Making progress on my 74 drag car. I'm at the stage where I need to take care of cooling. I'll be running an electric water pump drive. My first inclination was to run a stock three row radiator with an electric fan. Is there an easier/better/cheaper/prettier solution? Please share your setups with me with the pros and cons. Thanks, Jim
i have a 4 row radiator from www.radiators.com and i ordered it to be exact same size as EOM and it was from a 67 mustang. fit fine, just had to relocate the lower radiator hose to the other side of radiator. i paid about 175 shipped to my house. or Aluminum from Summit racing for just over 200 bucks i would go aluminum.. better heat transfer
hope you like to read... It all depends on what the car is used for, mostly. You stated you're building a drag car, but is it strictly a drag car? If so, then you would be fine with the stock radiator and stock mechanical fan. Got a buddy who's a member of the PSCA, '74 Maverick, 8.64 @ 167 in the 1/4. Used to use the stock set-up. Only needed to cool the car while idling shortly and on his way to park after getting his time slip. However, I have a 386 hp (all motor) Maverick which was my daily driver for a year. I used a Jeg's non-shrouded aluminum radiator (22x19 I think) $175, and a Perma-Cool 2,950 cfm 16 inch electric fan $110 (at the time), and a high-flow thermostat. This set-up could keep me cool in stop-and-go rush-hour traffic, in 112 degree outside temperature for about 15-20 minutes. Trust me, in Phoenix, the summers get pretty bad. We also have Ron Davis Radiators out here. I payed them a visit a while back and they actually told me that running a mecahnical fan (preferably stock) with their radiators is more beneficial. Don't know how true this is, though. However, either way you go with the fans (mechanical/electric), a shroud is a very good idea. Sorry, I know this post is pretty long, but, we take our cooling very seriously here. Hope this helps. Good luck! Eric
I don't mind the long post It told me what i need to know. The car is strictly a drag car. It will be bracket car, so it needs enough cooling to make it mulitple rounds in hot weather. It had a stock three-row that I was planning to use, but it's too far gone. Autozone has a replacement, but it's $350 + tax. Probably need to order one from Summitt and fab a mount.
I used the Summit radiator and a Mark 8 fan. Mounting it was easy, but you do have to cut the radiator support to get an adequate size opening and to move it forward. The mount was simple, I made some stops down at the bottom and a bracket at the top. If you're interested I can try and get pictures.
Okay... you keep posting that link... How in the heck can I browse the radiators there without the site tossing me into some sort of chat screen? I just want to look through the radiators, not chat with Dwight!
i have an aluminum radiator in mine. if it's a drag car you need to have it as light as possible and the aluminum radiator will cool quicker. i also have an electric fan that i place in front between rounds. when you get to the later rounds you need to cool as quick as possible.
I think what one needs to cool their cars varies as much as gas prices. I have an aluminum radiator, CSI electric pump, electric fan (no shroud) and no thermostat. Mine never gets hot (knock on wood) When we cruised into the Somernites show this weekend, mine sat calmly at 175* during the 30-40 minutes it was running, creeping a car length at a time to get in the shows....when we parked there were some other mavericks (street cars) that was over 200*. Which still is not bad. When I shut mine off, I let the pump and fan run for 5 minutes and I was under 100*. When we cruised around town Friday night, I never got about 160*
that is from a online guy that gets your information and then they either call you or you call them to get the pricing its an interactive site.. so they make sure you get the right radiator and you CAN HAGGLE with them... i told them i just got home from being in Operation Enduring Freedom, and i got 75 bucks off the price... it wasnt a lie either..i did just get home from OEF..they will work with you. i have purchased 3 radiators from them... the maverick, a s-10 blazer and a saturn all of the radiators have worked fine
