I looked at an aluminum radiator but ordered an OEM style replacement last night. I did go for quality though, it has a lifetime warranty. As far as coolant temps go, even in stop in go traffic on a 100+ degree day with the ac on, it never gets hot. And since I don't plan any big power mods I don't think I'll ever need more cooling capacity. I checked the fan and resistor but they have both been replaced fairly recently so "if it aint broke..." I had half a mind to do the water pump and t-stat while I have the system drained but the water pump is not original either and the t-stat is functioning fine too. My t-stat housing is also in good shape and not leaking. The PO of this car were an older couple that trailered it to Florida regularly and had it dealer maintained. Its in pretty amazing condition for its age, almost to the point where I feel bad running it into the ground as a DD.

 

Sounds like you have it under control :D

 

I work from home and try to stay on the Peninsula. That bridge is notorious for car carnage. You'd think after all the paving they did it would be better, but nope, VDOT can't repair anything for the long haul. I've heard they are pretty good at paying claims for damage.

 

I can't blame you there! We lived in Hampton prior to moving to NC. The Peninsula is much nicer than the south side! I got an email today saying that the "contractor in that area" was responsible for the damage and they were referring my case to them. Heres to hoping! Not gonna hold my breath though

 

Fingers crossed for you

 

My radiator was delivered yesterday and my new rim came today. Swapping both was only a 3 hour job with a full tire rotation. Not a bad job. I took a coffee break halfway through and wasn't rushing at all. Kind of just enjoying myself really. I used a bleeding funnel to get the air out, had to vent some out the bleeder valve on the upper radiator hose to get the t-stat to open.

 

Andy you jinxed me. Radiator fan only works on high now. I freaking checked it again before I took it apart BECAUSE you mentioned it and it worked. Low came on 212 iirc using my scan tool. Now it only comes on high at 232 🤬🤬🤬.

 

Noooooooooo

 

Obviously I don't believe you had anything to do with my fan problems but I wanted to post because I was given good advice on a part that notoriously fails and I didn't take it. So instead of adding 15 minutes and $20 to a repair while I had the time and had it apart, I get to spend 2 hours I don't have to do it over. So for future reference for anyone reading this, if a knowledgeable Miniac suggests you change a part, its probably worth strongly considering taking that advice.

 

Hahah ok I can sleep again at night now

I changed my resistor when I swapped out the rad for the Fletcher v2, but in the end I shouldve just bought a new fan altogether for peace of mind.

 

LOL good I don't want to be the cause of sleep deprivation!

I looked at the Fletcher and one other radiator, I think it was a Mishimoto. I ended up going OEM to save money on other mods since I don't anticipate any cooling issues with my planned build. Really a full exhaust and tune is all I have in mind until the motor is due for a rebuild. Once the motor needs a refresh I'll upgrade the cam and either get an R53 head and port it or port my existing head and upgrade the exhaust valves. That's about it. Anything else I do will fall under the aesthetics or suspension categories....or aero. I love splitters and I like the Orrange wing. It would be totally pointless on a DD but they look cool lol. That brings up another subject though (as long as I'm rambling on after only getting 3 hours sleep last night). I had that huge steel skid plate off the front again when I replaced the radiator and got thinking that's a lot of weight on an already nose heavy car. I may make one out of a sheet of 3/16 aluminum and incorporate a splitter into it, so its basically all one piece. Someone should probably talk me out of doing that lol

 

Oof! Man that wheel took a shot. Glad to see you picked up a replacement so quickly and also glad it didn’t send you into the ditch!

Nice work with the rad, and yes, I too seem to always regret not giving in to the “while I’m in there” urge.

Oh and please do MAKE THAT SPLITTER MONSTROSITY. I’d order one from ya for the track build

 

Do it and document it :D

I just wanted to buy an aluminium rad for a long period of time, but an OEM rad would also have sufficed in my case haha

 

You two aren't helping anything . I'm gonna end up being one of those posers driving around the very same kind of "speed racer" car that I used to mock when I was younger ha ha. I guess I need to go find a piece of aluminum...

 

Hahahahahhh go for it

 

I spent some time with uncle google. A sheet of aluminum big enough to make a splitter with a built in skid plate is prohibitively expensive! And since I'd need a piece roughly 48" x 66" I couldn't make 2 out of a 4' x 8' sheet to offset the cost. I looked at polypropylene, cheaper than aluminum but again, $240 a sheet. Spent some time on a miata website and they seem to like birch. Cheap, easy to work with, strong, light weight. Not sure how it'd do for a skid plate but I got thinking maybe I could use a 6 mm sheet and epoxy it to weather proof it then screw/glue/rivet the sheet of 16 gauge ss I have to the bottom. Wonder if it'd weigh any less than the 1/8" steel plate that's on it now?? I also hate the lack of access to basic maintenance with the existing skid plate. It'd be very easy to make the engine oil drain accessible. I also feel like the ps cooling fan should be more open. Kind of thinking out loud here. May be a future project. I think some down force would help the front of this car. She plows like a **** in a corner.

 

Well I got a call from the claims department and they are covering the wheel I bent a couple weeks ago! Their covering the cost of the tire mount and balance also. I was rather surprised honestly. That's a good thing though. It seems like we've been hemorrhaging money lately. Life is expensive when your an adult ha ha.

I ordered a piece of black aluminum mesh also. I'm going to make a new grill. I like the JCW grill but I'm too cheap to spend the $100 on something that is purely for looks. $12 is a much better price for this car lol.
I have a new dual core aluminum radiator and a trans cooler that needs to be installed in the Mustang and we got chickens over the weekend too so the MINI wont get any attention for awhile :-/ I have to finish the coop and clear some land so I can put a fence up, then fix the mustang so we can start driving it again as the weather is finally starting to get nice.

 

Pictures pictures!

 

What would you like pictures of specifically sir??

 

This

 

I called it a dual core but they actually refer to it as a "3 row". The trans cooler is used. It's off my brothers car. He pulled it when he converted to manual trans and gave it to me since we had a 10" 3200 rpm stall in at the time. I wanted the extra cooling capacity. Never got around to putting it in though. On his car it dropped the trans fluid temp 40-50 degrees on average.

Here's a few pics as requested.

 

It's going in this thing.

 

Cool ride

 

Thanks!

 

I weighed the Mini on the way in this morning and actually remembered to take pictures this time. It still seems heavy to me for a slick top R50. But other than the wheels there hasn't been much done for weight reduction so IDK. I guess when you compare it to the mustang that has had substantial work don't to lighten it up and still tips the scales at 3400 lbs. its not terrible...