while ago. It was designed for a 128 or so it said but it was not plug and play. It is thicker and taller than the oem unit so i had to grind the lower bracket off and make a custom one. The upper mount holes were off so i had to slot them. The fan shroud was way too big so i bought a smaller shroud (1100 model?)from Obert but the fan wouldnt fit in the shroud as the blades were too long so i bought an aftermarket low profile fan. If this setup cools the 1300 i will be very pleased cause it looks good and provides much more space to work at the feont end.

Photos?

The radiator shouldn't have a bottom bracket, unless you mean you had to modify the mount welded to the body? Sounds like you should have plenty of cooling capacity though! I've run an old 1100 radiator on a mild 1300 engine in SoCal w/o issues so a new aluminium rad with a good fan should be great.

Hi Court, yeah i had to modify (i.e. remove) the bracket that was welded to the body. With it in place the rad wouldnt fit under the hood prop bracket.

The old rad really seemed much heavier than i expected. Could that have been due to deposits inside?

The radiators are pretty heavy, especially with the fan installed. The deposits may have added a bit but I doubt it was that much.

Weight...

pdxgeo said:

The old rad really seemed much heavier than i expected. Could that have been due to deposits inside?

Click to expand...

Compared to a modern aluminum/plastic radiator, the old 128 radiator SHOULD feel much heavier due to the thicker & heavier copper/steel core & brass caps, doubly so if the core is packed with muck inside.

Am I wrong

You say that the 128 has a brass radiator. That's news to me since my 1974 128 wagon and 1974 128SL both had steel radiators. X19's also have steel radiators that's why they are marginal. Put a magnet to it.

Charlie

Yugo rad replaced

I'm in the process of installing an aluminum rad in my Yugo.. Bought the same rad off ebay also.. Having no issues.... just need to install 2 nipple on the bottom of the rad..