Aluminium radiator

[DaveTheNose]

After having soldered my radiator for the 2nd time and from the look of it it had been in a while and despite flushing is certainly scaled up, and as the car was running a bit too hot, I decided to order a new one. A new one from ESM would have cost me £ 180 and living in Germany customs would have added at least £ 30 to that so I decided to go for an aluminium one I found on ebay for £ 65. Fits like a charm and looks as if it could do the job. I have still to test/run it but the seller says it has 35 % more cooling capacity, of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating so only time will tell. Has anyone else had experience with a similar radiator?

[rocco]

I got tempted by the low price of the alu rads as well and bought one almost as soon as I bought the car.

It'll be a long time before I get around to fitting it so I can't really help you. I would be interested to know whether they are any good though.

[svenedin]

Here in the UK there are quite a lot of specialists who will rebuild a radiator for far less money than a new one. Originality is then maintained.

The Morris Minor is already rather over-cooled so a radiator with extra cooling capacity is definitely not needed!

Stephen

[DaveTheNose]

I have have now fitted the radiator, the only problem was the threads for the mounting bolts were slightly more recessed than on the original so I had to replace the bolts with 4 longer ones. I also replaced the thermostat and water pump, mainly because I do not know how long these parts have been in and at £ 20 for a new pump it was for me a no brainer. Could not really test the system properly as yet as there is a cold snap in Germany at the moment. But what I have noticed is that the new water pump with its longer impeller is a lot more efficient than the older one and therefore the heating came on a lot quicker and was way warmer than it has been since I have had the car.
As to "over-cooled" I would prefer to be very much on the safe side. When I think that in summer the tarmac can easily reach over 40 C and air temperatures in excess of 30 C and then stuck in stop and go. Maybe it was just the older pump and radiator combination but my traveller really started to gasp in such situations.

[svenedin]

Yes I think it is asking a bit much of the cooling system with a constantly operating fan to cope with all conditions from very cold to very hot! The Morris Minors destined for hot climates were fitted with 2x standard fans so that they had 4 blades.

Stephen