[DeTomaso] radiator (long)

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/25/07 10:05:10 AM, chrisvkimball at msn.com writes:

<< I just got the word I need a new radiator for my '72.  The shop is going 
to see if they can get a replacement.  What sort of price should I consider 
"fair" or should I get something better, like a bigger, aluminum one from a 
pantera vendor and if so, how much more does that cost than a normal one? >>

The last time this came up, a vendor-supplied Fluidyne 4-tube aluminum and a 
Hall 5-tube brass unit were very close in cost & performance. Buying a 
Fluidyne radiator from a generic speed shop will save maybe $20 but likely get you a 
rad that has no abrasion-resistent mounting brackets for the almost-mandatory 
Flexilite shrouded dual-sucker fans, no thermal fan switches and no help if 
things go wrong. All this can be pieced together, but why bother? My 
vendor-supplied aluminum Fluidyne rad has given us zero trouble in 5 years of duty, was a 
drop-in install and cools better than my old aftermarket copper unit. It 
weighs 16 lbs- less than half a 40-lb OEM one and about 1/2 my 20-yr-old copper 
aftermarket unit. People complain about corrosion possibilities with aluminum 
cooling systems in spite of all Corvettes, and most other GM cars & trucks using 
aluminum rads since the early '80s. This is not new technolgy! Many Japanese 
cars & trucks started using aluminum radiators since international copper 
prices started climbing decades ago. 
With your gadget-background, Chris, re-read my article on care & feeding of 
aluminum cooling systems (Sept 2005 POCA News). Use a good VOM to detect 
galvanic corrosion problems in your area before you buy anything. Condensed version- 
with a good (key word) VOM set on the 0-1 or 2 volt DC range, lower one probe 
into the coolant in your surge tank while grounding the other probe. If you 
read more than about 95 mV potential, your system WILL electrochemically 
corrode aluminum (or anything else!) unless you add a sacrificial magnesium anode or 
some magic fluid. Both work. A $15 Radio Shack VOM will show nothing; my $250 
Fluke VOM worked fine. Note this tip came from the Corvette Forum and is 
common knowlege to those guys and their specialty shops since they've been dealing 
with it for over 30 years. 
FWIW, our almost-all-aluminum cooling system (rad, water pump, oil-to-water 
heat exchanger and most fittings), using N. Nevada tap water, generates only 
35mV, so I did nothing to drop it lower. Also note- distilled water is slightly 
acidic right out of the container and makes corrosion levels worse. Soft water 
is best. Finally, be sure to add anti-freeze to give a little more built-in 
protection to any alloy components. This may affect your VOM-reading; I didn't 
try it with plain water.  Good luck- J DeRyke
<BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at 
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour</HTML>