Radiators

will a 2 row 1"core ALUMINUM radiator cool BETTER than 3 core stock radiator??

i see the ALUMINUM radiators have a natural and cross flow...whats better??

cross flow (by theory) is better as it gives the coolant more surface area to transfer heat away by directing it back and forth across the core as it works it way up the radiator where as a regular radiator all tubes lead to the bottom at the same time

--------->--------->
<---------<---------
-------->----------->
<--------<---------



^ ^ ^ ^ ^
l l l l l
^ ^ ^ ^ ^

you get the idea i hope

I don't know which one is theoretically better but I switched from a stock rad. to an aluminum cross flow and the car now runs much cooler. keep in mind I was using a 3 core (re-cored) 69 318 rad. in front of a big block drag racing. Normal temp with a stock rad. 200-220. normal temp with aluminum 180-190.

sounds about right I been using a old 4 core radiator out of a pickup i think (been 20+ years ago when I got it ) and tho the width was perfect the heigth was taller so I removed the lower suport to let it hang thru the bottom and never had a problem either ...so to me a 2 core crossflow is about equal to a 4 core brass stock radiator ...sounds pretty efficient to me plus 15 pound lighter at least ...LOL just tested out my system last week and know matter what I do (within reason) it never went over 190 and usually stayed between 160 to 180

what are you guys useing for fans and pump??

i have electric for both.

Im useing the original water pump that came on the motor in 71...LOL
but for a fan I had been using a 7 blade aluminum flex fan with out a shroud and it worked perfectly ...so why did I change it? Well for one it sounded like a tornado and two when sitting at stoplights in a school zone it would suck little kids into my grill...LOL Do you know what a pain it is to get out and scrap 2nd graders off your grill?now I'm using a electric fan off of my wifes hyundai, it only about 10-12 inches in diameter and mounted offset to the side ...seems to work just fine but for safety I am putting on a bigger one in a few weeks

well,mines been running hot and thats why im thinking of switching to a ALUM rad.
of course i run antifreeze and tap water :puker:

I'm running a Mopar Performance aluminum pump, a Moroso pump drive and an aluminum fan attached directly to the water pump. No shroud at this time but will be soon to keep people from sticking their hands in the fan.

this is my setup its a mr gasket electric fan, a ford scorpio radiator and i run a stock water pump! works very good even when crusing in the city in warm summer nights

BTW that is my father in the background and he likes beer for cooling;)

how big is that MR. GASKET fan??

what about RELAYS??..you guys useing them??..should i be?

relay...that depends on how you have it wired up ..if its direct wired all by its self then a relay isnt necessary but if you run it thru another switch like ignition switch then yes it is a good idea

mine is direct battery powered and fused so I dont use a relay ..so mine runs when the key is off until it hits the cool down temperature I set

i have my fuel pump,water pump and fan all hooked up to switches so i can put them on when the car is not running...is that ok??

im running a realy its conected to ignitionswitch, i also have a thermostatic switch that turns it on and of works great! if i remeber right the fan is a 16" fan on the picture its sitting centered wich i hade to move it alitle after the engine was put in its now about 1½"ofset towards the driver side to gain some clearens when working with belts and waterpump pulley.
radiators sits realy snugg betwen the framerails cant get a wider one in there:)

yOUR OK TO HAVE THEM run with the key off the only thing is make sure they are fused independently and make sure you have heavy duty switches rated at more than what they run .for example a 15 amp switch on a 60 amp water pump would be trouble

I run all my accessories off of a fused switch panel. Basically the whole car is racecar wired, water pump,fuel pump, interior fans for when it is hot sitting in staging, and lights. I don't run a relay for the water pump because its on its own circuit. I do run a relay for the Barry Grant fuel pump because it has such a high current draw and it is so far from the switch and BG recommends one also. Like outlaw said if your not running through your ignition switch you should be fine, if you are, then run relays. It lakes a lot less juice to switch a relay on then it does to power some of these high draw accessories.

my fan and water pump are fused separately but im not sure how we wired up the fuel pump. :scratch: