328 radiator options

I like this one, my friend has a multiple platinum winning 308 with an aftermarket radiator, so I dont think it matters. I want to do the same on my 89

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273550931335?fits=Make%3AFerrari&hash=item3fb0e7f587:g:QkUAAOSwuoNhh8JI

 

Partial to these.

https://www.nicksforzaferrari.net/nff-performance-radiators.html

 

Depends on the "show". If you intend to show your car at a Ferrari Club of America sanctioned concours, then yes, it must be oem, or at minimum lend the appearance of being stock from the outside. I would re-core your original if it cannot be simply cleaned and rodded out.

 

1300 for a radiator !! wow

I think I will go for the one on Ebay, I love NIcks stuff, clearly out of my budget . Im sure my friends 85 QV has an aluminum unit, Im just not sure where its from, he was having a lot of trouble with his car running hot, and he upgraded the radiator. I think the one on Ebay will be just fine, mine is still original and has lasted 33 years and counting.

G

 

Don't buy the Ebay one without speaking with someone who has purchased and installed one. Risky without references that it will fit and work properly (the sellers reviews show he has issues with his Honda radiators fitting). While Nick's may be expensive, you will know it will fit and work as claimed.
328s are not known to have cooling issues if everything is working properly. I would just refurbish the stock one on a 328.

 

Wizard Cooling beats the NFF price:

https://wizardcooling.com/series-4185-1985-1989-ferrari-328-custom-aluminum-radiator.html

(but that eBay price does seem attractive if the quality is good.)

 

I recently purchased the Wizard Cooling radiator. I really like it. It had one minor(?) issue. The radiator support brackets were not quite measured correctly and required that I cut them off, space them closer and then re-weld. It was about 3/16 off. About the thickness of the tab itself. Otherwise, no issues. See bracket at lower left in this photo (upper radiator support). I have not read that others had this issue. Its a tight fit.
They make 2 styles. One fits the OEM. The other requires you to remove the spare wheel tub. It is much thicker. Weighs about 5-6 lbs less than stock setup.
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Their website is dead.

 

Not really true. The only FCA concours in the country held to specific FCA rules is the national event. FCA chapters and regions have no obligation to follow those standards and generally do not. This thread is proof of that.


In my opinion an aftermarket radiator ought to be a deduction in any non hot rod oriented show.

 

Link works OK for me.

 

The concours held by the PNW FCA chapter always did (I was a judge). We felt we had to, in order to legitimately be a proper Ferrari concours. I didn't realize that was the exception, rather than the rule. We followed the same judging standards the FCA used at the national meets. We deducted for non oem parts. We had hours of conference calls in preparation going over the pages of pages of rules, details and exceptions. I had a new found respect for those that volunteer to judge at these meets. The work and effort to be fair, impartial and all under time constraints....

 

We barely have enough properly trained judges to conduct a national meet. I have yet to see a region with enough. Been a national discussion for a little bit.

 

I wasn't the organizer, but I know we struggled...we had at least three or four judges for each class, but since this was a regional show, we may have merged classes together to reduce the burden...(I'm not familiar with how many classes there are at the national meet). We did invite some FCA members that have judged from outside our region, as well as a few judges from other clubs, like the classic car club, and (I think) PCA. Even if they didn't know the cars really well, they understood the judging criteria and assisted with ruling and deductions.

 

We consider someone who knows a model 100% inside and out down to correct hardware finishes ready to train, not ready to judge In the past we have encouraged. regions and chapters to not use their interpretation of national methods exactly because it is so misunderstood.

Enough of that. It is nationally a very contentious subject exactly because so many argue to the death they are doing it correctly. It has lead to a lot of issues. Unfortunately it also leads to a lot of cars being represented as Platinum that really are not.

 

I'm in the same boat myself with my 328 GTS - I have slight seepage from the top tank seam area on the passenger's side (UK RHD car).

I have a friend who runs his own car restoration business, and I mentioned to him that a brand new radiator would be @ £3600 (@$4320) for a new one (if you could get one!), a reconditioned one on an exchange basis would be @ £2500 (@ $3000), and a second hand one would be @ £2030 (@ $2400).

He said to me immediately: "Don't go spending that sort of money, get the car to me, I know a guy who repairs classic car radiators back to original condition as a business, and it shouldn't cost anywhere near the price of a secondhand one, let alone a recon/exchange or new one!"

Now I'm just waiting to get her into his busy shop!

 

[My experience from last year (reposted from the TR/BB forum)]:

My experience is with recent "correct' re-coring of a 328 radiator (not a Boxer) but of similar vintage. I believe you are correct, the radiator shown has a serpentine fin core and per my understanding (at least on the 328) the "correct" type was a continuous horizonal fin with center divider. I too had a small leak (only when hot) and elected to replace the core rather than fix one area only to eventually contend with another site on a 35-year old original core.

Mr. Yang referred me to Mr. Rick Piper at Port Chester Radiator (https://www.portchesterautoradiator.com/contact-us/1924941) - I simply cannot say enough good things about both Mr. Piper and the experience. As I too wanted a "concourse-correct" repair he had Maine radiator supply (https://maineradiator.com/catalogs/) duplicate the original radiator core in appearance and dimensions (including the 328 center divider) and reused the original upper/lower tanks, all for a very reasonable cost. Communication was superb, craftsmanship excellent, and he is very used to working on Ferrari radiators and shipping as needed.

Also of note: dimensions on the 328 radiators are important to maintain as there is minimal clearance when tilting forward and fitting between the upper and lower supports.

Hope this is helpful.

 

Maybe its just me, but those fabricated aluminium radiators look awful! Look like something someone knocked up in their back shed out of leftover aluminium plate. Ignoring cooling efficiency benefits of aluminium, I prefer the OEM style radiators. Or if originality is not important, maybe a modern aluminium/plastic radiator. Just need to find the right size/shape donor?

 

Just an FYI, if you buy an aluminum radiator from NFF it's going to be a drop ship from Wizard. Also aluminum radiators are not more efficient than copper, their advantage for racing is that they are much lighter even though they have to be larger to provide the same amount of cooling. As for longevity, that's an unknown. I put one in my QV but I have the original packed in a box sitting on a shelf.

 

I always thought aluminium dispersed heat better? But maybe that only applies to comparing engines (cast iron v aluminium heads and block) rather than comparing copper v aluminium in radiator construction?