Radiators for festiva

[mattman]

ok spent the last lil while looking around the site didnt find the answer i was looking for soooo anyone have a opinion on what the best replacement radiator is for the festy i am finding all kinds of prices online anywhere from 60 bucs up im just wondering what you all feel is the best to get what do you use an is there a replacement Rad that is all aluminum an not part plastic ( this is where my problem lies ) i found alot of aluminum or copper an even steel core but all had plastic tops an bottoms mine is seperated the plastic from the core ......since mine is coming apart an i have never heard of anyone ever being able to repair this kind of problem so toss me ideas or is there any other cars that use the same RAD out there hopefully the new PNP that is opening up on US421 is open in the next week or two

[Bert]

I was a real skeptic of aluminum/plastic rads until I put (after an accident) an all brass one in my Ford truck years ago. It rotted out every year (but under warranty) for 3 years until I got really pissed off and switched back to OEM plastic and aluminum. It's still sound 21 years later (no kidding). I suspect the plastic tub insulates the metal heat exchangers from corrosion. Dissimilar metals that touch are bad luck (galvanic action) on cars, especially if you experience salt spray or road salt. However, I wouldn't recommend "lo-bidder" rads no matter what they're made of. And Festiva rads are tiny compared to anything else. Hardest part is adapting the mounting brackets and hose connections for junk yard bargains. How good are you at improvising?

[Damkid]

A stock festiva rad is plenty of cooling capacity for even a BP, the rad from a 5 speed festy is a single core rad where as the rad from an automatic festy is a dual core

so if you have a 5 speed festiva and want a minor upgrade in cooling, just get a stock rad from an auto and it'll (obviously) be a direct replacement


And mattman, on a side note, your posts being just one long paragraph can be a bit hard to follow what your trying to say, try to break up your sentences a bit so its easier for others to read and understand, just a helpful tip

[mattman]

sorry bout that damnkid im not the best at writing things out but i will work on it ......and thanks for the advice i think i will get a automatics RAD when i go to order one ...guess new will have to do

[1988festivazoom]

i was not aware of the auto having a 2 core... good info!

[mudder]

Ha-ha, after hitting a big deer at 65 mph with the hammer down in third gear
(it looked like a deer poopy handgrenade)
I took an aspire radiator, fudged the hoses and strapped it down with a zip strip on a leather pad.
It has been working great for 3 years now.
With lots of deer and road salt Michigan is not kind to Festiva's.

[DrMaxwellEdison]

I didn't know the Autos were dual core Rads... mine is leaking (my best guess) from the top plastic bit too...

[1988festivazoom]

Biglay5150 had his burst on the bottom in stop and go traffic it overheated and the cap failed to purge lol it blew coolant everywhere! And I just happend to be friving by so I stopped and helped him. Lucally I have a garauge full of festy parts.

[hotfordcat]

I got my two core off ebay for less than $100 w/shipping. Works great, and I have more heat also.

[timmay89]

Another option for festiva's are the integra half-rads. They require little modification, as well as have the lower rad inlet at an upper angle, making it easier to use with the aspire swaybar.

[TominMO]

Another option for festiva's are the integra half-rads. They require little modification, as well as have the lower rad inlet at an upper angle, making it easier to use with the aspire swaybar.

Do you know what years of Integra rad work, and whether manual or auto rad matters?

[Safety Guy]

Rather than start a new thread I'll just pose my question in this one since it's about installing a new radiator.

I bought a "Spectra Premium" radiator that appears to be a single core type. However, it has two small additional openings for other things (ATX lines, I think) at the bottom. They had L shaped brass fittings sticking out which I removed. Here is a pic of the radiator:



So far I'm impressed with the product. It appears to be well made and lightweight. There are also two draincocks: one on the bottom in the stock place, and one on the left side bottom.

(The fan is from an Aspire A/C system and is 9" diameter. Since Festivas stay pretty cool as it is, and this will be working with a standard B6 engine, I plan to use this smaller, lighter fan on the radiator instead of the larger Festiva fan and shroud. I'll figure that out later and post about it in my AquaMutt build thread.)

Here is my question:

How do I best seal up the two holes in the bottom? They are outside threaded, made of brass or copper and would take threaded caps nicely. (You can see them in the picture. They are brass colored as opposed to the two black plastic nubs which fit into the bottom radiator mounts.) Would an auto store have the caps to put on? What has anyone else done to seal these up?

Thanks,

Karl

[worfdog]

I just ran a piece of fuel hose from one to the other just to keep dirt out of it in case I decided to use it on an auto festiva. Coolant will not leak out because they go to a separate tank in the radiator.

[Safety Guy]

Huh. Yeah, that would work!

Thanks for the idea! I will still look for some sort of caps, but if I can't find them, I have my solution. I'd put the "Ls" on angled so the hose connecting them would leave the bottom drain clear to reach.

Karl

[1988festivazoom]

if they are pipe thread, get some brass caps from true value or fluid connector.