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 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.
I was all set to get the car back on the road when it appears my brake master cylinder failed. Yet another project has presented itself...