Early vs later 99 radiators

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Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby V4_guy » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:16 am

Are later 99 radiators thinner than the earlier ones? I have a new Nissens 99 radiator that I want to have the end tanks from my 96 soldered onto (a common Sport & Rally modification) to drop into my 96 but both the tanks themselves and the core are thicker on the 96 radiator. I'm afraid this might not work.

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby Crazyswede » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:52 am

there are a couple of different 99 radiators with the turbo radiators being multicored and thicker.
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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby Luke » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:10 am

Crazyswede wrote:there are a couple of different 99 radiators with the turbo radiators being multicored and thicker.



All the turbo radiators I've seen are the same thickness as the later 99 radiators but have a much finer fin count.

The early 99's (up to '75 I believe) had the thick tanks that match the 96 tanks.

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby DeLorean » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:59 am

the turbo radiators have what is known as a "High Efficiency Copper Core" - that is the "finer fins" basically more surface area for the heat exchanger.

A lot of people who have had them re-cored over the years have used the standard core, and are no longer good enough for a 99-turbo, especially one with AC.
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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby V4_guy » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:32 pm

Luke wrote:
Crazyswede wrote:there are a couple of different 99 radiators with the turbo radiators being multicored and thicker.



All the turbo radiators I've seen are the same thickness as the later 99 radiators but have a much finer fin count.

The early 99's (up to '75 I believe) had the thick tanks that match the 96 tanks.


So is it unlikely that the thinner later core would work with thicker 96 tanks?

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby Luke » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:38 pm

V4_guy wrote:
Luke wrote:
Crazyswede wrote:there are a couple of different 99 radiators with the turbo radiators being multicored and thicker.



All the turbo radiators I've seen are the same thickness as the later 99 radiators but have a much finer fin count.

The early 99's (up to '75 I believe) had the thick tanks that match the 96 tanks.


So is it unlikely that the thinner later core would work with thicker 96 tanks?


Definitely not going to work.

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby V4_guy » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:13 pm

Luke wrote:Definitely not going to work.


How feasible would it be to just have a radiator shop eliminate the 99 inlets/outlets and just solder in the ones from my 96 radiator with a coolant overflow tube on top of the left front tank. See my crude diagram:

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby Scott » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:20 pm

Where did you get a new Nissens 99 radiator? TELL ME!!!!! excuse me, sorry, i can't find one to save my life.
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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby V4_guy » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:24 pm

Scott wrote:Where did you get a new Nissens 99 radiator? TELL ME!!!!! excuse me, sorry, i can't find one to save my life.


I traded some parts for it a few years back. Are you interested? It might be in my best interest to just sell this one rather than go through the trouble of adapting it to fit my 96.

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby Crazyswede » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:26 pm

you might just get an aluminum radiator to fit in your 96.
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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby Scott » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:57 pm

Yes, i'm very interested. I'll send you a PM.

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby V4_guy » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:58 am

I dug a Sonett radiator out of my parts stash that was in better condition than I thought. It's pretty much the same dimensions as an early 99 radiator but with the inlets and outlets in the right places. I'm having it checked out at a radiator shop today. Hopefully it'll be serviceable in my 96.

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby nutcase » Sun Aug 30, 2015 12:43 pm

I have a brand new genuine 99T rad in my shed :yay:

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby squaab99t » Sun Aug 30, 2015 6:36 pm

nutcase wrote:I have a brand new genuine 99T rad in my shed :yay:

That's nice. Let us know when you start reproduction run.

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Re: Early vs later 99 radiators

Postby nutcase » Mon Aug 31, 2015 2:27 am

I'm not sure there's the demand to get a manufacturer interested :(


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