From the Ricambi parts page: Image Unavailable, Please Login I think that settles the single unit factory question...
Can you take a pic please, of the mounting of this cooler pipe to the condensor? I presume your car has assembly number somewhere around 18000? (Mine is 18154) My radiator was recored by a small local company a few miles from where I live. https://radiateurenlassen.nl/radiateuren/nggallery/page/1 It took them 2 weeks to get the right type/size core, but after that the job was done in a few days, tested and painted black. Very pleased with the result and the price tag.
What do you guys think about this? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ferrari-456-M-GTA-Oil-Radiator-Cooler-164616-/401019495035 My alternative is to cut my oil cooler off my coolant radiator and try to mate it to the RD radiator. Only problem with this is the tabs for the ac consedor are not in the right spot. I would have to fashion those somehow...
Here is a better picture of everything showing the single piece coolant/oil radiator and the corresponding AC consender. Image Unavailable, Please Login The power steering cooler bolts to the top two mounting holes on the ac condenser. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Radiator/oil cooler combo is back from the local radiator shop. They do custom work so I felt comfortable letting them cut up the old one and weld to the Ron Davis. They were familar with RD and said they referred work there. Here is the finished product, quite the Franken-radiator: Image Unavailable, Please Login
And they moved the ac condensor tabs from the old radiator to the new one. All for about $500. I think I'm $2400 in it at this point. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ken, the ensemble looks like it has quite a gap between the radiator & oil cooler due to the framing of the radiator. Have you checked to see if it'll fit OK?
We used the fan shroud which goes over both coolers as a jig and kept all the important distances constant (Pins and brackets) but you never know how it fits until you slide it in do you? If it’s off then it’s back to the radiator shop. I am also concerned with the additional RD thickness. We lined the fan side up so that shroud will fit flush but there is another shroud that goes on top on the front side which is now not flush. That my take some additional fab work.
My concern was justified. The thicker radiator is causing the ac condenser to hit the frame cross member. I wonder why they made it so much thicker than stock? I sent a note to RD to see what advice they have.
The reason is because RD is known in the industry to provide radiators with extra capacity for additional cooling. All racers know Ron Davis. Thicker means more capacity in the same rectangular location. It is up to the end user to know what he can modify to fit. I am sure you can modify to fit but there will some kind of compromise. For example I would have tired not to weld the cooler to the radiator and just mounted them as 2 separate pieces. I'm not looking at what you are trying to do so maybe what I say can't be done. Sounds like you have to move the A/C condenser or modify it's mounting.
Taking a closer look the problem seems to be the pins on the RD are 1/4 inch farther from the edge than the stock and the RD conderser mounts are 1/4 inch farther off the radiator surface. Add them both together and that 1/2 inch causes the ac condenser to collide. Extra cooling is good but fitment is primary because if it does not fit it does not cool.
Yeah...even on mass produced cars they might not have direct fitment. It is close and that's the compromise for the extra cooling. RD is serious extra cooling. A mass produced corvette can't stay cool for 20 min track session and will go into limp mode. Using the corvette specific RD will make the car stay cool under all race conditions but it is not exact direct fitment...it is close. Even on mass produced cars you have to widget it. Your choice is OEM or redesign the fitment if you want the cool that RD can provide. The math is simple. Big thick radiator cools where a little one might be marginal. Cribbj I think had issues with cooling but lives in texas. I live at the Beach in Socal and never have a cooling issue. In the 550 some claim there is not enough headroom in the cooling system. I have never had a problem but it is never over 85F where I live and mostly tops out at 80F. I don't see modifications to the radiator core support etc as bad for your Ferrari. I think of it as value added to do a really nice install. OTOH, it is rear that you can't kludge something together so the next owner has the option of going back to OEM.
I’m thinking of trying to lower the condensor tabs and maybe move the pins slighty forward. The othe thing I am thinking is getting a thinner but wider ac condenser.
Finally got the tabs lowered. The right one was easy, just moved it around the side of the radiator. The left on was pressed flat from an a frame shape and welded back. The condenser is about Ine half inch closer now and clears the frame crossmember.
All buttoned up and ready for the radiator. She may be running tomorrow with a little luck. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Radiator is in. That was a few tedious months. Fit was not great but made it. The whole thing sits back about an inch closer to the motor. Lower hose is slightly pinched between fan and frame. I will need to keep an eye on that. Blowby box and connections are not well aligned but they fit. I could always go to hoses and ditch the pipes. I added new spal fans and took the power direct off the alternator with a pair of relays. Replaced the fan temp sensor. Kicks on about 200 and off at 180. AW Italian silicone hose kit as well. No leaks Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Off the jacks again! AC is next. Then I can put the bumper back in and go for a real drive. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Pinched hoses? The top hose by the picture looks a little pinched but that might be just the photo. And it is so small it does not matter. We can't see the bottom. Is it possible to cut say 1/2" off the hose end so the hose sits deeper over the radiator hose area? That might relieve the pinch. Does my description make sense?
The pinch is between the fan (part of the radiator) and the subframe against the lower hose. It’s because the radiator is an inch farther back than stock. The passage between the fan and the subframe has thus been narrowed by and inch and is pinching or squeezing the lower hose. The only fix is to move the subframe or the radiator to create more clearance. #46 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks Prit. Hopefully the radiator issues are behind me. If I had to do it again I think I would find someone to repair the old one. Fitment issues are not fun. In the other hand this thing should cool a lot better.
I ended up repairing my old. Your issues were part of my reasoning. That, and I paid a local shop $100.
