BBR's 545 83GT..... it is alive

[Bob Holmes]

yep, diggin the wheels. Very nice.

[BBR]

Drove it down the highway today and it got up to a steady 210.... Of course it was 100 degrees out when I was doing it too and I got stuck behind a semi through the construction area.

I'd rather have it stay a little cooler even in 100 degree temps so I'm starting to think maybe a little larger radiator may be in order. The current one is a Howe 27 x 19 which has a 24 x 17.75" core = 426 square inches.

I am looking at a Griffin 31x19 which has a 26 x 18.8" core = 489 square inches or 13% larger than what I have.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Have you considered an oil cooler as well?

[BBR]

I have, but the opinions of their effectiveness are mixed.

The Griffin is wider, taller and thicker than the Howe I have now. Plus it was priced right. Can't upgrade without finding a deal, ya know!

It looks just like this one:



*Should* be pretty easy swap.

[milner351]

I have an aluminum radiator that I'm hoping to use in the falcon - if it doesn't work - I'll keep this swap in mind - how much do you want for the one you're taking out?

[STINEY]

Ever heard of a dual-pass radiator? That's what I went with, the inlet/outlet worked out great for my purposes, plus I figured I could use the extra cooling. Notice how the passenger side tank is split, the coolant goes in the top, crosses over to the other tank, drops to the bottom and crosses back over to the passenger side. Hence "Dual-pass", basically 2 radiators in one.

[BBR]

I have never used a dual pass. I guess that could be a plan of last resort!

I probably should have not used the Howe in the first place. It was the biggest that would physically fit in the Ranger, but the Mustang has a much wider space up front. The Howe has really slim tanks on it and the Griffin has much fatter tanks. I think this will definitely be an improvement in coolant volume, and cooling surface area as well as filling up the core support area much better.

At the very least, it will quench my mind's 'what if' that constantly torments me. haha

John, I bet the one you have will work great, but I will keep it handy in the event you need it.

[STINEY]

I think this will definitely be an improvement in coolant volume, and cooling surface area

This makes a lot of sense to me. Small volume would have a tough time "carrying" enough heat away.....

[BBR]

Well it certainly can't hurt!

Man, it was 105 degrees when I drove it home yesterday. Every damn surface in that thing was burning me. Took the t-tops out and had to handle them like hot potatoes. The shifter, steering wheel, door bar and window sill were all billion degrees trying to melt my flesh. The door bar in particular. I have GOT to put something on that thing!

[milner351]

That's one reason I don't like metal shifter handles - I prefer the white ball.

How about wrapping the door bar with white medical tape?