Sorry,Herb. I forgot you and Carol had told me about the Griffin rad episode at CB'03.<g> Next question;did you pay $600 or $800 for the Ron Davis set-up? Is the Desert Cooler rad for sale,now? Now I'm left wondering if I could run a Ron Davis rad similiar to yours on my 69 with a short water pump. Clint Hooper LT5 Registry Director http://www.LT5Registry.net/ ACES #1650 http://dalesplace.com/misc/friends/clint_hooper.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: Herb Lumpp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > I hate to bore everyone with this story but I'll try to make it as short as > possible... > For quite a while I was using the original 6 cylinder radiator. A couple > days before transferring from St. Pete, FL. to Arlington, VA., I decided to > check the coolant. While the engine was running, I set the rad cap on top > of the rad tank. While I was filling a jug with water, the hood decided to > slam shut. When it did, it knocked the rad cap into the engine driven fan > which then slammed the cap into the radiator core and put a decent size hole > in it. Hallelujah, I have a valid excuse to buy that aluminum Griffin > radiator I've always wanted! > After I got to VA, I ordered a new Griffin with 1.25" tubes. Naturally the > bigger tubes were custom order only and I had to wait 5 or 6 weeks to get > it. When it finally arrived I was in a hurry (first mistake) to install it > but my wife had other plans and I told her it would only take a few minutes > (second mistake). > > A long time ago when I was upgrading things on my Vette, I switched from an > engine driven fan to dual electric ZR-1 fans. Because I hadn't upgraded the > alternator I had ongoing electrical problems because of the fans. I > eventually sorted it all out and the fans now work great. Anyway, I wanted > to avoid that problem with the Elky and I chose to use an engine driven fan. > Because we all know a fan needs a shroud to work right, I ordered a plastic > reproduction shroud (third mistake). > > In my rush to get my cool Griffin (no pun intended) installed, I didn't > notice the tight fit between the fan blades and the cheesy shroud (fourth > mistake). After everything was in place I jumped in the Elky and fired her > up. Less than a minute into the engine running, I hear this very loud > shriek (kinda like when you drag your fingernails down a chalkboard) and the > engine stopped running like it seized up. > > Much to my dismay, when I looked under the hood, a couple of the fan blades > had impaled themselves into the core!!!! Apparently the clearance between > the fan blade tips and the shroud was too small and when I revved the engine > (it was cold) the fans blades hit the shroud and bent back into the core so > hard it killed the engine. > > My wife and I have been together since '91 and she's never gotten mad at me > before no matter how stupid I was or what I did. But let me tell you, when > you destroy a $800 radiator in less than a minute after installing it, I > don't think "mad" even begins to describe my wife at that moment. > Definitely not something I want to repeat any time soon! > > Anyway, because I didn't have $800 to blow on another Griffin I opted to > down grade and I bought a copper/brass Desert Cooler from U.S. Radiators. > It only cost $400 so it was a deal. Since my wife is the coolest ever, she > knew I wasn't happy with the copper radiator and she told me to order > another aluminum rad if I really wanted it. > > Another $800 later brings us to today - I have a new Ron Davis Racing > Radiator with a fan shroud and aluminum overflow tank. Sitting in my garage > without a home is a Griffin that has been repaired (even though the repair > is ugly) and a slightly used Desert Cooler. > > So now you're all up to speed on my most costly mistake yet! > > > Herb Lumpp > http://users.adelphia.net/~hlump/
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