Kirkham radiator

4pipes · #1 (**permalink**) 05-12-2009, 08:39 PM

Who is the source for the radiator in the early Kirkhams (185)? I have a pin hole in the core which is temporarily sealed with good ole Bar's leak. I want to price a new one.

Ronbo · #2 (**permalink**) 05-13-2009, 04:45 PM

Far as I know they're all Fluidyne

, Summit racing and a bunch of others carry them.

4pipes · #3 (**permalink**) 05-13-2009, 04:53 PM

Thanks, you're right.....FHP30-SHELBY

Got the Bug · #4 (**permalink**) 05-13-2009, 05:05 PM

Is it possible or worth it to have it repaired?

4pipes · #5 (**permalink**) 05-13-2009, 07:14 PM

A new one is $470. I doubt if anyone can touch it for that! It's leaking in one of the cores and it's aluminum. Heli-arc'd together.

Three Peaks · #6 (**permalink**) 05-13-2009, 07:15 PM

Considering the cheapest I've found one of these radiators is around $515, it might be worth trying to get a radiator shop to repair your existing one.

I got incredibly lucky and picked up a good used one on ebay for $36, but it will need a little bit of cleaning up and possibly a little repair work. I figured I can get a lot of repair work done for the price difference.

Bob

Ronbo · #7 (**permalink**) 05-13-2009, 08:55 PM

Unless it's a minor weld defect...

Where there's one pinhole there's another five waiting to come to the surface. Unless it's getting ready to be someone else's problem, just replace it. (cheaper than a warped head)

Jamo · #8 (**permalink**) 05-13-2009, 09:28 PM

Dave...new one...don't look back.

kurtmart · #9 (**permalink**) 07-08-2009, 07:36 AM

4 pipes, I don't know if this is too little too late but I had to replace my rad. and got the fluidyne as mentioned. It's about a half an inch thicker than orig. and that half an inch is a *****.
Had to grease the bottom hose to get it past the steering arm, amongst other things.
Talked to Kirkham and they said the early rads were all custom made and the orig fabricator went out of biz. Fluidyne is the new source.
You'll need new brackets from Kirkham to mount the fan properly.

But, you probobly figured all this out by now.

K

RodKnock · #10 (**permalink**) 07-08-2009, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurtmart

4 pipes, I don't know if this is too little too late but I had to replace my rad. and got the fluidyne as mentioned. It's about a half an inch thicker than orig. and that half an inch is a *****.
Had to grease the bottom hose to get it past the steering arm, amongst other things.
Talked to Kirkham and they said the early rads were all custom made and the orig fabricator went out of biz. Fluidyne is the new source.
You'll need new brackets from Kirkham to mount the fan properly.

But, you probobly figured all this out by now.

K

Good information to know nonetheless. Thanks.

cobrarkc · #11 (**permalink**) 07-08-2009, 10:18 AM

I got from this guy, made him an offer of $475 and he accepted. This included shipping.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FLUID...Q5fAccessories

rms427 · #12 (**permalink**) 07-08-2009, 12:42 PM

If that's an actual picture of the radiator it sure isn't the same as what's in my car.

4pipes · #13 (**permalink**) 07-08-2009, 01:26 PM

That's not the right picture. My radiator is installed already. I'm picking up my car Saturday. My fabricator happened to have one of his "upgraded" radiators for the Kirkham. It has a baffle half way down from the inlet so hot water can't just drop down to the bottom. We also added a differential cooler to my car. I fried the clutch pack at the track and so ergo... the cooler.

cobrarkc · #14 (**permalink**) 07-09-2009, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rms427

If that's an actual picture of the radiator it sure isn't the same as what's in my car.

That is just a stock photo, check the part# it's the replacement for a cobra.

Rick Parker · #15 (**permalink**) 07-09-2009, 06:38 AM

The only part on an aluminum radiator that can be repaired by Tig welding would be the tanks. The heat necessary to weld will destroy the fins or tubes A hot melt Glue gun might surprize you though, I've seen it done

Consider pinching the offending tube at the header plate to reduce or eliminate flow in the single tube and apply a little hot melt glue. It sounds hokey but it works. Used a lot by the circle track crowd in a jamb.

David Kirkham · #16 (**permalink**) 07-09-2009, 09:37 AM

Our original source for radiators was Ron Davis Racing Radiators in Arizona. Over time, we found his fin count was too high for street use. The high fin count blocked air flow at low speeds (and high speeds too for that matter) and so the motors would heat up more putting around. At high racing speeds, the high fin count could take advantage of the forced air. For us weekend warrior types, we simply don't track the car very hard so the lower fin count doesn't matter.

For the past few years, we have used a custom radiator shop to make our radiators. We have also used Fluidyne when we couldn't get radiators fast enough from our supplier. Now we are back to using our custom radiator shop. He does extremely nice work.

As for welding a fin...it would take a magician. As for hot glue--hey, whatever works, but I'm not sure I'd trust it too far.

David