Thread: Another radiator question.

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J. Robinson has it right on, you'll need to be able to purge the air out. So a slight tilt would allow that to happen. Shouldn't need a second pump though, the DeLoren had a V6 Volvo engine and the rad was up front. Coolant was moved through 1 1/2 inch aluminum tubing with rubber hose elbows, nothing but the engine pump was used. If I remember right, I think they ran two rads, neither one was real big. Long, narrow, and two core aluminum, they didn't have much height to work with, with the sloped wedge nose. I used a tilted rad on the airplane I built, with a petcock on the high end to purge the air. Inlet and outlet were at the same end of the rad, with a divider plate welded in between. The coolant travelled down one half of the rad, across the end tank and back up the other half to the outlet. The amount of air going through the rad, is going to make or break the attempt. I had a small 4 cylinder Chevette rad, but I also had a 6 ft fan up front to suppy the air. Sniper

Jim and Sniper........very good points. I was thinking of slightly tilting the radiator, but for space reasons. The bleeding of air thing makes perfect sense, and I will have a radiator shop add a bleeder to the top tank. Honda's have a bleeder on top of the engine, and after working on one if you don't open it until you get no air bubbles, it will overheat. (Don't ask how I know........ )

The 19 x 31 size is perfect and in fact I have 40 inches width back there to work with. With a 16 inch SPAL fan or maybe two 14 inchers I should have no problem cooling it. The bed cover is punched with 224 louvers and I plan on punching more holes in the tailgate too, so air should be able to move through well.

Sniper, you have given me an excellent idea. I was thinking steel tubing for the pipes going to the rear, but alumimum makes so much more sense. I bet I can pick up some 1.5 and 1.75 locally and it should also dissipate heat better than steel would. Thanks for mentioning that.

Don

If you have access to a dairy supply place, or a larger steel supplier, you could go stainless tube. I had short runs of aluminum on the plane, after a number of years, it did show some corrosion in small spots on the inside of the tube. Even with the antifreeze 50/50 mix. A bonus is, the exhaust shops can bend the stainless with no problems, less joints, less leaks. As a side note. Had one guy make the headers for a Vee Dub powered plane from stainless. Had them tig welded, looked nice when done. Just thinking the piping could fit up nice and tight to the vehicle with the proper bends, would look like they grew there! Sniper

I like your bedsides. Did you roll the bead before the brake?

Thanks. Yep we did. I actually "inherited" that bed in it's entirety. My Son built it for his sedan-turned-roadster pickup, but later on changed his mind and bought a model a bed from Brookville. We had to shorten it and narrow it to fit my truck, but the basics were already done. I even got the metal tonneau cover we built and that he sent out to have 224 louvers punched in it. I made out REAL good dumpster diving that day!

Here are pictures of it when it was on his roadster.

Don