RF 84 Radiator Pics/Help Needed

[billtebbutt]

All,

I'd like to replace the rad in the 84 project - it is an aftermarket beast, quite large, beat up, outlets in the wrong spots etc. Does anyone have pics/dimensions/drawings of what this *should* look like?

I'd really appreciate it.

best,
bt

[PDM075]

Bill, if your are on Facebook we have an RF84 group that was formed a few months ago. I think only you and I are current RF84 owners in Canada afaik.



I can send you photos and invoice information via Messenger for you if need be for the Saldana unit that Ben Martinez and I replaced on our RF84's a few years ago and Rodolfo out of Mexico is about to do soon also.



Don Nimi

[billtebbutt]

Bill, if your are on Facebook we have an RF84 group that was formed a few months ago. I think only you and I are current RF84 owners in Canada afaik.



I can send you photos and invoice information via Messenger for you if need be for the Saldana unit that Ben Martinez and I replaced on our RF84's a few years ago and Rodolfo out of Mexico is about to do soon also.



Don Nimi

bt

[John Green]

If you don't mind straying from original, I got rid of the heavy center radiator that never cooled my FC very well.
I converted it to 82 Reynard sidepods and radiators. fit like they were made for the car. Lowered center of gravity and moved weight a little bit forward.

[billtebbutt]

Thanks John, that is pretty slick!

bt

[Rick Kirchner]

its too bad that race-cars.com has turned into such a crappy site. I used to browse the "sold" section for all kinds of ideas.

Here's a few pics of a couple of cars that once ran in the southeast, plus that bronze colored one just because its freaking beautiful. There was also a pink one that sold here probably 15 years ago that I have never been able to find - it had a much better nose.

Had I built the 84 I once owned my plan was to make a low fuel cell filling the space between the rails completely, and going through the main hoop and under the seat if I had to. Then I was going to figure out how to fit the biggest radiator I could in the remaining space and put an electric fan on it.

From a FF perspective you only need what - 4.5 gal, maybe 5? The stock radiator seems to be much bigger than the two I currently have on the FC, so the extra size must be due to inefficiency. Maybe mount the oil tank outside on the side like an Indy roadster and free up some more space.

[billtebbutt]

Thank you Rick! These are much appreciated. In short order I've learned an awful lot about the 84 and it's cooling issues....

That bronze car is gorgeous, and there have been some interesting mods there that are subtle. Those air inlets aft of the roll hoop are a fair bit larger than normal and further back. And the engine cover now has a bulge to go over the top of the rear rocker (almost) - the whole package works aesthetically.

The easiest fix is to not run the gearbox cover - that seems to let air exit better. But I have arrived at a different approach, gained from talking to some smart folks on Apex:

- A big part of the problem is the air inlet under the top of the roll hoop. Ostensibly, this is to feed the oil cooler, but the "path" to the cooler is not enclosed. Air whips through there w/o resistance, and the air beneath it is smacking into the rad (relatively higher resistance). The air intended for the rad either goes up and over the rad or as some have concluded, actually gets pushed back out the air intakes!

- My solution for this whole mess is terribly simple:

1. A nice, new, proper ally rad to replace what had been in there

2. I am not using an oil cooler, so I will lop off the fibreglass aft of the roll hoop and glass in a flat (parallel to the floor) panel; and

3. Careful attention to how the rad is sealed to the side of the body panels (there is a LOT of gap in many places around there)

We'll see how that works....

best,
bt

[billtebbutt]

bt

Another mystery solved courtesy of Apex members. Shout out to Don Nimo - my new rad is on the way from Saldana - thank you so much for your help Don!

best
bt

[Lastminuteracin]

Another mystery solved courtesy of Apex members. Shout out to Don Nimo - my new rad is on the way from Saldana - thank you so much for your help Don!

best
bt

May I ask what a custom radiator like this sells for from Saldana?

[billtebbutt]

May I ask what a custom radiator like this sells for from Saldana?

See your PM
bt