Wedge TR8 Radiator upgrade

[Cheapsnake]

One of my winter projects is a radiator upgrade for my 8. The stock radiator is marginal and with a mild build on the engine, it struggles to keep its cool. I'm looking at putting in a 3 row aluminum radiator and found a couple that will fit with a few minor mods to the mounting brackets on ebay. The biggest problem with them is the lack of a port for the expansion tank.

That's not a show-stopper, but I'm thinking there must be a radiator out there that fits and has all the right holes in the right places. Anybody?

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Contact Woody at the Wedge Shop in Mass. He'll fix you up!

 

[DNK]

Also Todd has suggested a couple from Summit that work
HE might pop on in a while.
Ted also might help
Have you thought about having yours reworked to work better?

So with Mick's idea and the above. That ought to get you started

 

[GBRandy]

I have the three row rad from Woody and it has worked very well for many years now. Fit was easy and as expected.

 

[Cheapsnake]

Shoulda thought of Woody right from the start. Yeah, I thought about reworking the stock radiator, but not sure how much you can do before the cost exceeds new. Thanks guys.

Tom

 

[DNK]

525 from Woody and you can do quite a bit for that with the stock one
Also ,I don't know if the one from Woody has all the same connections
If you are running a 4 barrel, prolly not a concern

 

[tr8todd]

There's a guy on ebay selling direct fit ones for $450 or so. You can make a $180 Summit one work with an hour or so of work. If you want the screw in fan switch on the side and the overflow port, buy them separate and take it to a rad shop to have them welded on, or drill the holes and JB weld them on yourself. Rad dimension needs to be 26X16 to fit. You can make the 26X19 Chevy ones fit, but they hang way down...not advisable. I don't use the fan switch because I'd rather have an adjustable fan switch and electric aftermarket fans. Done the expansion tank both ways, welded and Jb welded in a pinch. Neither way has ever resulted in a failure. If you want the real easy way out, just tee into the top hose or one of the heater hoses and don't go to the radiator at all.

 

[Cheapsnake]

$525 is a bit spendy for me. I looked at the SBC (Camaro) radiators and likewise not crazy about it hanging down so far. I just looked at a Fiero radiator https://www.ebay.com/itm/180851995228?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649, 24.5"W x 16"H x 2.5"D, inlet and outlet are generally in the right places but are 1 1/4" vs. 1 1/2". 3 row, all aluminum with 14" fan for $196 SHIPPED! As for the expansion tank port, I'm going to take the easy (read safe) way out and tap into the return line.

I'm going to mock it up this aft and let you know how it works.

Tom

 

[DNK]

Do a search for TR8 rads here with Todds name
What is his handle anyway?

Then you'll find the Summit post

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Do a search for TR8 rads here with Todds name
What is his handle anyway?

Look up two posts from yours. :wink:

 

[DNK]

Well dang ,snuck one in while I was typing

 

[Cheapsnake]

Couldn't find Todd's rads Summit post or the two posts up from mine. I did mock the Fiero radiator up this afternoon. It fits within the stock radiator envelope fine, may require a 1/2" spacer on the sides. The other issue is that the stock radiator mounts with four studs, two top and two bottom to hold it in place. These are missing on the Fiero radiator. To remedy this I welded in U-shaped saddles on the bottom bracket. I fabbed up a new top bracket out of 16 ga with a similar saddle arrangement. I could have hacked up the stock top bracket to make it work, but I wanted to keep it intact since it also serves as the fan mounting structure in case I want to revert to the stock fans.

Anyway, so far so good. My only concern is whether a radiator sized for a 2.8L engine is up to the task, but with a core size almost equal to the TR8's plus being 3 row and aluminum I'm thinking it'll be an improvement. BTW Todd, I would like to see Summit's radiator before I drop the hammer on this one.

 

[tr8todd]

The Summit ones I use are 3" thick so you can't install them and the AC condenser as well. The stock TR8 rads came in two different thicknesses. The AC cars had a thinner rad to make space for the condenser, the non ac cars didn't have to worry about interference, so they were thicker. Non AC TR8s are a very rare bird, so not many people have actually had one of those thicker rads. Anyway, that Fiero rad should work fine, escpecially if you plan on retaining the AC. If you plan on doing away with it, them I'd opt for the 26X16X3 Summit rad. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/gri-1-25221-x/overview/ Looks like the price went up to $186. The two things you will have to do on your own are make mounting tabs top and bottom, and come up with a lower rad hose that works. This rad has the outlet pointing slightly up and inwards. Stock pointed straight out. You can find a GM hose with the correct sized ends that almost fits. Cut the hose in half, rotate the two halves until they line up and install a sleeve in the middle. Cut the ends to length and clamp in place. One of these days I'll remember to right down which GM hose I use. They have it on record at the parts store so I always just have them look it up. Finding it the first time was just a matter of digging thru their hoses till I found one that worked. Top hose remains stock. The stock TR7s had cardboard panels beside the radiator to prevent air from blowing around the sides of the rad. These help. The 8 also had a little plastic lip under the bottom of the radiator support to scoop air up into the rad. Don't forget to put some sticky foam between the rad and bracket to keep it from rattling around. I use closed cell foam for selling boat hatches. Cheap stuff for sale in the window and door insulation area.

 

[Cheapsnake]

The Summit radiator would work for me, AC is long gone. Actually, when I took the AC condenser off the cooling improved greatly, but still not quite enough to make me comfortable. I do like your mounting method using the studs, not sure if it would work on the Fiero radiator though. The only concern about the Griffin radiator is the old issue of epoxy bonding failure, which may be just one of those things that gets going over the net and myth eventually becomes fact. Any problems with yours?

BTW, my 8 (not a conversion) also has the cardboard seals on the sides. Thanks for the info Todd, I'll post my results.

Tom