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MGB Ron Davis aluminum radiator, notes from my install

drooartz

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So one of this past winter's projects was to replace the radiator in my B. Originally was just going to pull the radiator so I could replace the fan and add the shroud, but when I went to pull the radiator I realized it had issues. Thought about having it repaired or getting a stock replacement, but in the end I decided to go full on and get a Ron Davis aluminum one.

Short answer, this is a seriously nice product. Fit was excellent, had to *slightly* enlarge one of the holes in the surround on the car, that's it, 30 seconds with a Dremel. Otherwise just drop in ready, looks good, and works well. Car never overheated before, but would warm up a bit on the big hills. Seems to be even more steady now.

Worth it? It's certainly overkill for a street car, but I'm very happy with it. I don't do shiny for shiny's sake, but am happy to pay for quality.

So here's the old setup, with three-bladed fan-of-death ready to shoot a blade through the bonnet.

mgbrad1.jpg


Safely packed radiator, ready to be installed. These folks can weld, let me tell you. You do have to attach the overflow nipple and drain plug -- drain plug needs a bit of teflon tape or similar to seal up.

mgbrad2.jpg


New Moss replacement plastic fan and a new fan belt. Should have added a top timing pointer while I had everything clear, but didn't think about it until I was done.

mgbrad3.jpg


This is what happens when your thermostat housing hasn't been removed in a while, and you use too big of a hammer. Moss sells very nice replacements.

mgbrad4.jpg


Done, from the engine side. Shroud, fan, radiator in place. Replaced all the hoses and clamps as well. Initially used the original style wire hose clamps, but the were not good at all at clamping. I now have some standard parts-store clamps and they work great.

mgbrad6.jpg


All in place and ready to go. Completely satisfied with the product, looks great, very well built, works. Not cheap, but for me absolutely worth it.

mgbrad5.jpg
 
Looks great! (BTW, one of the things I love about your posts is that I recall you buying the car as essentially ready to go - and have been doing projects ever since. :smile: I think that describes this hobby perfectly!) When we moved to Florida, SWMBO wanted a "move in ready" house - we found one. and then re did the flooring, the roof, the plumbing, the painting, and the bathroom. Move in ready - hah! ready to drive - hah!

:D
 
It's a funny thing, JP. My MGB is ready to go, as much as any MGB ever is. There's just always some projects to do.

Just wait until this winter, it's likely that the engine is coming out for a refresh... ready to go! :grin:
 
I have the early model version in my race car, and I can attest to their quality, it does a great job, and is very well made.
biscuitenginebay-2.JPG
 
What year is your car. Their site doesn't show they have anything past the early models?????

My car is a 1970 (November 1970 build). Give them a call, I found them very helpful over the phone.
 
They have the early version on their site, too. But I didn't find pricing.
 
So I went down and got a price for a all new radiator for my MGC. $700 brass or aluminum doesn't matter. My guy said the construction of the radiators are different and result in the same amount of cooling effect. The aluminum one will save some weight was the only difference. So it looks like I'll be pulling my radiator out of my Cee for him to use as a pattern. He did say the new one will have about 30-40% better cooling results.
 
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