ahebron Posted April 17, 2020 Report Share Posted April 17, 2020 I have read about people fitting Honda Civic radiators to thier VitesseI I believe it to be a 1992-2000 EK, EG B16, B18 that is used. Here in NZ I can buy a 3 row 52mm thick Aluminium one for NZ$132 delivered which seems a rather good deal. My 55 year old one fitted in the car has been repaired may times and rattles when shaken so has some solder floating about inside it does n ot want to come out. What I want to know is what modifiactions need to be made to fit the radiator, obviously I need to make some mountng brackets and get then attached to the sides and some reworking of the plumbing is needed to hook it up to the engine. As the radiator is narrower than the Vitesse I will need to sort out how to mount the engine valances at the front. I have probably answered my own questions. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Hi, yes Ive got one fitted about 3 years ago and Im very pleased with it. As you say far cheaper and lighter than an original with a pretty easy installation. I bonded a length of 50mm alloy angle to each side with epoxy metal which is rather stronger than it needs to be but allowed other sections of angle to be bolted into place to give the chassis mounting brackets and smaller ones for the side valance fixings. I bought some 30mm alloy tube and an additional Triumph radiator hose which I cut down for both the water connections. The original top hose was used without modification while only the top half of the lower one was needed for the return. Ive got a Spal fan fitted between engine and rad with both the mechanical fan and its boss removed and its controlled by a Chinese adjustable electronic thermostat with sensor pushed into the rad fins. It works well and cools far better than the old knackered radiator but obviously doesnt look original so I might change to an Escort aluminium radiator at sometime as these are a better fit although more expensive than the bargain Civic unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 How does it compare in price with the currently available Spitfire / Herald versions? (Between £90 and £100) I don't need one but they keep cropping up at weak moments... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 I paid about 50 quid for my 3 row delivered off eBay but they might have gone up a bit since then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 About 80 quid at the moment. 2 versions, 28mm and 32mm outlets, from slight you different models so need to check which is needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 mine was 28mm and I think on my original rad they were 30mm but the hoses clamped down no problem. I would have loved to have used one of the wide Herald/Spitfire ones but theres no way theyll go in a Vitesse... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahebron Posted April 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 What I find hard to get my head around is that the Honda radiator is smaller in height and width yet is a better unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 20, 2020 Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 It's not much different on height but width yes. However the tube spacing is 1cm instead of 1/2" so there's 105 tubes instead of 90. Also the cooling fins are attached to the tubes better so the heat transfer is improved. Saying that a new standard rad can do the job but at almost 4 times the price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahebron Posted April 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 41 minutes ago, johny said: It's not much different on height but width yes. However the tube spacing is 1cm instead of 1/2" so there's 105 tubes instead of 90. Also the cooling fins are attached to the tubes better so the heat transfer is improved. Saying that a new standard rad can do the job but at almost 4 times the price! Exactly! And then try buy one in NZ and it would be more expensive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 20, 2020 Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 youll be surprised by the weight difference over the old rad and also if mounted to one side rather than central theres a good space left for an oil cooler hmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted April 20, 2020 Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 What I'm wondering is how the Honda version compares with the alloy versions specially made for the Triumph range; it may beat the original radiator by quite a margin but are the proper full-width Herald or Spitfire versions better still, or at the very least equal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 20, 2020 Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 I think a full width ally rad would be very good as although only 2 row rather than 3 its got far more front area and at a reasonable price however as said theres no way one will go in a Vitesse or GT6. If you compare them the Herald/Spit engine being shorter allows the rad to be fitted further back where the chassis rails drop down so you can have a reasonable rad depth. On the sixes at the front to go across the chassis rails the rad would have to be very small on height so thats why Triumph fitted a rad that went between the rails and to cover for the reduced area increased to 3 and 4 rows (Vitesse and GT6 respectively). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahebron Posted April 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 johny did you mount your Honda rad so the top is the same height as the Vitesse one? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Yes it wants to be as high as possible to make it easier to fill the heater. Mine works as before, I put coolant in the rad and half expansion bottle, then while driving operate the heater knob a few times and it starts to work no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahebron Posted April 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 And hopefully one last question. I see you have an electric fan but did you try it with the mechanical fan as according to my specs the Honda rad is 100mm shorter than the Vitesse one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 I have one. AS said above you nned to consider how you will mount it - I made some alloy brackets and had them TiGged on - and that the top hose connector is in a different place. I hade to fabricate a new thermostat housing top that pointed to the other side, and use some fancy Samco hose bends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 1 hour ago, ahebron said: And hopefully one last question. I see you have an electric fan but did you try it with the mechanical fan as according to my specs the Honda rad is 100mm shorter than the Vitesse one. I dont see any problem with using the original mechanical fan. True the Honda rad is not as wide as the original but fits more tubes in less space and if mounted centrally should get good coverage from the crank fan although Im not sure how close the bottom hose connection will be... Sorry havent got any pics of my installation which looks easier than John's although not as professional! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Hi, If you chose an aluminum radiator, Pick one without a radiator cap. You will need to add an expansion tank to the system. Additional cost & time to mount. You will end up with a much superior system than you can achieve with a capped rad. Cheers, Iain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Iain, What do you do instead? I do have an expansion tank, you can see it on the bulkhead, in line with the engine, and the bonnet support pole. JOhn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Hi John, Is the coolant tank where you refill the system & if you take the cap of the radiator it leaks out from there? cheers, Iain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahebron Posted April 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2020 I got to the radiator in my Vitesse 6 today and armed with a tape measure I deduced that the Honda rad will not fit well with the mechanical fan. So for know an I will stick with the original radiator and when I can access a radiator shop I will get the tap resoldered. Thanks for all the answers and hopefully they will help others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 24, 2020 Report Share Posted April 24, 2020 Pity but don't you have any overheating problems? I would have thought the state of the cooling fins and interior cleanliness of your rad would have caused an issue by now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahebron Posted April 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2020 No Idea, The car hasnt been on the road for 37 years but the radiator looks clean when I remove the cap. I straightened the fins a few weeks back and that was when I damaged the drain tap. IIRC I had the radiator worked on about 20 years ago😉 I was looking at Ford Escort Mk1 RS2000 radiators today and they look like they will almost fit and the hoses are in the correct places. But as I have temporarily become one of the unemployed I think I should reduce spending till I get work again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted April 24, 2020 Report Share Posted April 24, 2020 15 hours ago, SpitFire6 said: Hi John, Is the coolant tank where you refill the system & if you take the cap of the radiator it leaks out from there? cheers, Iain. Yes, top it up at the bulkhead tank But have to admit - I clamp the hose and check the rad top tank too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 24, 2020 Report Share Posted April 24, 2020 1 hour ago, ahebron said: No Idea, The car hasnt been on the road for 37 years but the radiator looks clean when I remove the cap. I straightened the fins a few weeks back and that was when I damaged the drain tap. IIRC I had the radiator worked on about 20 years ago😉 I was looking at Ford Escort Mk1 RS2000 radiators today and they look like they will almost fit and the hoses are in the correct places. But as I have temporarily become one of the unemployed I think I should reduce spending till I get work again Yes I've got a 4 row ally Escort rad new from eBay at 90 pounds waiting to be installed in my Vitesse. It should be very good fit and look great but I'm loath to disturb the Honda set up as it works so well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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