Cooling system upgrade...

[SaltandPepper]

Ok, I knew I would have to put a bit of coin into my FED so I decided to start with the cooling system since overheating seems to be a problem for me. On the advice of DusterDave I purchased a Meziere 55 gal/min water pump to replace the belt drive Moroso I have now. I figured if I was going to do that I would upgrade the radiator also so I purchased a Champion duel fan radiator also. It only weighs 6lbs more than the old one and mounting both new pieces is no problem. I do need some suggestions on the transmission cooler though. On the old system they just ran bolts threw the old radiator and bolted the tranny cooler against the bottom so the fan would pull air threw both. When I inspected this setup that thing was so loose it was rattling...and I do mean rattling. Also the tranny cooler has a slanted air flow design rather than the straight up threw air flow design on the radiator. I question how much cooling was going on or if it was just blocking the air flow to 25% of the old radiator. I looked it over and could come up with 3 options: 1) I could mount it up to the new radiator in the same fashion the old one was however I am not too keen on putting 4 holes threw my new rad. 2) I could fabricate a bracket under the rad and mount it to that but the question of air flow impediment still remains. Or 3) I could purchase a stand alone tranny cooler with it's own fan and fabricate a bracket mount in front of the new rad. I would have to run longer hose but that is no problem. Although I am not really worried about the cost it would be an extra $200 for a stand alone. My other concern is the connection pipe feeding the rad. As you can see in the pic this thing was home made and at a pretty sharp 90* angle. Is this going to be a big contributor to my overheating problem? All thoughts, comments, or suggestions are appreciated. 

[SaltandPepper]

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[wideopen231]

Makes alky look cheaper all the time. There is reason the old saying is got to hate money to do this. It is pretty radiator.

[Roger]

It appears you are well on your way to controlling your engine temperature, nice set-up:) I did notice you have a very high volume pump compared to others out there. When calling the various manufactures of pumps and radiators when I was trying to learn all I could about cooling systems for my car the one point repeated by several of them was to not move the water too quickly through a smaller radiator, you need to give the water time to give up it's heat to the radiator tubes and fins. On the upside, you have a double pass radiator that requires the water to circulate about 4 feet through the radiator, giving it extra time to exchange heat. Once you get it dialed in and figure out when to turn the pump and the fan on, you should be very pleased.
When it came to a fan powered trans cooler, I went with a B&M unit. A little heavy, the motor uses 6 amps to run, it ain't cheap, but the fan puts out a boat-load of air. Since I only turn the fan on just before the return road and then off once I drive back to the pits, I wanted maximum cooling for the short time it would be on. So far so good. A stand-alone trans cooler not in the path of radiator air flow is the only way to have maximum cooling efficiency.
If you radiator has regular radiator hose fittings (I can't tell by the pictures) then you might try and find a formed hose to make that right angle turn. If not, then the systems will still work well with what you have...I think. Give it a try
Gotta say this: never liked the looks of a fed with a radiator unless it has a full body, yours does looks good, nice job!

[SaltandPepper]

I went with a Derale tranny cooler....it had decent reviews and seemed like the easiest to mount, supposed to be here on Tuesday. I R&R'd the water pump today and mounted the new rad. If I do have a problem with the water flow too fast I guess I could install a restrictor, although I would rather not. The more I get into this thing the more I see that could have been assembled better. The last time I was at the track I put the FED back in the trailer and forgot to take the wheelie bar off....the top bar bent. Apparently the fella had made it out of mild steel. It was bent when I bought it and I put it in a press and straightened it out once....yeah, I know, I do know better. I dropped it off at a fabrication shop today and the fella is making me a whole new top bar out of moly. That will work till this winter when I can get the entire back end redone. The way the top bar and chute are mounted if I ever deployed the chute it would pull against the upper bar. I ain't no rocket scientist but that seems a bit dangerous. I don't plan to go fast enough this season to use the chute though. Seems my machine has the same characteristic as my boat.....Bring On Another Thousand.

[Curly1]

Your new radiator should eliminate your overheating problem assuming you have not lost the head gasket.

[jeff/21]

We had the rad installed on an angle scoop on the underside that forced air up through it . nice rad and pump we had to tow back to the pits or the temp would soar.

[SaltandPepper]

Well we hit the strip tonight with the upgraded system and it worked like a charm.....never went above 180* and I am able to cool it down for another run in about 30 minutes. Did 2 passes tonight with the first beating my previous at a 10.1 and the second which is my best at a 9.855@138.68mph. Fella at the track said I would have to slow it down a little since I was only good to 10.0 with no license so I guess a license is the next goal to go with the 9s.

[Paul New]

Congratulations on the cooling system upgrade and your first 9 second pass!!!

[Roger]

Congrats! Looks like you made a good investment with the new cooling system. Get the license for sure because it will be hard to slow it down now that you've tasted a 9:)

[jeff/21]

nice going! have a nice summer

[afaulk]

I've been following your progress, watching from the back of the room so to speak. Congrats on your progress, sounds like you're having fun and doing it the sensible way. I just have 2 things for you to think about.   #1. I'm not sure what temp you're looking for but a warmer engine will burn the fuel better and make more HP.  180 Deg. is just warmed up.  #2. Chromoly tubing used for building chassis and wheelie bars is annealed and will bend and take a set, just not as easily as mild steel and theres nothing wrong with straightening it out and going again. I've done a wheelie in my (other car) and bent the bars like a rocker on a rocking chair, straightened them out and continued on. Anyways...…..have fun and be safe. Allen