Hello to all of you, I am currently rebuilding my Mk1's 3.4 liter engine and have decided to do a cooling system upgrade, any ideas as to the best looking and performing radiator upgrades for me to look into?

 

Buy an upgraded radiator ~ about twice the cooling capacity of the standard one but looks identical from Northampton Radiators. They make Barratts upgraded units. Please don't buy one of those awful Chinese aluminium units.

Barratts are not shy to charge. I paid GBP 550 or so 3 years ago. Cut out the middle man.




Car under build but they look Identical to the originals. What I have in my car & it runs just below 70 deg C in all conditions. The core has huge cooling capacity & the Thermostat is what is achieving desired running temperature. i.e. you have cooling in reserve.

 

I bought an aluminum radiator from Wizard Cooling for my XJ-S. Perfect fit and it came with the electric fans I wanted pre-installed. They're made to order in the USA. https://wizardcooling.com

 

If they are made in the US that's fine. Then all the fins wont fall off if you live by the coast as I do. Price is a fairly good indicator of quality unless you buy from some thieving schmuck. Originality was important to me.

 

ebay sellers have them for under $250.00 USD.

at that price I wouldn't mind where they are made as long as the fit and specs are fine. Why pay $1,200.00 for a radiator ?

check the feedback good and bad for this listing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165022379602?

 

Because that is Chinese crap made with inferior material & will fall apart before your eyes ~ false economy. You don't have to buy from Barratts. Go to the source at half the price for a premium unit that does the job properly. It could save you an engine.

 

That looks great, exactly what I am looking for! On their website they have a standard version and a race core, which would you recommend between the two?

 

Do you have a radiator rebuilder near you? They could take your existing radiator and put a modern high efficiency core in it. I had that done for my S Type, and it works well. It preserves the original header tanks and I knew it would fit back in the car.

 

I took the racing/hot climate core living in Africa. They used to call it the tropical core ~ same thing. Mine is still brass but times move on. They do a fine job. Maybe Core C/B is in fact my one. (C/B = Copper brass?) It costs GBP48 more so likely my model. GBP 648 total. You can never have too much cooling capacity in an old Jag due to their small grill aperture. Not a bad price increase over the years,

 

When I rebuilt my car I had the original radiator recored with a new upgraded core. Cost was only £250 nine years ago. Unfortunately I had an accident where an Engine mount sheared the rubber and the fan went through the back of the rad two years ago. Went back to the same company Totnes Radiators in Exeter and found the price had doubled to over £500.

 

Barratts price has doubled in about 6 years.

 

About 3 or 4 years ago a friend with an S type and myself with a MK1 ran into a problem with radiators. Both cars had crook radiators and needed new cores.
For some reason at the time, we were unable to get new cores in Australia. We were quoted really stupid prices to manufacture "one off " cores.
He made contact with an organisation which was handling the cheap (crap) Chinese aluminium radiators and we ended up buying two at a cost of A$230 each delivered to the door.
We just wanted to keep the cars on the road.
In my case I found the Chinese radiator mountings at the bottom did not have the Jaguar studs and had to incorporate bolts.
The top hose outlet was a bit 'off" but managed to get a flex hose to fit.
The supplied radiator cap was hopelessly over pressure at 1.4 atmospheres which is close to 20 PSI and those early dish welch plugs won't handle that sort of pressure
I ended up modifying the cap and spring to get about 5 PSI.
The radiator shrouds did not fit the mountings supplied.
However, after installation I was satisfied that it did work, and engine temperatures are OK.
I don't expect this radiator to last forever but as a stopgap measure it is OK.
Unfortunately, my friend with the S type is now deceased and I cannot comment on his cars experience.
cheers

 

I noticed this too and I complained about this to the seller. The studs are flat head, welded to the brackets. But I have seen local radiator shops do a worse job of recoring, so....

In my S type, the fan shroud is not easy to remove and worse to refit, specifically at the bottom hose nipple. Easy to crack the fiberglass shroud.

 

The big problem we have with them here at coast other than what you list is that all the fins corrode out in no time. I warn people to flush the fins with clean water everytime they wash their car. It slows the rot down somewhat.

Regarding radiator caps I've settled at 7lbs & would never exceed 9lbs. The water pump seals were not designed for the high pressure of modern cars. Caps from Barratts need to be pressure checked. Some are way out.

 

Until earlier this year, we had in the UK a radiator company called Alicool. They provided a product that was cheaper than NAR by not following the original patter for tanks, but all the connections and brackets were the correct type and position - perfect for most of us who want something that works well but aren't worried about original appearance. Thanks to the economic situation and us buying Chinese, they were forced info liquidation.

 

Actually we have a donated quality reproduction https://www.ebay.com/itm/18548939869...kAAOSw3zRixGAh as well as 2 excellent used ones.

 

This does not belong in the technical section of the forum CF. And US $1,200.00 ??????? is as bad as Barratts when you can get a perfect reproduction from GBP 600 to GBP 648. or Barratts US for $1,369.59 If you don't go direct you have to tolerate a fat markup. Someone in the US must make a replica in the $ 600 range or recore if your tanks are good.

 

but Glyn you have posted links to Barratt's radiator. Why attack Coventry Foundation's link ? Nobody is obligated to buy it.

I found one in aluminium for $159.00, it has the bottom studs, free shipping.

 

Because they are promoting themselves which is bad practice on technical forums and especially as a sponsor. Other posts in this thread are suggestions by members. It's obvious that you have not run a premium Internet Brands forum. Old XKS Unlimited now Moss used to sell a US made copy at a reasonable price.

 

I am not looking to "run" this forum but to share and learn. If you have been promoted as Moderator of this forum, I was not aware. Otherwise it is up to the real Moderator of this forum to complain, not to the members.

In my opinion, Coventry Foundation should be awarded Premium Carte Blanche in this forum and they can advertise their goods as they wish. Coventry Foundation is part of the Jaguar Clubs of North America, a non-profit organization for the benefit of thousands of Jaguar owners, I don't see any problem.