Posted by Barry Mattingly (Member # 509) on February 13, 2003, 01:53 PM:   I remember seeing a topic on beading your radiator hose extension tube ends a while back. It is a good idea to bead the ends to keep the radiator hoses from slipping or blowing off under pressure. There were some novel ideas (like using rivets) and I mentioned my 'track emergency' solution using JB Weld. I had the opportunity to redo my rad hoses during my Vortech install and decided to document the process. It's quick (15 minutes total work), cheap (requires about 2 feet of 20-24 gauge solid wire and some JB Weld), and effective. Here's the process: 1. Scuff and clean the ends of the tube using 150 grit sandpaper and acetone: 2. Drill a 1/8" hole about 1/2" from each end. Bend a small "U" into one end of a 2' long or so piece of 24 to 20 gauge solid wire (stainless safety wire used here, but copper is OK), insert one end of the "U" into the hole, and wrap tightly around the tube 3-4 times. Keep the wraps close together; should be about 1/8" wide. Using pliers, tuck the end of the wire back through the hole and bend to the side while keeping the tension high. The excess length can be cut now or after the JB Weld cures. 3. Mix up enough JB Weld for the bead ends (you need a line about 3/4" long of resin and hardener for each end), mix well and apply over the wire. Dip a fingertip in acetone and gently work the JB Weld down into the wire, then use the rounded bottem of your fingertip to shape the JB Weld into a curved and even bead. It helps to dip your finger frequently in the acetone (wear a rubber or plastic glove), the JB Weld will flow easily. Don't worry if the bead is not perfectly smooth or even, you can sand it later if need be. 4. Let the JB Weld cure overnight; when hard, uses 150 or 220 grit sandpaper to remove any sharp edges or rough spots (if any). Trim any excess wire ends. That's it, you are done! Looks 'factory' when installed and there's no way a hose is going to slip or leak now.

Coolant Bottles:

Question: [RS] "Where is is the best place for the coolant recovery box? Also, should there be only one tube in and none out? I was thinking of mounting inside the fender above the header pipe and was concerned with heat. I guess it shouldn't be plastic, but probably metal.
Any suggestions?"

Answers:

[PM] "I mounted mine to the front x member....remember the hose from the filler neck overflow must reach the bottom of the tank...also there should be a vent hose at the top so the system can breath and excess coolant can be directed away from the engine in case of a overflow"

[Cemi] "Check out the catch cans at Summit Racing. The Goza one recirculates like a factory recovery bottle. PN GZR-1412 listed at $82.95"

[1775] "The Summit and Jegs recovery pans are well worth the expense and look really nice. I use the hex shaped polished aluminum piece from Summit. It is mounted high up on the front X frame on the passenger side."

[PM] "I made my own system out of a bike bottle and cage a chrome valve stem and some rubber hose....I had my radiator cap removed and soldered shut and only use the remote filler neck now....I like it because i can see the coolant and its easy to remove and clean out if need be"

Fan Shroud

Do you need a fan shroud?

[DS] "You absolutely need the fan shroud if you have the fans behind, rather than in front of the radiator. The air is funneled via of the shroud which keeps your engine and coolant cool. It is equally important where the shroud is located with relation to the fan in order to be effective. Without the shroud, you'll spend more time overheating than enjoying your cobra."

[1892] "I did not have a shroud since I did not use a donor. Using the FFR supplied fan, the only overheating I've experienced was idling for long periods at Hot August Nights cruises(yes, it was hot!)in Reno. I do plan to upgrade my fan (perhaps to the dual polished jobs that fit in front of the radiator, ala original) but no plans for a shroud."

[RD] "If you are building a small block FFR, not having a shroud should not be a problem. I don't have/don't need one.

Some people use the plastic straps to mount the fan direct to the rad. I didn't like the idea of putting mechanical load on the fins. I mounted two 1/2x1/2x1/8 aluminum angle pieces vertically across the rad and screwed the fan to them. Used about 1" nylon standoffs at the ends. I get about 3/8" clearance from the rad fins."

[jr] "Like I said about pickup trucks....Too much cooling capacity....Good.....Too little...Bad. Like was stated, you start idling around with no forward motion and you will need all the air velocity you can get through the fins. JC whitney also sells a fan control thermostat that is a probe that inserts in the fins (external to the radiator) and controls the on/off of the fans with a relay. Very nice...39.95 and adjustable with a pot."

[RB] "Going down the road my fan - installed with a switch and probe in the radiator - never comes on. BUT when I get caught in bumper to bumper traffic for 20 to 45 + minutes that fan is just a working keeping the engine at a reasonable temp. I have the Ford schroud on my radiator.

