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radiators

radibob

Senior Member
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After replacing my 1098 with a 1275 I find the car running hotter. I still am using the old radiator, which has been professionally cleaned etc.
Have others found it necessary to update radiators when making this chanege and if so, have you used the newer cross flow radiator or another type?
 
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How much hotter? Are you measuring the temperature in the head or the radiator? What about before?

I'm using a downflow with my 1275 supercharged engine and it is doing OK, but I'm considering making new radiator mounts and mounting a larger radiator.
 

2091351

Jedi Trainee
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A 1275 is 16% larger +++>>> MORE HEAT

You might need a upgraded radiator to compensate?

Steve
 
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My down flow is a 3 row core. It does cool better than when the engine was in the midget with the cross flow (and that was a new radiator).

I think if you look at the construction and area of the stock cross flow and the stock down flow you'll find they have very similar cooling capabilities.
 
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Oh... and some 1275 cars came with downflow IIRC.
 

spritenut

Luke Skywalker
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A thermodynamics engineer on the Sprite List did the numbers on downflow vs cross flow.
In the end, there was no difference in cooling capacities but the cross flow was a weaker designed radiator. So he says.
I run downflows in all my Sprites except 1, it has a Geo Metro radiator in it.
All Sprites have 1275s in them.
1967 had the most powerful 1275 (from the factory) and it used a downflow.
The cross flow was a closed circuit set up to meet federal specs in 1968.
No more coolant overflowing on the street.
 

JPSmit

Moderator
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On my microcar forum, there was a similar conversation, after all the theories about various rads (not spridgets) turned out to be a different fluid mixture causing a different temperature.
 

nomad

Yoda
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Waiting for one of you to try the cheap chinese aluminum rads that have been on ebay. Someone?? So I don't have to!!

Kurt.
 
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R

radibob

Senior Member
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That was exactly what I was wondering !

Would a cheap ebay Chinese radiator solve the problem.

Actually the car doesn't run too hot but it will creep up to 200 at a stop light in the summer time, which I would rather it didn't.
 
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Is the belt properly tensioned? Washed the bugs out of the coils? Maybe a little more water and a little less antifreeze?
 

Jer

Jedi Warrior
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I also noticed a difference once I added red line water wetter to my system.
 

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