Aluminum radiator

[jawa]

Has anyone used or tried an aluminum radiator on a Model T? I realize the top hose would be in the wrong location but that would be easy to change. Would it cool properly?

[Erik Johnson]

It's been discussed on the forum on more than one ocassion.

viewtopic.php?t=29326

https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/4 ... 1403484736

https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/5 ... 1430059495

https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/8 ... 1527383987

https://www.mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=18841

There are probably more threads so you may want to do some Googling.

[Craig Leach]

Hi Adam,
With the high cost of radiators and especially living in Phoenix Az. And the fact that getting brass & copper radiators repaired often cost $150 per
hour plus materials. Just a clean & rod runs around $300 I have seen re-core estimates @ $750+looking @ aluminum alternatives for a driver or speedster can make sense to many of us.
So I took the leap to try it. Hours of research, online searches & poring through catalogs I came up with what I thought was the best option.
Pulled the trigger on the one that looked to me to be the best one to try (plus I had just picked up a Miller AC-DC TIG welder) The Speedway
910-15600-B is sold as a T radiator with very close measurements. They do have hose connections for Chevy V-8s & they sell hose connectors &
neck kits to accommodate the needed inlet & outlets. Prices change all the time but when I explored this everything was around $300. There is
a Speedway warehouse 15 minutes from home so I took a shell & old T radiator to the warehouse to compare it to. The guys @ Speedway are
super accommodating. With a great deal of optimism I went to the task. This is what I discovered, the billet filler neck is in the wrong place so
the shell would not fit without modifications to one or the other, The radiator as about 5/8" to tall so the lower corners will need to have less
angle, this leaves very little room for outlet tube, the bottom tank will have to be notched to clear the engine mount. All this before you
remove the inlet, outlet & pressurized radiator cap assemble. The inlet is a challenge also as it will need to be half in the rear of the top tank
& half in the bottom. Getting the correct angle on the outlet look to be a pretty good bit of fabricating & still had to make a overflow tube.
With lots of care & painters tape all this information was collected without scratching the soft aluminum of the radiator. After considerable
thought I decided to return the radiator and parts for a refund. I ended using a fork lift radiator. Side note this was a low radiator application
this may very well be a viable endeavor for a high high radiator application as most of the big modifications will not be needed.
I learned a lot of things in this endeavor & I'm willing to share more of my failures if it will help email me if you like. If you feel the need to
have a correct radiator get your name on the list sooner than later.
Craig.

[jawa]

Thank you for the information.

[Loftfield]

Just a query: would a modern aluminium core allow sufficient water flow without a water pump?

[Kerry]

Core would work but for a thermosyphon system to work correctly a large top tank is needed, Canada Ford even fitted larger top tanks on the early models for export to hotter countries, ie, India, Africa and Australia.

[Craig Leach]

That was a main consideration with using the Speedway radiator it has a much larger top tank than the eBay ones do & the core has larger tubes.
Craig.

[jawa]

Thanks for all the information. I will get on the list for a new one.

[ModelTWoods]

Hi Adam,
With the high cost of radiators and especially living in Phoenix Az. And the fact that getting brass & copper radiators repaired often cost $150 per
hour plus materials. Just a clean & rod runs around $300 I have seen re-core estimates @ $750+looking @ aluminum alternatives for a driver or speedster can make sense to many of us.
So I took the leap to try it. Hours of research, online searches & poring through catalogs I came up with what I thought was the best option.
Pulled the trigger on the one that looked to me to be the best one to try (plus I had just picked up a Miller AC-DC TIG welder) The Speedway
910-15600-B is sold as a T radiator with very close measurements. They do have hose connections for Chevy V-8s & they sell hose connectors &
neck kits to accommodate the needed inlet & outlets. Prices change all the time but when I explored this everything was around $300. There is
a Speedway warehouse 15 minutes from home so I took a shell & old T radiator to the warehouse to compare it to. The guys @ Speedway are
super accommodating. With a great deal of optimism I went to the task. This is what I discovered, the billet filler neck is in the wrong place so
the shell would not fit without modifications to one or the other, The radiator as about 5/8" to tall so the lower corners will need to have less
angle, this leaves very little room for outlet tube, the bottom tank will have to be notched to clear the engine mount. All this before you
remove the inlet, outlet & pressurized radiator cap assemble. The inlet is a challenge also as it will need to be half in the rear of the top tank
& half in the bottom. Getting the correct angle on the outlet look to be a pretty good bit of fabricating & still had to make a overflow tube.
With lots of care & painters tape all this information was collected without scratching the soft aluminum of the radiator. After considerable
thought I decided to return the radiator and parts for a refund. I ended using a fork lift radiator. Side note this was a low radiator application
this may very well be a viable endeavor for a high high radiator application as most of the big modifications will not be needed.
I learned a lot of things in this endeavor & I'm willing to share more of my failures if it will help email me if you like. If you feel the need to
have a correct radiator get your name on the list sooner than later.
Craig.

What model "forklift" radiator, did you end up modifying and using?

[Craig Leach]

Hi Terry,
I honestly have no idea it was with some radiators I picked up from a friend that was closing his radiator shop, 2 of which had tags that read
Fork Lift. I hade to fabricate the mounts, move outlet & inlet, add overflow & raise the filler neck. It was smaller in size than the 4 Cyl. I-H
Scout radiator I ran for 16 or so years but has 4 rows of tubes & larger tanks.

Not something you would put in a concourse T.
Craig.

[randahl]

For what it's worth, I'm in my second season of running a Ford 9n tractor radiator on my speedster.
Buying a new T rad was out of the question for me so I had to come up with something.
It's a copper rad so it was within my capabilities to change what had to be changed for it
to work. The $169.00 price tag was a bonus. Works good, stays cool... It's not "plug and play"
but worth the effort.

[Craig Leach]

Hi Randahl,
Great idea, I looked at that but don’t think it will work out for a low radiator application. Glad it worked out for you.
Craig.