680RWHP12A

some good info here, definatly archive material

fbatman

i had the same exact conversation with "dwight" from radiators.com, then the guy that called me was an idiot. they just had stock replacements...basically it was a worthless conversation, and their "mazda tech" tried to tell me that in 85 there were no carbureted rx's...and the stock replacement was like $150.

warwickben

iTrader: (1)

steve84GS TII i love the way you setup looks wish mine was as nice.

fbatman

bliffle- have you had your stock rad "rodded and soldered?" because i went to the local rad shop here...which isnt much, and the guy told me that i couldnt have mine recored...he said the tanks were to small. i wanted to add a core to it, along with having it flushed a few times...but no deal, he also was going to charge an arm and a leg for it, if it had been an option.

Steve84GS TII-got in touch with Howe a few mins ago and waiting on a call back with someone to talk to about a quote on a double pass, how long ago did you get yours? and how many core is it?

mar3

iTrader: (8)

It cost a bit more all around, but it was worth it...here is the new 17" Derale electric fan just barely fitting the Wizard aluminum radiator...




mockup of radiator to support core...




The whole thing is up and running now and I have taken pics, I just can't figure which PC or laptop they're hiding on...I'll post the finished install when I find 'em...again,

Wizard Cooling, Inc
7241 Davis Rd.
West Falls, NY 14170
716.655.6760

I still have the crude "spec" drawing I did for them and upon which this one-off radiator is based, if anyone is interested. No epoxy is involved.

bliffle

I had the REPU rad rodded and re-soldered by some radiator guy locally (Redwood City, CA) for $125 and it's great. been running 3 years without a problem. I don't know why it would be costly for you, unless the guy thinks you're a sucker.

I bought 3 rads for my 7s: one at $180 from a regular radiator shop about 6 years ago, the other two were from radiators.com at $109 and $125 (the SE) in the last 3 years.

You can take a trip to the local junkyards (Pick n Pull is nice because you get to practice removal while pulling the thing out!). Some junkyards will pull it out themselves and have it ready at the counter when you arrive, but it costs more. Start calling your local foreign car wreckers with the yellow pages. Once you've swapped in a decent used radiator you can run the old one around town looking for a radiator guy with time on his hands to do your old one at his leisure. Then, if you figure you'll never need the spare, advertise it on eBay and craigslist and even rx7club.com in your regional classifieds. I bet you sell it pronto. Radiators only last about 100k, and one of mine died at 80K (but it was 20 years old).

Get an OEM thermostat from mazdatrix.com for about $18, it's worth it, much better than the $10 unit from the autostore. And replace the heater hose that runs under the beehive to save yourself an emergency repair. Don't reuse the old wire hose clamps, put on good ones. I re-used an old wire clamp once and it blew off!

If the $42 heater hose from mazdatrix is too steep, look for an old mustang hose with about the same shape at the autostore collection. Else, you can actually fit an ordinary 5/8" bulk hose on there. What I did was cut the hose about 6" from where it leaves the firewall on top (to simplify the repair) then I inserted into that stub hose a 1/2" copper ferrule (sleeve or joint) from the hardware store that's designed to slide over two pieces of 1/2" copper plumbing pipe to splice them. The subsequent diameter of that ferrule is just right for the ID of the 5/8" hose. then I cut the generic 5/8" the right length, plus a little for slop, soaped up the lower ID with handsoap, and fished
that sucker down thru the mess and onto the nipple where I used an appropriate visegrip or something to finesse it onto that buried nipple. Slide a good hose clamp down the length of the hose, tighten it onto that nipple, cut the upper (easy) end to length and clamp it onto that 1/2" ferrule. Bingo!

steve84GS TII

I choose my radiator from the basic selection of sizes they have for their race dual pass units.Its I believe a 2 core,but they are wide channels,the radiator is pretty thick.I bought it back in early 02 and since it wasnt a special size or anything,I just faxed them a diagram with specifics on what and where I wanted the special items(heater nipple,low coolant sensor bung).
Heres the list of their dual pass sizes.I think it was the 3rd one down,my receipt just says 342 Special since they made mods to it.They are all similarly sized though......http://www.howeracing.com/Radiators/...ors-Table4.htm

