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Converting from US to UK radiator in a late 1500

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middie

middie

Senior Member
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I have a '79 US 1500 model (converting LH to RH) and the radiator was looking a bit sad so I took it to a radiator specialist who quoted me a price to recore which was nearly twice the cost of a new radiator.

My problem is that US radiators are scarce on the ground here in Oz, and if I buy and ship from the States it eats into any saving I was going to make. The only solutions may be to:

<span style="font-weight: bold">modify a new UK spec radiator to match the US one,</span>
<span style="font-style: italic">or if that's too difficult</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">change the thermostat etc to UK specs.</span>

In a photo I took of the engine bay before I started stripping it out (little insurance policy) I can see that the hose from the top right side (when facing the car) goes to the thermostat housing, while the top left side also goes to the thermostat housing. This hose has a T-piece in it which branches off to the overflow bottle. Can't tell where the bottom left hose goes to.

Am I right in this???

Does anyone have a picture or details of a UK spec setup so I can see what the differences are going to be??

Wazza
 
Did you consider turning the radiator upside down? I'm running a 1500 rad with the offset to the left and modified outlets so that I can cool a Datsun engine swap.

Kurt.
 
Interesting idea Kurt,
grin.gif
I'll have to see what the configuration of a UK radiator is. But that would be fantastic if it works.

Wazza
 
Warren, there are also those - mostly for racing who use a Suzuki or (I think) VW rabbit rad - they bolt in and are cheap (or so I'm told)
 
JP - you can always be relied on for a clever comment. I must look into these radiators and see how it works. Do you know which model Suzuki, and I think the VW Rabbit is called a Golf over here (but I'll have to check).

Wazza
 
middie said:
JP - you can always be relied on for a clever comment. I must look into these radiators and see how it works. Do you know which model Suzuki, and I think the VW Rabbit is called a Golf over here (but I'll have to check).

Wazza
Click to expand...

Warren, you probably noticed this thread which is going on concurrently:
Geo Metro (Suzuki) rad
 
Just an update on my radiator worries. I have been visiting a few posts on this problem, and it appears that the Rabbit and Geo Metro radiator solutions only work for earlier model Spridgets, while my '79 model has three hoses "sprouting" out of it. Went to the local pull-apart but they had never heard of a three hose radiator.

Can anyone enlighten me to how the top two radiator hoses can be attached to the same fitting at the Water Pump??? How does the water move around in that small space to get into the motor for cooling???? Very confusing. Can I actually use a two hose radiator if one of the top hoses just diverts straight to somewhere else in the engine bay and not into the engine.

Looking at diagrams in both Moss and Moss-Europe doesn't help as they only show the front of the radiator, and you can't see the bottom left (where the third hose comes out).

Wazza
 

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Back of the radiator. I'm thinking that the thinner hose just goes to the thermostat area and doesn't actually get into the motor somehow, but is diverted straight to the overflow tank.

Unfortunately I can't find an "exploded" view of the thermostat area, and my engine is still at the doctors.

Wazza
 

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Warren, the third hose (bottom left looking at the engine from the front) comes from the water pump which is behind the fan. That is where the water mostly gets moved. you might be able to get the flow from the bottom (water pump line) to the diagonal top.

another thought would be to take the rad to a radiator shop and get it pressure tested an cleaned. I have mine rebuilt at a rad shop - cost around $200 if I remember correctly.
 
Thanks JP. I did take the radiator to a shop and they wanted $550 to rebuild. That is why I am looking for a suitable new one to take its place.

I might have to start trawling around the various radiator shops in the area and try for a more sensible price.

Wazza
 
The two large lower hoses are the main feeds; the left side is the intake and the right side is the return. The smaller hose in the upper right is the bypass for when the thermostat is closed.

Cheers
 
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