any local guys building custom radiators?suggestions for a stock rad that would work?

[B2-Bomber]

i just modified my front clip and core-support extensively which shortened my radiator height allowance, and widened my width allowance.

my current project calls for a super-weird radiator dimensions. which are 50" long, and 12"-13" tall

I have 50" of space as far as width goes, but the taller it gets the lower it will hang.....that's bad when it comes to trail obstacles

my old rad (before the front-end mods) which barely kept my rig cool on a hot day on the trail, is 4 cores, and had fin cooling surface area of 28" x 19" so lets say 532 square inches of 4 cores.

and so a comparable 4-core rad that is 50" wide would need to be 10.6" tall to be the same.

any suggestions?

 

[STAG]

XJ Cherokee radiators are like 32"x11.5" ish

 

[B2-Bomber]

do you think one of those would cool a gm 383 with 240 psi of compression? (it builds a lot of heat) if so it might work. did those ever come in a 4-core configuration? in my experience even buying replacement rads for older vehicles that came with 4-core rads from the factory, (like say a 1970s gm truck) the aftermarket doesn't even make them in 4-core anymore.

4 core rads seem difficult to buy new these days

 

[TurboMinivan]

any suggestions?

A competent radiator shop should be able to help you out.

Back when I owned my Shelby CSX, it needed a new radiator. I took the dead one to an ancient shop in Provo (I think they're closed down) and told them I wanted it rebuilt but with a three-row core. The guy measured it, then looked in a supplier book and said he could build exactly what I wanted by getting a new generic core and attaching my end tanks to it. I came back a couple days later and picked up my new radiator, and it worked great.

Perhaps you could do the same.

 

[B2-Bomber]

intermountain radiator looked at me like i had 3 heads when i asked them, 1-800-radiators weren't any help either

i knew a guy years ago (ralph perea) who tig-welded custom intercoolers from scratch, with bulk core he had on the shelf. i couldn't find his number though

either way this sounds like it is going to cost a friggin' fortune, well i guess that is par for the course

 

[neagtea]

Buy an generic alumninum that has 2 or 3 passes
Or convert a aluminum single pass to multiple passes

 

['03_RUBI]

Lots of the radiator manufacturers are going from a higher number of smaller rows to lower number of thicker rows. Like this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/gri-5-70095 is only a single row buts it's 1 1/2" where multiple row radiator are usually like 5/8" rows.

 

[TEAM FRED]

Griffen will build you whatever you need. Reasonable pricing as well

 

[B2-Bomber]

is "griffen" local? or online?

 

[STAG]

They are some of the best radiator builders out there.

http://www.griffinrad.com/

 

[B2-Bomber]

so not local......

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Break out a tape measure and hit the salvage yards.

 

[B2-Bomber]

Break out a tape measure and hit the salvage yards.

you know, i did just that yesterday afternoon, a 1996 Land Rover with a 4.0 had a huge thick rad, that was like 14" tall, it looked promising. it had no filler neck on it, but i could have one welded on easy enough. but it was only 29" long, so despite being 3+inches thick, it was still pretty small

i got my first quote from one of the half a dozen companies that i emailed:
needless to say it was a touch more than i was expecting

It would be $1200.00 for the radiator it would be 3.25 thick
We can build you a shroud and fan setup if you are interested
We carry Spal fans

Thanks and have a great day!!
Garth Hillman

Totally Cool Products Inc.
138 West 4557 North
Rexburg, ID 83440
PH. (208)356-6483
Fax (208)359-8135

 

[MikeGyver]

do you think one of those would cool a gm 383 with 240 psi of compression? (it builds a lot of heat) ...

my old rad (before the front-end mods) which barely kept my rig cool on a hot day on the trail ...

That's not a radiator size problem then, it's an airflow/coolant flow problem.
Engines make way more heat when they're lugging a vehicle down the road, but they also have air/coolant flow.
Your race motor probably makes as much heat on the trail as a geo metro under high load. Keeping it cool should be easy with 2 electric fans (or even 3, whatever matches the radiator) and maybe an electric water pump (since mechanical pump don't flow much at idle.).

 

[B2-Bomber]

i never said i had a cooling problem, your suggestions however valid, are suggestions to remedy a cooling problem

the problem i have is a problem finding a radiator that is only 12" tall

what i want is the same amount of cooling, no more, no less. But in dimensions that fit my new front end

i made reference to my engine, and the fact that it builds more heat than other engines
to maybe prevent ridiculous suggestions like "a rad for a geo metro should fit"