Ian Perry Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Hi all, HELP! I have a steadily growing collection of second-hand radiators and starting to get a trifle fed up. I currently have three OEM ones; one of which has a water-tight core but the fins are disappearing like ice in the sun, another has a decent core but rotten side plates (awaiting repair), and the third (finally received yesterday after a four month wait due to Covid) looks good but has a hole in it! So, what to do? I am told cooling on the 1500 is a bit marginal, so is it worth (on an otherwise standard engine) upgrading? Do I go for yet another used OEM radiator, a re-manufactured standard one, or something like this (3 Row Aluminium Radiator For 1979 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1.5L Manual | eBay which hopefully is a library pic as the connections are all wrong) or something like this (Upgraded 2 Row Core Racing Radiator For Triumph Spitfire MK3 MK4 1500 1964-1980 9140992388722 | eBay - which at least looks like it might fit...) Does anyone have any experience of these aluminium jobs, are they any good? As always money is an issue, if I spend any more money on this I might have to start selling daughters or carving off body parts... VMTIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 If you want cheaper, and don't mind a bit of faff, the peugeot 205GTi radiator was always a very good upgrade. A local chap was teh first to do it, use peugeot hoses, fan, the lot and quite straightforward. Also the Skoda Favorit rads, only about £25new. But would need a header tank fitted. The "normal" looking ali spitfire one you linked to has the top connection at the wrong angle, it looks painful when fitted, or needs cut/weld job. I fitted one of teh £100ish std full width type rads to our mk3 a couple of years ago. Quality is not great... On teh plus side, I had a collection of old rads, all past their best by many years. 3 spitfire, a vitesse and a GT6, got £100 at the scrappy, which was a surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPearce Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 If your cooling system is in good condition and the front number plate isn't obscuring the intake, then the 1500 with a standard radiator should be fine. Maybe not for southern Spain but for the UK certainly. Do you have a radiator reconditioner near you? I've used the one in Cambridge a few times and they do an excellent job of rebuilding your old one. They may well improve its performance a bit above the factory spec without faffing with modified plumbing. Do check that your engine isn't all silted up, too. There's no point upgrading your radiator if the heat can't get from the head to the coolant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hunt Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Good point Rob. I run with 50/50 ethylene glycol/distilled water year round, changing every two years. I never find the block drain tap to be clogged and when the system is empty I flush with a hose until the water comes out with not even the smallest particle of rust. I think my clean block is the reason I never have an overheating problem. Most of the time, except on the hottest days, my issue is getting the engine hot enough! I run year round with a 91 deg C thermostat and for 6-9 months of the year I have half of the rad blanked off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glang Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 If cost is an issue then the cheapest option will be one of those aluminium rads however you can see the top connection problem mentioned, in the second picture of the ad. I think, as I found, you'll get an unpleasant surprise at the cost of having a new core in your current unit so I fitted a cheap ally rad (not Spitfire but from the same source) to my Vitesse and liked the weight saving and good efficiency. I had to modify it and would do the same to get round the connection problem on yours, namely, cut the top back to the first tube and use an alternative hose (GRH513 might do it) to join up with the thermostat housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Perry Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 Many thanks all. Lots of food for thought. I did notice the awkward angle of the top outlet on the "Upgraded 2 Row" radiator, which is a pity as otherwise it doesn't look too bad. For the time being, I've perforce refitted the no.1 radiator with the manky fins, as at least it holds water! The inside of the engine isn't too bad, the coolant coming out when I took no.1 off this morning (in order to fit no.3, until I found the leak) is pretty clean despite having been there for a year or so. And the coolant seems to circulate ok through everywhere. I'm not planning touring in Spain, in fact the car's main planned use this year will be RBRR, with plenty of running in cool night air 🙂 So, notwithstanding the change in cooling performance, I may well look into the 205 or Skoda options just for ease and sensible pricing. I'll have a look for anyone local who could recondition it, but not aware of any at the moment. Thanks again everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bancroft Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Ian, you could try GT Radiators at Shepperton 01932 568 816...Lee, the owner has done two rads for me, always good and price not too dangerous. I think the std rad should be sufficient, even better if a wide one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin R Posted April 26, 2021 Share Posted April 26, 2021 Hi Ian, I bought a 1980 Spitfire 1500 3 years ago in very good condition but it always ran marginally hot with a tendency to overheat. Then I got a hole in the original radiator so looked into replacing it with a full width 22 " version. From my research it seemed that the std version was always a bit compromised and suffered easily from poor airflow and made worse by number plates, driving lights, badges etc. You can upgrade your std rad with an electric fan but adds cost, can be fiddly to fit and adds a weak link to the system if they fail as they also block airflow. My 22" rad was German, not cheap at @ c£250 but looks nice, very well made and is black and looks like the std rad. Coolant when removed was clean and a precautionary flush out convinced me that there had not been a blockage. It was easy to fit - this was just as well as after 150 miles a pinhole leak developed in the weld where the top hose piping attaches. It was removed, returned and replaced without quibble. The engine runs more smoothly and has worked faultlessly for the past 2000 miles and has cured the hot running problem and should extend the life of the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Perry Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 Thanks, both of you. The vendor of the leaky radiator (my no.3 rad!) has acknowledged the fault and will replace, so when I get that one (hopefully soon) I can stick it in and see how I get on. I am hoping that - unlike the 2018 RBRR with the Toledo - I can actually do some "reliability growth" running in the Spitz this summer, and get further than Shap Fell in October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Perry Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 Two months later... I'm still waiting for the no.3 radiator bloke to replace the leaky one, so the car still as the manky-finned no.1 radiator in, but the car still hasn't been anywhere so I haven't found out how ineffective it is yet! Still hoping to find the Holy Grail of an affordable, decent quality and condition wide radiator! But then I looked online at those cheap ally radiators and wondered if canting it forward very slightly (max 1" at the top) would help with the top hose angle... So long as it cleared the bonnet ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bancroft Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 Standard is best in this instance. I would get a std one rebuilt and see how you get on. As mentioned above, give Lee at GT Rads a go, good quality and relatively cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyb Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 I fitted https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233158072099?fits=Model%3ASpitfire&epid=17030079063&hash=item36494dd723:g:E1YAAOSwAzBgXAnJ 5 years ago and have had no problems. Top hose just about fits and the radiator needs to sit as low as possible for the filler cap to clear the bonnet. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Perry Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 Thanks, Tim and Danny - much appreciated both of you. Being an instinctive traditionalist, obviously I would prefer a re-cored OEM radiator - but sadly, at the moment (lack of) money is a significant factor. I haven't priced up getting the existing rad re-cored, but would be very surprised if it cost less than a radiator like Danny's. The other thing to consider is that the car isn't in all truth particularly original, the previous owner fitted a number of GRP body parts and it now has a pair of (authentic, period style) bucket seats rather than OEM recliners. So sacrificing several weeks' food in return for an OEM radiator would be somewhat esoteric if I could get an aftermarket radiator that works and actually eat for longer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Hutchings Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Releasing yourself from the burden of maintained originality is such a weight off 😂 – opens up a world of restomod possibilities. If you have a day spare you might search the net for “aluminium vs copper radiator” and end the day none the wiser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Perry Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 Thanks, Ben. It doesn't take anything as complex as that, for me to end the day none the wiser... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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