Custom Radiator

by Chuque Henry

My radiator developed a leak, and I was wanting to do something different with the system anyway, so I decided to build up a custom radiator. The old design kept getting clogged up with mud and dirt and when you decided to clean it out using water with any kind of pressure, it would bend the hell out of the fins. I wanted to build a radiator that would not only not catch as much mud, but would allow what mud it did catch to be washed out easily. With the extra room available after ditching the clutch fan, I could also afford a thicker core as well. Time to make some phone calls. I decided to use Lincoln Radiator to make the ultimate off-road radiator. They had helped me in designing the radiator in my old Esprit, and were the best in Lincoln. Working with them we came up with several options. With a thicker core I could spread the fins and tubes further apart and still have a slight gain in cooling efficiency. This was the most important part, allowing muddy water to wash through instead of getting clogged in the tightly packed fins. Also, by going with a straight fin design we could keep it even more open and strengthen the radiator in the process. Straight fins run solid from the top to the bottom of the radiator, making the core more like one solid unit. The standard zig-zag design is both weaker and more tightly packed, I could see I was going to spend the money on that option as well. The last option they gave me was to have the core solder dipper, front and back. It was another $50 a dip, but this makes the core almost bullet-proof. It also allows the fins to stand up to high pressure washers and you can get that baby clean and back to 100% after every off-road excursion.