Very nice. Very nice.
Have you had any thought of some sort of cover between the grill and the core support to direct air through the radiator?
Photography Credit: Tim Suddard
All engines create heat. Race engines create even more heat. So we needed to assemble a cooling system that could handle our needs, especially down here in the South.
Back before painting the engine compartment, we took the first steps to fit the used Griffin radiator that we sourced from Cobra Automotive. This aluminum radiator, designed by Cobra Automotive for its race cars, includes an integral oil cooler and is considerably larger than a stock Mustang unit.
To install this radiator, however, we would need to cut the radiator core support. Cutting up a real Shelby Mustang would be considered sacrilegious, but fortunately, our car started as a base, six-cylinder model.
Step 1: Carefully test-fit the new radiator and notice which cuts will be needed for fitment. Here’s where we noticed that our Mustang’s core support was cracked at the top, so we’d need to weld that as well.
Step 2: Ford mounted the Mustang’s radiator at an angle when viewed from the side, and we decided to retain that slight tilt. As the Griffin radiator is wider than the stock piece, we decided to move it a little closer to the core support.
Step 3: We followed Ford’s lead again and mounted the new radiator slightly toward the driver side of the car.
Step 4: We used an air-powered saw to quickly cut the stock sheet metal as required to fit our new radiator. Then we tack-welded new brackets and test-fitted the new piece.
Step 5: Once we saw that everything sat well, we welded the pieces into place. Then we covered any rough areas with seam sealer and painted as necessary.
Step 6: We then fit a Moroso catch can next to the radiator.
Step 7: No one needs the panic of an overheating race car on the grid, as the slight weight and horsepower penalties outweigh the stress of watching the temperature gauge approach the red zone. We ordered a 17-inch Derale cooling fan from Summit Racing for a little less than $150. Instead of simply mounting the fan assembly to the radiator using the included zip-ties, we fabricated some aluminum brackets. We then installed a thermostatically controlled switch.
Very nice. Very nice.
Have you had any thought of some sort of cover between the grill and the core support to direct air through the radiator?
big fan of griffin, I always use their products for my coolers.
Speaking of big fans. This should help:
I am surprised to see wooden blades.
Displaying 1-4 of 4 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
