Radiator Resto I was already taking my fuel tank in to the local radiator shop (SAPPS) for a cleaning and sealing, so why not take in the radiator at the same time? The rad looked a little dodgy and for $80 to $90 you can get it boiled out, pressure tested, and repaired. They sealed up a couple of problems and I also had them put in a bung in the bottom of the rad for a temp sensor. The paint from the shop was not the nice job I wanted. Fortunately the rad just fit in my blasting cabinet so I could strip it down again to bare metal. Here it is naked and up-side-down showing the temp sensor that I later soldered into the bottom of the rad myself (the hole from the radiator shop was too small).
I then painted the top,bottom and sides with POR-15 and POR Chassis Black. The fins were painted with a very light coat of Eastwood Radiator Paint to promote good heat transfer while still looking pretty.
Make a Cool Breeze
With the radiator back to as-new condition it was time to think about generating a nice cool breeze through those fins. TR6's don't generally have a problem with overheating but removing the stock fan increases performance and also prolongs the life of the thrust washers, so it is a worth while upgrade.
You can't simply just remove the stock mechanical fan, you need to replace it with a Fan Eliminator kit - preferably the one from Patton Machine. Rick's instructions are easy to follow and the process is well documented on other web sites so I won't go into those details here.
I chose a 16 inch puller fan kit from Northcoast Performance (link is to their EBay store). I chose the 16" Puller fan with relay kit and temp sensor that turns on at 180F and off at 170F. You can also Google 16 inch Procomp and you'll find it. Cost for the kit that includes the relay and temp sensor was $52.
The kit comes with plastic mounting ties that you can run through the radiator fins. I chose to mount the fan to the radiator frame because I do not like the idea of the ties rubbing the 40 year-old fins. The first step was to cut one inch aluminum flat stock and attach it to the fan's mounting points.
I then attached the aluminum to the sides of the radiator using short self-tapping screws. Some folks mount it top-and-bottom but I chose the sides because there is less chance of puncturing the radiator.
The Coolest...
...part of the whole installation is the illuminated override switch in the cockpit. Switch it on for the fan and the LED illuminates. The override is great for those hot summer days. See a red light or stopped traffic ahead? No probs - flick the switch and keep that engine nice and cool.
You may be concerned about getting good airflow when this flush-mount fan is not mounted directly against the radiator fins - but don't be! I've heard of some people installing foam strips around the gap between the fan and rad but this is not needed and in fact may present a hazard if the foam were to come loose and drop into the fan blades.
I switched on the fan with the car sitting idle in the garage and was well impressed by the strong pull of air some four inches out from the radiator. I floated a sheet of paper in front and it was quickly and strongly pulled up against the radiator. The CFM of this fan is more than adequate.
