A New Full Width Radiator

[carrierdave]

I have been looking for a number of years for a new full width radiator without any luck.
The other day I stumbled across a Triumph web site and after a couple of minutes looking I came across a full width radiator on an outright purchase!

Looking at the photo it looked very similar to the ones I had seen before.
Upon further investigation I found the width to be labelled up as 22 inches; so taking a ruler I disappeared into the garage.

Fantastic ? It would appear to fit. Only one slight problem ? the connection to the thermostat housing pointed the other way.

However I had an old radiator out side so after a bit of heat application I removed the top elbow.

Then I went back onto the web site and parted with my ?140.00 and ordered my new radiator.

Then a sudden thought ? would the new radiator have plastic headers!! So a quick call to the supplier and my concerns were alleviated ? ?no its copper sir? ?wish we could get the plastic ones?. I don?t.

Any way it arrived on Friday ? So early Saturday morning I applied a bit of heat to the new radiators header feed and removed the elbow; I then scrupulously cleaned all of the surfaces of my old elbow from the other radiator and the new connection ? made sure it fitted and then re soldered the old connection on to the new radiator. Cleaned it up and then recoated it with some black paint.

Next procedure was to fit it ? Straight in with no problems ? lined up with the brackets and bolted to the mounts without a problem ? and there?s still enough room to get a spanner onto the front crank bolt!

I had to re cut the top hose but apart from that it went in without a hitch.

The only thing I have not tried yet is the bonnet ? Looking at the position I can not see there will be a problem ? If there is I can re drill the side brackets and lower the radiator by another 15mm.

If anyone is interested the suppliers were Canley Classics ? here is the web link

http://www.canleyclassics.com/catalog.a ... 3385868557

Bonnet should go one within the next couple of days ? If any one interested I will post the results.

Dave

[john-c-elan+2]

Hi Dave, I also found a (nearly new) wide rad which I fitted to my +2. It needed the top pipe shortening and turning round. Filler cap on right hand side too. I fitted it as low as I cud, to ensure bonnet clearance. What I didn't realise was that the hose clip on the bottom hose then caught the earthing wire on the steering column knuckle joint and tore off the wire -
no horn then. Please don't do the same as its then a rad out job again to fix it !! I made some brackets to mount the kenlowe and bolted it all in.
Then the o/s bracket fouled the air trunking so had to alter that too. But all worth it - no way does the temp gauge get anywhere near 'hot' now even when in traffic....................john

[richardcox_lotus]

Dave - Any Pictures ? Did you have to purchase any additional mounting/fixing bolts. How did you blank off the original elbow gap on your new radiator ? What did you use instead of the standard Top Hose ?

Just a few questions.........

Rgds
Richard

[carrierdave]

Hi Richard,
I have just posted two pictures in the gallery, one of the elbow that came on the radiator having been removed and one with the Radiator in situ.

The elbow I took out of my old radiator fits into the hole where the other elbow was removed. You may need to spend time here applying heat to remove as much of the old solder as possible to ensure you get a push fit. Then after cleaning and fluxing the joint I laid the radiator flat and soldered around the elbow.

The top hose is fine, the only modification required was to cut it back by 15mm so that the hose allowed the radiator to sit against the side brackets.

I also looked at the bottom hose connection and John is right; if you don?t ensure that the jubilee clip is in the right place it can catch on the steering joint so be careful.

In all it took me an hour to do the swap over; the main thing is to ensure that you get plenty of solder around the joint. Making sure it is cleaned with wire wool first and then apply some flux.

One final thing, it would appear that the radiator cap is different from the ford one therefore I need to get hold of another one for a Triumph; alternatively I may solder the top on from my old radiator.

Kind regards

David

[M100]

Looks a good find, but what about mounting the otter switch?

Drilling rather than using a through hole punch might prove problematical with the thin header tank.

[carrierdave]

Hi Martin,
No its not a problem. I have measured the header and the new style push fit otter switch will fit.
I obtained an old standard rad some months ago and had to fit the otter switch in that one - the trick is to drill it out slightly smaller and then use a cone shaped abrasive drill bit to enlarge the hole to fit the rubber and switch; this way you can ensure a good fit.

At the moment I am undecided as to standard otter switch and fan or Kenlowe - which gets over the otter switch problem. I think it may be a mixture of the two some how.

rgs
David

[iain.hamlton]

Hi Dave.

I have exactly the set-up you describe: wide radiator, otterswitch and inexpensive fan.

http://www.nfauto.co.uk/cooling_fans.htm

The fan is fixed simply with cable ties. I made the hole in the top tank with a cone drill, and it hasn't leaked. I use a relay to protect the contacts in the otterswitch. The car stays cool, even though I removed the fan on the water pump pulley.

good luck and best regards, iain

[carrierdave]

Just thought I would finish off the story. Rad in, fan in, kenlowe switch in, bonnet on - All fits and works very well.

In the end I decided to remove the old cap surround and solder it to the new rad. This ment I could use the old cap and it also lowered the cap by around 10mm.

Thanks
David