radiator angle

[renovationinnov]

hi all
i have a custom made radiator which was made by venom motor sports at an angle of 38 degress LAY BACK
my question for help is can the suction /input to water pump from radiator be above the water pump in take & still be affective to cool
i have an ls1 & the radiator is got the output /suction on left so to get the pipe to the righthand side i will have to make a pipe to duct it to the water pump BUT the chassis i have uses the cut down cross member from a jag & the chassis has a box section just above the crossmember so i have to go under this bar then 90 degree up to the in take of the water punp OR OVER THEN DOWN TO THE WATER PUMP BY 50MM so help again
ROB

[PeterAllen]

Rob – a few photos might help. I think that as long as the radiator output is always below the water level in the radiator then you would be okay, irrespective of were the radiator is. With my donor LS1 (VZ SS Ute) the radiator was always full and any expansion and contraction of the water volume in the system, due to temp fluctuations, was addressed by coolant flowing in and being sucked out of the reservoir tank which is not pressurised. I theory I could have the radiator output anywhere on the radiator.

When I ran the engine I use a plastic container as a reservoir and it all seemed to work okay.

You always have the option of relocating the input and output; just cut them off, weld a patch over the hole and weld on at a new location – after you have cut a new hole!!

[Zedn]

Rob, I am plumbing mine at the moment. I have both outlet and inlet on the drivers side of the radiator as i am using an aftermarket mustang radiator that fits between the chassis rails.

I have changed the thermostat housing to a straight fitting and then using a 45' bend silicone hose which will run towards the centre line of the car. It then goes another 45' back out and down so effectively passing between the chassis and the jag cross member where there is the most clearance in the centre. It then uses a 45' onto the radiator. For the top i have ordered 90' fittings to run across to the side of the engine bay and into the radiator.

I am running it all in 1.5' stainless pipe with silicone joiners/reducers.

I assume yours is similar due to the origin of the kit. Let me know if this doesnt make sense.

[Rob. Smith]

I had some pretty tight angles to manoeuvre and it looked like I would need a lot of hard line bends and many hose clamps...too many potential leaks. I bit the bullet and drained the wallet and bought a couple of "cool-flex" hoses. Pretty expensive but they are bent into some very tight curves, no kinks and no leaks....they look the part as well. Being made of the copper bronze stuff you can feel the heat through them and know when the thermostat opens etc.

[Jerry Clayton]

as long as the coolant level in the SYSTEM is higher than the water pump, it will pump the coolant flow thru the engine-------------

however, to simplify the plumbing(and appearance) have the inlet/outlets on the radiator reversed

[Rebel1]

Rob, ARE Cooling at Brendale can modify your radiator if you want. 3205 4620

Cheers

[renovationinnov]

yes today I got a block from custom radiators around ,he has designed a pipe to travel along the bottom edge of the radiator then turn 90 degrees then bend to run in between the chassis & rail all in 2 hours the standard vp commodore hose bottom fit straight up which he supplied so for $180 + hoses I now have a fitted radiator at last
the top hose I did the wire bent trick & off to repco I went ,low & behold it a hr holden top hose that fits perfect but tomorrow back to repco as I forgot hose clamps oops

THANKS FOR ALL THE IDEAS as I looked at all options

[sevenohms]

Hi Rob,

I am running the same chassis as you know, with a 65 mustang rad (fits between the rails on the tilt). I have the rad lower than the outlet from the engine. It doesn't seem to worry the car in the testing I have done. It doesn't blow water, or anything weird, which I thought it might. I have my thermo fan set to turn on at 85 deg, and I struggle to get it to turn on (I set it low to know the temp of the car, I'll lift it again later). General cruising I don't use the fan at all (I run an oil cooler and a trans cooler also), the PCM doesnt turn it on. Only 'fanging' it around can I get the guage up, and the fan on, but its more like a race situation, first gear 5000rpm for a long time. Even in heavy traffic on the ring road (20kph for an hour) still only just get the fan on, I think I remember 87 deg. The moment the speed picks up a bit, its off again. So I wouldn't worry about it.

Remember that the radiator position is related to the shape of the car. If it was an issue, it would be an issue on almost all replicas and the real ones too!

Give me a buzz if you want a chat about it.

Nath