Hi Andy,
I've been running a Mazda rotary converted Series I Alpine for a long time
now. I can't speak to the heat build-up problems of a stock engine as I
haven't run one for a long time, but with the rotary it's a huge factor. I
lived in New Jersey for a few years, and visited Manhattan quite often, and
was always struggling to keep the thing cool. I moved to southern Californa
a couple of years ago and decided that since I was doing a lot of work on
the front end at the time anyway, I'd try and solve my over heating problem
once and for all.
I shopped around the LA area and had some sticker shock as well. I ended up
using Mattson's radiator in Anaheim. Not very convenient for Texas, but I
would look for a quality custom shop in your area that does work for hot
rods, race cars etc.. I actually opened up the main opening in front of the
radiator a bit and went with the biggest plain rectangular shape that I
could fit between the "frame" rails. $400 seemed like a lot at the time, but
the car stays at a perfect normal temp even in the LA's summer heat and
heaviest traffic. Now I think it's the best money I've spent on the car.
I'd go with an electric fan as well. The drag effect of the stock fan is
probably trivial, but the electric ones are much more efficient at cooling.
Best of luck with the racing,
Scott Rohr
Los Angeles, CA
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