Chris, congrats on your new aquisition. Any of your suggestions would work,
except if you switch to the slanted radiator you will have to attach an
electric fan (not a bad idea albeit). The decision for which is based on
your resources, condition of the fan, what mounts do you have, and how much
hunting for parts you want to do.
Best of luck.
Patrick Bowen
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Jones [mailto:sarophes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, August 23, 1999 1:13 PM
To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: '74 motor in a '79 body
Hello folks,
I'm a newbie to this list, so I hope I'm not out of line here...
I've recently acquired a '74 Spitfire with a strong engine/good
tranny, but rusted-out frame and body. A few months later, I found a
'79 body in great shape, but with no motor or transmission (and no
radiator). It did have a hard-top, though.
Well, they are now both sitting in my garage and I'm prepping the
'79 body to receive the '74 motor. I was going over the frame, mounts,
etc to see where they differed, and then realized that the radiator for
the '79 is mounted at an angle (and, I am told, used an electric fan).
Well, my '74 has an upright radiator with a water pump-mounted fan.
So, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this problem,
and/or any advice to lend me. As far as I can tell, my options are:
1. Mount the radiator at an angle and hope for the best. (The fan
will be further away from the radiator, and will thus not pull air as
well.)
2. Cut the mounts off of both cars, and essentially transplant the
'74 radiator (in it's upright position) onto the '79. This requires
cutting/welding, though, and I'd have to borrow the equipment.
3. Find a '79 radiator and mount it. But this will cost more money
than I can readily spare.
4. Mount the '74 radiator at an angle, remove the '74 fan, buy and
mount an electric fan.
Does anyone know which, if any, of these is the best approach.
Also, are there any more such challenges awaiting me on this project?
Thanks,
Chris Jones
Atlanta, GA
'74 and '79 Spitfires
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com
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