New All-Aluminum 3" Core Radiator

lookforjoe

lookforjoe

True Classic
Finally broke down & had a custom rad made by Howe Racing. Mount tabs are designed to work with the Volvo rad brackets I use. Bosses welded on both sides for the AC condenser and a fan shroud (that I will be making)

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Sized overall to the VW specs, but with proper 1 3/8" I/O to match Fiat spec, and 22mm sensor port.

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I'll be installing it soon, along with the AC condenser recommended by Larry.
 
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That's a great price!

In the mid-90s I had Griffin duplicate my X1/9 radiator, and that cost about $760. And they were horrible to deal with, and it took way longer than they quoted, and I had to send them my one good rad as a template, and they lost it.... Don't deal with Griffin is the lesson here.

But $450 for that unit is brilliant! Congratulations. Let us know how the fitment goes.

Pete
 
Very nice!

Why the heck Vic's didn't put the bleeder in the proper location (like yours) on their aluminum rad I will never know...
 
Finally made time to start on the rad & AC condensor install

Test fit with new stock X1/9 rad hoses from Bayless

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I've removed all the hoses from the car (had bought replacements, but forgot the bypass elbow, so that's coming), and flushed the heater core with Evans prep fluid. Once I have the rad situated correctly, I'll run the motor on 2 gallons of the prep to remove any residual water, then drain & install the Evans Waterless coolant.

The nice thing about the Evans, aside from the much higher boiling point, and reduced likelihood of hot spotting, is that you can run it with a completely vented cap - no need for any pressure in the system, so no strain on any of the new hoses.

I've run it on the Volvo for a couple weeks now, including AWD Dyno sessions and 1/4 mile drag racing (110mph trap speed :)). Even running to 9K rpm & with 450AWHP, coolant temps didn't rise more than 9ºf from start to finish on extended pulls, so I think it will do the job in the X1/9.
 
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Made the basic mount brackets for the AC condenser -

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And a fan shroud for the two 10" 1250cfm electric fans. The shroud has locating/guide plates to raise it off the core along the end tanks, and a top & bottom lip to help seal the shroud to the core. My TIG welding is less than pretty, but should hold up OK.

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Have to cut out the openings for the fans & figure out the best way to secure the fans to the shroud. Ideally, I would have liked to taper a rise from the outer area of the shroud to the fan openings, but that is beyond my current abilities, I reckon.

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These brackets offset the stock rad support bar to the correct lower placement for the taller rad.

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Just have to make a locating plate for the rubber seats.
 
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Just curious about your fan positioning....yours are oriented as far to the left as possible, is there a rational for that vs. more of a center orientation?
 
I'm wondering if the shroud is a good idea. It will effectively block off a fair portion, about 1/3 total, of the radiator. My Scirocco had a shroud, but also had flaps in the area where the fan wasn't, to provide flow-through in the shroud.
 
I tend to agree...

budgetzagato said:
I'm wondering if the shroud is a good idea. It will effectively block off a fair portion, about 1/3 total, of the radiator. My Scirocco had a shroud, but also had flaps in the area where the fan wasn't, to provide flow-through in the shroud.
Click to expand...

I never saw the functionality of "flat" shrouds, they just block airflow. Better shrouds are kind of funnel-shaped and allow air to flow through the radiator, but then bend it's path towards the fan hole. The shallower the bend, the better. But I realize there is limited space back there.

Maybe you could just bend the outer edge (let's say an inch) of the shroud to 45 degrees to hold it off the fins by 3/4 inch or so. Doesn't seem like that would be a big hassle.

Pete
 
It is about an inch off the fins, that's what the guide channels are for.

My Volvo fan shroud also has those flaps on the right side, with the fan oriented off to the left - I may add flaps for when the fans aren't running. Maybe 1/5th of the rad is under the flat right section, if that.

The whole point if the shroud is that the fans are more effective when the air is pulled through them. With fans mounted to the rad, the uncovered areas do not get proper draw through. Shrouded is preferable to not.

Moving the fans further right interferes with the coolant hose routing, and any venting flaps or raised taper/funneling I may want to add.

I would have liked more of a taper feed, but there's not really much clearance. I'll have to see if I can work something out.

Worst case, I do it over DTR, not the end of the world.
 
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I have to agree, unless you intend to run the fans all the time, you will be better off without the shroud.

Much more useful would be a small cowl around the a/c condenser, just to ensure air doesn't spill round it. That would maximise the a/c performance without affecting engine cooling.

Cheers R
 
Remove the shroud

You've already been beaten up over this so I thought might as well chime in too......
Sorry, for the bad news but no car has a covered shroud. The shroud just holds the fans and should seal to the radiator. I probably change 10 radiators a day and never seen one yet. That effectively eliminates the function of the covered (shrouded)fins. Fan position does not matter. I see it is already welded so it is a shame but your work is so nice I am sure it can be fixed.
I love the new radiator and your attention to detail tho!
The Howes solution is really nice. Good sketch and initiative. Makes me regret the Vics unit I have.
Bob
 
rturchan said:
The shroud just holds the fans and should seal to the radiator.
Bob
Click to expand...

Exactly. That is what I have made. A shroud to hold the fans, that has guides on the inner surface that align with the inner edge of the side tanks to channel air through. It's not fixed to the radiator other than by the bolt-through tabs on the sides. :)

I'm going to see if I can create a slight tapered rise by "pie" cutting from the corners & lifting the middle, and (probably) adding the flaps for air passage when the fans are not running.

EDIT:

Volvo x70 shroud with flaps - slight rise from side to fan mount opening. I will see about attaining a similar offset - flaps I will be using from a spare Volvo shroud

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Finally had time to work on the shroud today. Did the pie cuts to the corners & tapered the shroud up a few degrees. Slotted and folded the surface that meets the outer circumference of the fans, so that they feed into the fans

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My TIG welds are pretty ugly, getting more practice though!

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Should be able to flush with the Evan's Prep in the AM, bypassing heater core & radiator, then install the rad & fans with shroud.
 
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Modified the water return pipe, to get actual clearance off the header

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now I have an actual air gap :)

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Flushed the system with the prep, with rad & heater core bypassed, drained the 2 gallons back out. Blew out the lines to get out the residual.

Installed the radiator

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Need to adjust the base seats to set the appropriate angle of the rad - right now the bleeder valve is a little to close to the rear of the access hole.

Fan shroud is installed, all new front & rear rad hoses are installed, Evans Waterless Coolant is in. Just have to tidy up the rad mount, fabricate the AC hoses to the new condenser, rewire the fans to stock configuration.
 
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Rad from the front

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shroud & hoses installed, in that order

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right fan / feed hose

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left fan / return hose

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condensor with foam to seal air gap to rad - to ensure air draw through from AC fan

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installed condensor (reference - LarryC's AC thread)

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AC adaptor hoses - have to get the ends crimped at a shop that has the beadlock tool

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hose routing

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Ran to normal operating temp, main fan cycled on/off a few times after idling for 10 mins or so. Just have to finish bleeding the system. I still need to pull the cluster & fix the sticking temp gauge needle.

EDIT: Replaced fans with higher flow -
 
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