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Got an odd-sized radiator question.. I have very little room in the nose of the car, leaving me with space for a radiator about 5.5" tall (6" if I must), 24" wide, and about 1" thick (leaving room for a slim 5" fan or two). <<a little insight- my bike's radiators are 1" thick, 6" tall, and 12" wide each>>

In Tony Pashley's book How to Build Motorcycle-engined Racing Cars, he suggests using the donor bike's radiators (overly-complex in my case), having a custom radiator made (a good option- just haven't looked into cost yet), or using an oil cooler as a radiator; I would never have thought to do that, but with a quick look, it seems the sizes of oil coolers is close to what I need- anyone done this? I guess I'd have to make/buy a header tank for the cap/hose fittings, but it could be done..

OR, do any of you have a source to shop radiators by size?

as always- thanks for the insight-

ccrunner

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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

You could use an oil cooler but it will be less efficient than a proper radiator since they're typically designed differently. The fin spacing, core thickness, and passage diameters are much different on an old cooler versus a radiator since one has to pass and cool 60+ psi oil and the other only has to deal with 15 psi coolant. Not to say an oil cooler won't cool coolant but it won't cool it as well as a radiator.

I would visit a local motorcycle dealership and explain what you are doing and see if they will let you look around the show room. I did this a few years ago and it worked out well (in my case I found that late 2000s Goldwing radiators are pretty small and compact and at $75 a piece they weren't outrageously expensive.) Plus if you ever need a replacement you know exactly where you go. Ebay also had some pretty good deals on bike radiators - you just have to look at bikes other than sport bikes.

Last I heard Griffin will do custom radiators but the ones I've used from them were expensive ($300+ for one FSAE sized one) and had a long lead time. You may still have to weld your own brackets after receiving it which can be difficult since the sealant used for the core melts at a much lower temperature than the aluminum.

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-Andrew
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the different conductivity of water vs oil should play a part.

Example- heater elements for water will burn up in oil, and I *think* vice versa. I'd be surprised if this didn't affect the design of radiators in some way.

There should be a lot of V8 radiators that are around 24" wide and are a three row design. Just cut it down to your 6" requirement and solder the cap back on or have a rad shop do it for you. Dave W

No pics?

I'd try using the bike rads, slanted slightly, with copper elbows to run them in series if the hoses cannot be spliced to work. The opening in the nose does not need to be as large as the core unless the core is right up against the opening.

Solder isn't good for butted joints so if you cut down a copper/brass, try to lap joints where possible. Brazing can be done to the tank off the core and away from the fittings. May need to reflow those areas with a torch and acid flux.