Radiators: Out with the old, in with the new.

The old leaking race radiator is replaced with a new racing radiator.

The old race radiator was finally done in after leaking from an area where the rows meet the end tank. It just wasn’t worth the time or effort to repair. The new radiator is a “Ford” style (called so because of the inlet/outlet locations) circle track unit made by PRC. These are quite popular with engine swaps since they increase capacity and use cross flow to further reduce coolant temps. This PRC model measures 19″ tall by 22″ wide and is a double pass, meaning the coolant end tank is section so that the coolant flows across the top rows and then back across the bottom rows and into the engine. The 22″ width leaves nearly 5″ of space at one end for passing the cold side intercooler pipe as with the prior old radiator.

The new radiator was hung using the stock hangers and a custom bracket from 1/2″ square tube that cradles under the radiator. This radiator has holed flanges top and bottom for endless mounting solutions. Because the new radiator’s inlet is on the left (exhaust) side, a cross pipe was added to connect the radiator to the existing outlet from the engine.

The dual fans were replaced with a single 16″ Spal low profile 2700cfm fan to better fit the radiator. The shroud was put on hold to see if it was needed. The new fan drew 20amps at full load which required new wiring. The new fan receives power from the under hood fuse box while the ground is run to a new heavy duty relay which is triggered by the stock fan circuit. The new cooling system proved highly effective at controlling temps in high 90s after numerous boosted runs and in traffic. The biggest issue is that the Spal fan is incredibly loud. If at all possible find a fan with swept blades.