Now that I have the subframe and engine in place in the engine bay, I am moving on to all the additional engine bay components. First up - the radiator. I have been searching around for factory-made options and the two best-sized options I found was from a EK Honda Civic (half-size radiator) and a G200 Daihatsu Charade. The first downfall of both of these radiators is the position of the inlet and outlet which would have to be moved (possible with the Alloy Civic radiator but not possible with the plastic-tank Charade). I mocked up the size of the Civic radiator in the engine bay (with some MDF) and it was going to be a REALLY tight fit and would have still had to probably cut and modify the slam panel brace and front valance to make it and a thermo fan fit. I have decided to go the custom route so I can design every part of it to suit the Mini.
The first part of the design was to ensure that the new radiator would provide a similar or better cooling ability that the OEM Starlet radiator. The core size of the factory Starlet radiator is 325mm H x 638mm W x 16mm providing a volume of 3.3 Litres. After measuring what would comfortably fit in the engine bay, I sized the new radiator core as 300mm x 300mm x 50mm which provides a comparison figure of 4.5 Litres. Although designing/sizing a replacement radiator is not as simple as comparing two basic volumetric numbers, they do relate closely to cooling surface area so the new radiator potentially has up to 30 % extra cooling ability as the factory radiator and I'm happy with that.
Next part to consider is what thermofan will fit. The factory Starlet thermofan is far too big to fit so an aftermarket thermofan has been chosen. Davies Craig have an excellent reputation for quality cooling products and have chosen to use their 10" slimline thermo-fans. Using some MDF and chipboard, I mocked up the exact dimensions of the radiator and fan assembly to confirm it would all fit.
The mock radiator (overall size of 350mm x 300mm) on the left and mock 10" fan assembly on the right :
The assembly was slotted into place and it was perfect - clearing everything around it by at least 10mm without any need to cut panels. I have purposely left a gap between the radiator and inner guard to allow room for an intake into an air filter box which I hope to locate somewhere above the gearbox.
Next step was to locate the position of the radiator hose inlet and outlet, and what hoses to use. I was expecting to have to mock/weld up a hose shape with some exhaust tube and use a combination of random other car hoses, cut them up and use joiners to make the pieces fit but I was extremely surprised and happy to find that all I had to do was turn the factory hoses around 180 degrees (So the end of the hose that is normally attached to the engine end is instead attached to the radiator) and trim them for them to fit. This worked for both the top and bottom hoses! All I have to do for this to work is angle the inlet and outlet pipes on the radiator a bit so they join with the factory hoses.
From there it was a quick job to confirm the angles of the pipes and positions of the drain valve, thermocouple, mounts and filler. At the base of the radiator will be two rods which will insert into rubber grommets underneath, and a tab on the upper tank which will bolt through a rubber mount next to the headlight. You can get cable ties that mount the fan onto a radiator core but I want to have the fan easily removable. I have ordered the fan and will soon design the fan mount and then get a quote to get this fabricated.
The first part of the design was to ensure that the new radiator would provide a similar or better cooling ability that the OEM Starlet radiator. The core size of the factory Starlet radiator is 325mm H x 638mm W x 16mm providing a volume of 3.3 Litres. After measuring what would comfortably fit in the engine bay, I sized the new radiator core as 300mm x 300mm x 50mm which provides a comparison figure of 4.5 Litres. Although designing/sizing a replacement radiator is not as simple as comparing two basic volumetric numbers, they do relate closely to cooling surface area so the new radiator potentially has up to 30 % extra cooling ability as the factory radiator and I'm happy with that.
Next part to consider is what thermofan will fit. The factory Starlet thermofan is far too big to fit so an aftermarket thermofan has been chosen. Davies Craig have an excellent reputation for quality cooling products and have chosen to use their 10" slimline thermo-fans. Using some MDF and chipboard, I mocked up the exact dimensions of the radiator and fan assembly to confirm it would all fit.
The mock radiator (overall size of 350mm x 300mm) on the left and mock 10" fan assembly on the right :
The assembly was slotted into place and it was perfect - clearing everything around it by at least 10mm without any need to cut panels. I have purposely left a gap between the radiator and inner guard to allow room for an intake into an air filter box which I hope to locate somewhere above the gearbox.
Next step was to locate the position of the radiator hose inlet and outlet, and what hoses to use. I was expecting to have to mock/weld up a hose shape with some exhaust tube and use a combination of random other car hoses, cut them up and use joiners to make the pieces fit but I was extremely surprised and happy to find that all I had to do was turn the factory hoses around 180 degrees (So the end of the hose that is normally attached to the engine end is instead attached to the radiator) and trim them for them to fit. This worked for both the top and bottom hoses! All I have to do for this to work is angle the inlet and outlet pipes on the radiator a bit so they join with the factory hoses.
From there it was a quick job to confirm the angles of the pipes and positions of the drain valve, thermocouple, mounts and filler. At the base of the radiator will be two rods which will insert into rubber grommets underneath, and a tab on the upper tank which will bolt through a rubber mount next to the headlight. You can get cable ties that mount the fan onto a radiator core but I want to have the fan easily removable. I have ordered the fan and will soon design the fan mount and then get a quote to get this fabricated.
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