[DeTomaso] MDs Radiator

[Ken Green]

Several people have asked about the radiator Dennis has been running the past 2 years.  I picked up two of these as targets of opportunity.  The seller said they were new Ron Davis radiators from a Craftsman Truck team that made some changes.  I also talked to the Tech guy at Ron Davis.  They are as follows:

Single pass
4 core (comes out to 6 inches thick
30 1/4 inches wide at the widest point (the bottom side are tapered some)
16 inches tall

They barely fit, and required removing any metal brackets around them, and maybe a little metal pounding.

They are specifically super speedway radiators, made for high speed use at 200 + MPH

The guy at Ron Davis did NOT recommend them for street use because it would be hard to draw enough air through them to keep them cool below 100 MPH.

Maybe Dennis can add some more, from his recent posts it appears that they work great at all speeds, but that's in his car, your results may vary.  I think Dennis switched to this radiator without motor changes, and the results were better than hoped for.  But, Dennis also opened up his hood to allow a portion if the radiator air flow to escape.  I think I was talking to Richard Barkley Saturday, and he said when he ran his engine with the hood open the fans did not come on, and with the hood closed, the engine heated up, and they came on.  The suggests that for Dennis's results, you need to open up the hood.

My theory is that a big single pass radiator is good in a Pantera because there is less restriction to flow (the long pipes probably add enough restriction), and the large volume provides a long dwell time.  This goes against the logic that you need a high flow velocity to get turbulent flow, but maybe the design helps that.  At idle, it seems like the flow would be really slow, But then there is the long dwell time to offset the loss of mixing from turbulence (just guessing).

It is my understanding that no previous radiator worked for Dennis the way these do.  So if you want to cruise at 170 for 100 miles, it may be a solution.  

Ken