Alfa 33 radiator in NB, for over-rad intercooling piping.
03-08-2021, 03:53 AM
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Alfa 33 radiator in NB, for over-rad intercooling piping.
Hi. I was looking for an upgrade of my cooling system and for a way to ease the intercooling piping over the radiator. I spent an evening googling for OEM radiators, and I found the Alfa 33 rad, OE number 60538379. It comes with simiarly spaced prongs on the bottom, is thicker, and has similar connections for the hoses. So, I gave it a shot and ordered one. I had a 12" universal fan on the shelft, which I fitted in the process.I printed a bottom lip for the fan:
And I bent some aluminium for the upper support:
And it all went together well:
Next, I removed the old radiator and had a look at the mounting points. On the NB, the rad has for prongs with rubber bushings on them, one on each corner. I took two off and compared the prongs to the ones on the Alfa rad. Same diameter! Just a little too long, but nothing a hacksaw couldn’t fix:
Bushings fitted:
So, while the going is good, I was only about an hour into the job, I decided to just throw in the Alfa rad and see. And, low and behold, it dropped straight in, no problems, as if it belonged there! No modifications to the brackets or anything else!
On the left side, the original hose fits unmodified, but it rubs against the (plastic lined) steering oil piping a bit. And I closed the extra barb with a piece of left over hose, but I want to have something better there, later:
On the right hand side I cut the reroute hose and fitted a new filler at the highest point, the rest was just a straight fit:
The reroute hose was slightly larger in diameter here than and the 32 mm ends, so I needed to turn the crap out of the hose clamps to close it but I think it works.
And then it was time to start her up:
I planned to make a wooden filler piece above the radiator, but because it all went together so fast and easy, I will drive to a local aluminium fabricator tomorrow morning and have a fitting plate cut and bent. I also figured out what I need to the top mounting of the radiator, so I will source those grommets as well and mount the rad to the alloy plate. The plate will be bolted to the front of the car temporarely, and riveted in when all is done. That will be after the turbo / intercooler is fitted.
The new set-up takes about 50cc more coolant. To me that is very positive. The hoses haven't changed, the tanks on this radiator are a lot smaller than the original ones, so there is plenty more coolant in the cooling section.
Cheers,
Hugo
And I bent some aluminium for the upper support:
And it all went together well:
Next, I removed the old radiator and had a look at the mounting points. On the NB, the rad has for prongs with rubber bushings on them, one on each corner. I took two off and compared the prongs to the ones on the Alfa rad. Same diameter! Just a little too long, but nothing a hacksaw couldn’t fix:
Bushings fitted:
So, while the going is good, I was only about an hour into the job, I decided to just throw in the Alfa rad and see. And, low and behold, it dropped straight in, no problems, as if it belonged there! No modifications to the brackets or anything else!
On the left side, the original hose fits unmodified, but it rubs against the (plastic lined) steering oil piping a bit. And I closed the extra barb with a piece of left over hose, but I want to have something better there, later:
On the right hand side I cut the reroute hose and fitted a new filler at the highest point, the rest was just a straight fit:
The reroute hose was slightly larger in diameter here than and the 32 mm ends, so I needed to turn the crap out of the hose clamps to close it but I think it works.
And then it was time to start her up:
I planned to make a wooden filler piece above the radiator, but because it all went together so fast and easy, I will drive to a local aluminium fabricator tomorrow morning and have a fitting plate cut and bent. I also figured out what I need to the top mounting of the radiator, so I will source those grommets as well and mount the rad to the alloy plate. The plate will be bolted to the front of the car temporarely, and riveted in when all is done. That will be after the turbo / intercooler is fitted.
The new set-up takes about 50cc more coolant. To me that is very positive. The hoses haven't changed, the tanks on this radiator are a lot smaller than the original ones, so there is plenty more coolant in the cooling section.
Cheers,
Hugo
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