Also,have them add a pressure cap/filler on one side tank while they are modding it.I didnt have them do one since I was running an S4 thermostat housing at the time.When I switched to an S5 engine,I had to change waterpump housings and the S5 doesnt have the pressure cap on the outlet.I had to get creative after that and I really wish I had told Howe to weld one on when I ordered it.

lilmazdarx7

i got my radiator off jegs its a scciroco style radiator it was like $250 then i bought some alluminum angle pieces at home depot like $12 and had the local welding shop weld on the angle pieces like $30. jegs also sells the electric fans that bolt right on with no modification like $250 it kinda looks like the radiator looks just like the one wackyracer has. ive had this set up on my first gen for over a year with no problems.

lilmazdarx7

this is my radiator

steve84GS TII

Speaking of mounting,the Howe has none so you have to do some fab work.
Since the unit I choose was a couple inches wider than the frame,I set it on some hard foam blocks that sit on top of the frame rails.The end tanks sank into the blocks and have locked in place over the years,the foam keeps the aluminum from just rubbing on raw steel and allowed me the freedom to angle the top of the radiator forward until it met up with the sheetmetal behind the header panel.I then cut a sheet of aluminum and fastened it to the factory sheetmetal and to the top of the radiator with rivits.Simple,secure and removable,with no TIG welding needed.I also cut some side plates to box in the radiator and keep air from going around,you can see it in the previous picture.
While I was fabbing sheet aluminum,I also made a lower air scoop that attaches to the bottom of the Howe radiator and bypasses the intercooler,which gets the lion's share of the air from the front opening.The scoop passes below the airdam and picks up cold air from under the car,channeling it through the radiator without having to go through the IC first.I also made a dedicated air box for the main oilcooler,which is behind the slat I cut in the header panel.The main oilcooler air and the first,hot pass of the radiator exit the engine bay through the hood extraction vent.The IC air and the lower,cooler pass of the radiator exit into the engine bay,allowing some air to flow over the engine and hot turbo to prevent localized hotspots.
It all works great and was done easily and for little money.I have 4 seperate temp gauges....oil,intake,water into, and out of the engine. All of which drop dramatically when at moderate/high speeds.

j_tso

iTrader: (2)

For those of you with aluminum radiators, how are your FMOC installed?

It looks like wackyracer's is just bolted on with custom brackets, did you eliminate the rubber parts?

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

yup. Welded aluminum bracket on both sides and a little lip on the bottom to mount the under-rad oil cooler. OC's rubber mounts were eliminated and the existing brackets were modified as well.

steve84GS TII

I kept the rubber isolators on the FC oil cooler mounts since they are simpler and far more robust than the flimsy 1st gen rubber mounts.
I just welded some small tabs to bolt the cooler up to......Just dont expose them to any welding heat,or the bonding agent will melt and the rubber blocks will slide right off of the metal part.

vipernicus42

iTrader: (4)

Well I ordered the Ron Davis radiator. Apparently since it's hand made on order, it will take a month to get here.

I'll definitely keep you guys up to date with what all happens.


Jon

j_tso

iTrader: (2)

^Me too, except I'm getting the shorter one.

RotaryRevn

^^^
I agree, archive this.





I'm using the Griffen Scirocco. I had the lower tube welded at an angle to fit the first gen better, and had the heater hose line added. If I had to do it again, I would of just ordered one of those custom radiators mentioned on this thread that are made for the first gen.

I can't tell you how well it cools yet as the car is still under construction. (Don't mind the clutter).

fbatman

Steve- that is an awesome mounting solution, I've talked to Howe Racing and theyre probably the route that I'm going to end up going when I do find the money (college sucks...)they quoted me 375 for a custom size, but if you can make a standard size work, why not right? so I'll hopefully save a few bucks...thanks everybody!!!!

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

I had my 12a 84 GSL rad rebuilt by a local rad shop I asked for a 4 core but it wouldn't fit but they did a 3 core for me, looks stock but marked increase in capacity. Has been installed for 18 months without an issue

steve84GS TII

A 3-row,83-85 tall style radiator would be able to cool just about anything,they have a lot of frontal area.I didnt know you could stretch them to 3-row,I always heard there wasnt enough room.
The 3-row,79-82 short radiator I used to have, cooled my 13B 4-port no problems.

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

the max you can do on stock radiator is 3-row IIRC. Now for 4-row, you can use an ealier mustang radiator. thats what I used in my bro's SA. I think its an overkill as a 3-row is more than enough provided you have a good e-fan.