aluminum radiators

they are 2 row radiators, but the build looks similar to stock ... just unsure about the quality
 
Quality of the welding looks pretty good.

Always wonder about the fit on these deals.

I have a radiator from Wizard cooling in the NE in my M5.
It is excellent build quality but had some small fit issues.

You can look at the quality here. He does not have a radiator for the E9 just the E24 & E28. $550. Pretty high price though.

http://www.wizardcooling.com/BMW-p/947-500.htm
 
Caution advised

We tried to use one on a restoration I did recently. We ended up not being able to make it work. There were several problems for us:

1. The top "U" channel along the top of the radiator is wider than the core and reduces the clearance to the fan. The "U" channel was 1-5/8" wide. The legs also point downwards providing a nice place for the fan blade to hook on. See Rad3 photo.

2. The long angle piece mounted on top of the "U" bar was ugly. Its only purpose was for the two fan shroud attachment screws. We removed it and installed two short pieces. See Rad1 photo.

3. The core is not mounted forward enough (again clearance issues).

4. The whole thing was slightly warped. It had enough flex that I could bend it straight.

5. The bottom was too narrow for the lower support bracket so we had to weld on some tabs. See Rad2 photo.

So, if you have lots of clearance to the fan (or an electric fan) and are willing to make a few mods then the radiator is probably ok. Otherwise, proceed with caution.....
 

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I have seen this radiator in a coupe about a month ago. The owner said he spent 3 hours modifying it so that it would fit. And the fit that I saw was substandard after he had gone to war with it. You need to add tabs to the bottom to make it viable. Then again, the ecartoy radiators a year ago were crummy as well. They sat too low.

rsporsche said:
anybody know anything about the aluminum radiators recently posted on ebay?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-ROW-DUAL-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d53d853ea&vxp=mtr
Click to expand...
 
I've wondered about the various aluminum radiators out there. NMNA, but Ireland Engineering has these aluminum radiators listed:

http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/E9-E3-cooling/e9alurad.html

Not sure if Ireland makes them themselves or if they're reselling them for someone else. There is also a disclaimer on the Ireland website stating that they're EXCLUSIVELY for the manual transmission cars -- not the automatics. I've had excellent experiences with Ireland in all my other transactions & found the quality of their products to be excellent. Of course, you pay a premium price for premium products, and at $375 this radiator is almost double the price of the eBay ones. Still, if it actually fits & works it is worth it. Ireland has always been responsive to any questions I've had. If the aluminum radiator is something you're pursuing, you should give them a call. Ireland's number: 626-359-7674

Again, NMNA.


-Adam
 
when you look at the detail work of Ireland's unit, you can see substantial differences over the ones on ebay. i'm sure IE has somebody make them in China ... or somewhere ... based on their designs. they do have some good stuff.
 
I forgot what brand mine is. Got it from sfdon. Direct drop in, high quality welds, no fitment issues or tinkering. All I needed was a manual rad bracket since my car was originally an auto, and still had the original radiator.

Was around $375 and worth it.
 
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