I've been caught in 90 + degree weather waiting as a accident or road repairs were cleared off the road with no overheating problems. Stays right at 180-190 all the time. On the open road temps drop to about 160 or so as that front end sucks the air into the radiator.

Stock 1990 radiator, 180 stat, and schroud."

[351] "Went to home depot got 2- 1/8th*1.125 aluminum stock $13.00 mounted the fan to the strap with countersunk bolts and riveted the whole thing to the radiator. It looks great and the engine doesn't overheat. Haven't run it in 90 degree plus weather yet but it pulls some serious air when it runs also got an adjustable fan relay and a manual switch. The fan when done is only 1/8th of an inch from the radiator which promotes good air flow."

[CD] "I have a fan mounted behind the radiator, pulling fan no shroud and a BIG BLOCK no over heating problems so far. If you have a problem then I would worry about a shroud."

[1775] "My car actually ran around 10-15 degrees cooler WITHOUT the shroud. I believe it was because the radiator could radiate the heat upward and cool away in more efficient fashion. BUT you better mount your fan right up on the radiator with the plastic Mr. Gasket grill clips($5) as your fan will lose pull thru the radiator w/o the shroud. You cannot have inches of space between fan and radiator unshrouded."

[PR] "I may not know much about engines yet, but moving air is a big part of my life for the last twenty years as an air conditioning tech.
The fan design utilizing propeller type blades will move more air across the coil with a shroud no matter how close you can mount them to the coil. The blades should be almost even with the edge of the shroud opening for the best results. too far inside or too far out will decrease the amount of air moved by the blades. The same would apply to the twin blade setup in front of the coil, but as already mentioned the design of the radiator opening should move plenty of air with the car moving forward, so I imagine the only real need of fan assist would be while at idle."

Air In The System

Question: [SJ] "The last couple of times I've run the motor long enough to get the motor hot enough to open up the thermostat, i get coolant coming out of the rad. cap for approx 5 seconds. then it stops and is sealed. I also have a T fitting on top of the motor and there is no problem there. Thought I may have a bad cap so I swapped them from the last time the car ran and that made no difference. So whets the problem?"

Answers:

[D55] "Is this a new build that you've not run on the road yet? If so, your system is just probably burping air that is bound within the system. You should let the engine warm up with the rad cap off, let the thermostat open, and slowly add coolant as the the air escapes when it reaches the open cap area. Once the system is fully burped (a common problem because the rad cap is lower than the top of the water jacket in the engine on the FFR), this should be the end of your problem."

[DG] "One easy way to purge( burb ) your car is to jack the front end up as high as you can, try to get the rad. opening higher than the highest hose or heater. On some Fiat's I worked on I had to almost stand the car on it's rear bumper to get them to burb."

[MC] "Check the radiator cap to see if the little valve in the center has a spring. The new caps I got for mine did not and the cap on the filler "T" would do the same thing. The spring holds the vent slightly closed when there's no pressure on the system. (I've looked for a Non-Vented cap for the Filler "T" but haven't found one.)"

[RO] "Regular cap on the 'T' and a marine (rubber)freeze plug in the radiator, 1 5/8 I think. Crank it down and run the overflow hose from the 'T' to the tank. Works great and you don't have to get into the fender again.
"

[351] "You have to plug the overflow cap on the radiator and also put a higher pound cap there as well. It will draw in air if you don't and the system will never get purged. Cap that sucker off I used a short piece of AN8 and 2 worm clamps works and looks good."

[PB] "I did it before with another engine and I was thinking on adding a back-flush fitting to one of the heather lines and placing it higher than the engine block. The fitting should make it very easy to fill in the system and to burp and air trapped in one or two cycles. The advantage is also having the ability to back-flush the cooling system."

Question: [KA] "I am getting ready to order my radiator. I am interested in the Griffin aluminum radiator (79-93 Mustang fit). It has 2 cores at 1.25" each.

1 - will this fit?
2 - will this cool a modified 428 FE?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

(They also make one with 1.0" cores.)

Comments:

[WP] "The 1.25 will do fine, I used the 1" model on both cars I built with 377 and 392 motors in them in the desert."

[JR] "I would go for MAX cooling on an FE. I met a guy at the local car show this summer who had an exceptional ERA with a 427 and a toploader. HE said he could not idle through our little town of 10,000 without having the temp creep up. He had some beautiful aluminum radiator, electric fans in back (puller) and little fans in front (pusher). He said when he was under way that its not a problem.."

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