Ive been thinking about doing this, probably never will, but decided to ask if anyone else has done this and if it worked. I'm thinking about mounting my radiator in the "bed" of my truck, a few inches back from my keg\gas tank. i thought about mounting it kinda low and angled forward with 2 electric fans pulling trough it, have the air from under the truck pull up and out through it. seems like it would work with a strong pump to move the water and good fans....
Dude.......lol.....nice bongo there.......so how are the power hits man? Most of the rear mounted coolers I have seen all work well. You can fab a lower scoop to help divert he air up, but a fan is always the best way to move the air. There are a few who have their coolers more on an angle, closer to flat position. So stop talking about it and make it happen....lol..... Maximo
not necessarily a cant issue, sometimes i just like to do stuff the hard way... ha ha seriously though i just thought it would be kinda cool to do it that way, just put some small grille up front (have one that is a "brush guard\cow catcher off some tractor laying in the yard at the moment and was thinking of how to use it) i will make it happen when the time comes, gotta get a little more done first....
I just call it my overflow tank,the ol lungs can't hang anymore. Besides it matched my steering wheel& shifter. I see your a norton rider,PM some pics ,mine is a 63 atlas 750. Later Rob
wonder if mounting it completely flat, with a "scoop" under it would work at all, big electric fan with a shroud...... the bed on my truck isnt gonna be very big, only about a foot and a half long, not much room to stand it up, gonna have the keg gas tank in the bed, anyone else mounted it flat? would it be best at that point to pull air from top to bottom or bottom to top? id think the scoop would be more effective pushing air up from the bottom
On pickup trucks, there is a slight positive pressure at speed in the bed. A rearward facing scoop on the bottom of the radiator might help extracting hot air. Plus, isn't there usually a low pressure zone in the rear/bottom of the car?
hey rob, could we see a few more pictures of that, and maybe one or two of the engine and how your ran the hose?
I ran 2 stainless 1 1/2 pipes to the back along the frame,held in place with some block mounts.Flex rad hoses to the rad & motor.I used a twin fan off a bmw in the u- pull it lot.Rad is mounted at a slight angle forward, the fans pull air through.http:// sorry not the greatest picshttp://
We mounted an aluminum radiator at a slight angle on my buddy's sandrail that has a Whipple-charged Subaru (mid-engine car) in it. The first time we fired it up we thought something might be wrong with the thermostatically controlled cooling fan mounted underneath it but found out that at idle, the convection flow of air through the rad was plenty to cool the engine. I finally hooked up the little controller to the aftermarket ECU we were using and took the fan turn on temp down to 180 degrees before the fan came on. It all works fine.
hey rob, got any pics of the bed from a top veiw? im assuming there is no floor in it? to allow air to flow through
so if i mount the radiator flat as if it was the floor of the bed, the fans should be on top pulling air up through? or on bottom pulling air down through? im thinking down like dehudso said, anyone else got an opinion on pulling air from under or over, keeping in mind there will be a keg somewhat over the radiator, mounted up enough to keep clear though
It doesn't matter if you pull air up or push it down so long as you put a little duct work in there. The way I would do it is lay it flat and have one large puller fan on top (Or two smaller ones, whatever creates the larger swept area) underneath make a duct like the P-51 Mustang had. A simple aluminium scoop that will catch the air and concentrate it into the radiator core. Use some sort of mesh, like a stainless steel to stop stones and road debris from striking the core and bobs your uncle. As for water flow, use a high volume water pump if available for your motor or put in an electric one. One important thing to remember is where you add the water to the cooling system needs to be the highest point of the cooling system. If you can put a small surge tank above the thermostat housing with a cap would be the best idea. If you cant do that you need to find the highest point of the system and place a 'Bleeder' valve there to eliminate trapped air from the system. My father owns 4 radiator shops and specializes in custom built cooling systems, I learned all I know from him so I'm not just guessing. Hey, take it or leave it, your choice. Doc.
Doc, that seems like it makes a lot of sense other than the 'bobs your uncle' part. I really think I'm going to do this. Thanks for everyones help. I can't wait to get to the point of trying it.
No floor& I put a ford van hood under the bed to kinda act like a scoop. Louvers on the tailgate & pan,moves alot of air. The only thing that I noticed was at highway speed it runs about 10 - 15 deg. higher. Later Rob Oh yeah got to be able to get the trapped air out of the system,I found that out the hard way.It was the biggest bong flush you ever did see! Later Rob
I was thinking along the lines of a ~6' bed truck. With a really short bed, the air flowing over the cab at speed might not be able to come down and collect in the bed, creating pressure. In that case, I like the P-51ish idea. Let us know what you do, however you do it.
Can be sensitive to air lock if radiator is lower than engine. Requires coolant recovery tank. When moving the cooling works great but sitting still can be a problem cause the air discharge air has a habit of just going around in a circle and re entering front of radiator. This can be avoided with good shrouding. http://cleverlever99.blogspot.com/
I like the mention of static convection airflow, when you are stopped at idle. The warmth of the Rad, would assist in flowing the air upward, if you are able to duct that bouyant air where you wanted it to exit. Using positive pressure as mentioned (P-51) to force incoming air at 30 to 70 mph makes a lot of sense, and should tell you how the overall flow pattern should look. Fans help, but are forcing elements, if you size the ducts, minimize the air resistance of your core, then the fans can serve as critical support, "when" they become necessary. Long time idle ex:, on a 110 degree day, you've come up with a fine system concept.
anyone have any thoughts on problems with the radiator being mounted completely flat? i know i need to have an air bleed point high up.
for those who helped me out with ideas, thanks!!!! it will be a little while before i do it but im going to do it, using the radiator from my old nova and im going to make a shroud to run 2 14" electric fans and suck the air up through it, put a scoop on the bottom for highway cooling and im probably going to do something else ive thought about, im going to use 1 x 1 box tube to build a "tailgate frame, then use expanded steel to "skin" it, and slap a chevrolet across the center using a patch panel for and old stepside truck. Thanks again, god i hope this works....
talking to a friend or two we came up with an idea for a "spray cooler" for the radiator. use a washer pump and some -20 washer fluid to "mist" the radiator when slow going in traffic to help it cool, this is all "if" it has a problem........
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