Charles Durning's Journal --
A 1970 MGB came into my shop in need of some freshening for the upcoming driving season. Issues I found were the radiator had soldier bloom and a patch that needed attention. The local radiator shop wanted a fortune to repair the rad so I decided to look elsewhere. In my search I found an aluminum radiator in Amazon for $101.00 delivered to my house. That seemed to be a bargain and way less than the radiator shop wanted until I read the reviews. Most were positive. The negative reviews centered on the mounting flanges and the hose connections. In looking at the pictures of the offering it looked like those 2 issues would be easy to resolve. The first issue to be addressed was the mount flanges. Sure enough they were too short to reach the mounting holes in the radiator support. A quick trip to Tractor Supply netted some 1/8” x 1.25” aluminum bar stock. Those were drilled and attached to the radiator flanges. The second issue was the hose outlets on the new radiator were straight instead if bent as the original. With a quick cruise through a Gates Buyers Guide a radiator hose from a Honda was identified that had all of the required bends. The bends were identified and cut from the hose. That one hose provided the 2 elbows and 1 straight piece required for the install for $5.00. The last issue I had was is the water outlet on the head faced in the wrong direction. A quick dig through my “gold mine” netted a water outlet that faces in the correct direction. Everything installed without a hitch and now the engine runs cool and without any leaks. Job done. Parts used OPL-HPR050-Aluminum-Radiator from Amazon Gates-22339-Honda Lower-Radiator hose from Amazon Moss 460-945 or 460-955 MGB water outlet with air pump bracket cut off
Posted 2019-07-23 07:24:21 by charles durning
A 1970 MGB came into my shop in need of some freshening for the upcoming driving season. Issues I found were the radiator had soldier bloom and a patch that needed attention. The local radiator shop wanted a fortune to repair the rad so I decided to look elsewhere. In my search I found an aluminum radiator in Amazon for $101.00 delivered to my house. That seemed to be a bargain and way less than the radiator shop wanted until I read the reviews. Most were positive. The negative reviews centered on the mounting flanges and the hose connections. In looking at the pictures of the offering it looked like those 2 issues would be easy to resolve. The first issue to be addressed was the mount flanges. Sure enough they were too short to reach the mounting holes in the radiator support. A quick trip to Tractor Supply netted some 1/8” x 1.25” aluminum bar stock. Those were drilled and attached to the radiator flanges. The second issue was the hose outlets on the new radiator were straight instead if bent as the original. With a quick cruise through a Gates Buyers Guide a radiator hose from a Honda was identified that had all of the required bends. The bends were identified and cut from the hose. That one hose provided the 2 elbows and 1 straight piece required for the install for $5.00. The last issue I had was is the water outlet on the head faced in the wrong direction. A quick dig through my “gold mine” netted a water outlet that faces in the correct direction. Everything installed without a hitch and now the engine runs cool and without any leaks. Job done. Parts used OPL-HPR050-Aluminum-Radiator from Amazon Gates-22339-Honda Lower-Radiator hose from Amazon Moss 460-945 or 460-955 MGB water outlet with air pump bracket cut off
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  <1 compare> | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  <2 adaption> | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  <3 Honda radiator hose> |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  <4 ready to install> | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  <5 finished> | Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  <6 ready for the road> |
Posted 2019-07-23 07:24:21 by charles durning
