Wizard Radiators for Healey's

[Patrick67BJ8]

Anybody familiar with this brand of radiators?
https://www.wizardcooling.com/Austin-Healey-s/1817.htm
Do they offer better cooling capacity than the originals?

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Anybody familiar with this brand of radiators?
https://www.wizardcooling.com/Austin-Healey-s/1817.htm
Do they offer better cooling capacity than the originals?

Here's a link from a guy installing a electric fan and the Wizard radiator in his TR6.
https://tr6.danielsonfamily.org/Radiator.htm
Note wiring diagram info.

 

[Keoke]

NO Experience but:

Pusher fans are not as efficient as a Puller;
Many reports of these fans blocking air at speed.

Do not like what appears to be the shape of the bottom pan on the BJ8 Model radiator.

Aluminum is still not as conductive as Brass/Copper-??

Maybe their Aluminum fan shroud with an upgraded Brass/Copper radiator and a Texas cooler fan might be a better choice??

 

[HealeyRick]

Keoke - I think you have it backwards. A puller fan is more efficient than a pusher and the pusher, being in front of the radiator is likely to block the airflow. As far as the Wizard radiator, I have a friend with a 298 HiPo motor in his Healey with a Wizard radiator. He's very happy with it and says it keeps the V8 cool with no problems. I'm probably ordering one soon for my car.

 

[Keoke]

Keoke - I think you have it backwards. A puller fan is more efficient than a pusher

OH my goodness yes--I fixed it thanks.

 

[GregoryW]

I have one on my BN7, which is also equipped with a Texas Cooler fan. The car used to run at about 190, and now it runs closer to 175.

It will still get quite hot in traffic, so it's not a total cure. I'll be adding some shields on each side of the radiator in an attempt to reduce air recirculation.

The fit and finish are excellent.

 

[Keoke]

I have a friend with a 298 HiPo motor in his Healey

Hey rick:
Did you mean 289---:grin:

 

[HealeyRick]

I have a friend with a 298 HiPo motor in his Healey

Hey rick:
Did you mean 289---:grin:

 

[HealeyRick]

Installed my Wizard radiator over the past week. In order to get enough clearance between the fan motor and the crankshaft and water pump pulleys, Wizard built the radiator with the core moved to the front of the top tank, which required me to fab some new mounting brackets. There's not a lot of room left in there, but everything fit in with enough clearance:











Let it idle in the driveway for 1/2 hour and it stayed at 190 degrees after the 14" electric fan kicked in. Later this week I'll take it for some test runs and see how it handles traffic and the highway.

 

[Hoghead]

Beautiful but does it let it idle in 34C weather?

 

[maxwedge5281]

rick, can you be a bit more specific regarding the core location to the front. did you have to specify that? and how much depth does the aluminum shroud add to the overall thickness of the radiator? and what fan and size are you running? thanks

 

[Hoghead]

Could a copper recore in existing tanks be offset for electric fan clearance?

 

[BoyRacer]

I have been racing my Healey 3000 with an aluminum radiator and with a pusher fan for over 25 years. In the heat of battle it never goes over 190. I only use the fan when I am sitting in the pits to get the engine temps (water and oil) up before the race, and then when I come off the track and need to keep the engine temps down as there is less air flow.
I bought a Wizard for a street Healey and I was very impressed with the quality of construction and the fit. Plus, it' a lot lighter... a good thing for a front heavy Healey. In my opinion, I think aluminum is the way to go. But then, opinions are like a**holes.....everybody has one.

 

[HealeyRick]

Beautiful but does it let it idle in 34C weather?

Hasn't got that warm here yet. Frankly, I'm surprised it gets that hot in Vancouver.

rick, can you be a bit more specific regarding the core location to the front. did you have to specify that? and how much depth does the aluminum shroud add to the overall thickness of the radiator? and what fan and size are you running? thanks

I asked Wizard to move the core to the front after we figured out there wasn't room in the standard set up. The shroud adds an inch in depth. The core is thicker than a stock core as well. The fan is a Maradyne 14 in. which I bought here: https://www.thewedgeshop.com/, but Wizard sells the same fan. It's the narrowest high output fan I could find. I also needed to remove the shroud cross brace to get everything to fit. Wizard was great to work with and they'll provide drawings with all measurements before they build your radiator.

Could a copper recore in existing tanks be offset for electric fan clearance?

I'm not sure whether relocating the down tubes with the standard tank would be possible. I'd check with your radiator shop. I'm also not sure whether it would work for a 6 cylinder car (I have a V8 which, of course, is shorter) Also see above that I removed the shroud cross-brace for clearance.

 

[Hoghead]

32C here today and 38C last week in Kelowna

Aluminium is lighter but not as efficient. Weight is not as important to me in a street car that is not driven hard anymore but then again everyone is different. I would prefer the stock look anyway.
At this point anything to get her to run cooler

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Hogged, hope things in Kelona had cooled down. We're heading for Peachland in the morning.

 

[HealeyRick]

I bought a Wizard for a street Healey and I was very impressed with the quality of construction and the fit. Plus, it' a lot lighter... a good thing for a front heavy Healey. In my opinion, I think aluminum is the way to go. But then, opinions are like a**holes.....everybody has one.

Another thing that fits into the aluminum vs brass radiator choice is radiator design. Aluminum radiators tend to have bigger downtubes, thicker cores and more fins per inch which may more than offset any inherent advantages of the brass radiator.

 

[HealeyRick]

Got a chance to take an extended drive with the new Wizard radiator yesterday. It was only about 75 degrees so not an acid test, but it easily stayed at 190 degrees through stop and go traffic when before it would creep up to 205 degrees. I'm pleased so far.

 

[Hoghead]

I have decided to re-core the stock rad, and getting it done this coming week. "About 500" CAD for a modern 3 core design at a local shop here in Maple Ridge B.C.
Now for the fan(s) issue

 

[Lotuswins]

Hoghead,

Did you mean 3 row (not core) design?? if so, I would strongly suggest changing to a 4 row instead. I've been fighting with my 3 row, modern design for several years now and while it will do okay at speed now, at idle it won't keep the car cool enough.

My recore has a depth of 1 3/4 inches, and the original was 2 1/4, so you have the room to fit them easy with no issues.