We just made a crazy shaped radiator for the Liverpool University racing team. Extremely tapered, but only on one side. Looks great too.
It’s for the Liverpool Formula Student team. Formula Student in an international competition in which top engineering students design, build and race a single seat racing car.
Thanks for the mention in your latest news University of Liverpool Motorsport – Latest News
Good Luck!!
University of Liverpool Motorsport Alloy Racecar Radiator
We recently manufactured the radiator for this rather beautiful Cobra Daytona replica on display at Stoneleigh Kit Car show on 5/6th May 2013.
The core was a massive 90mm thick and should be up for cooling anything!
Thanks to Gerry at Hawk Cars for displaying it and Ian at Complete Kit Car for the photo.
Hawk Daytona Replica Alloy radiator
Thanks to the the Kent Kit Car Club for letting me talk to them about radiators on Friday 22nd Feb 2013. I also showed 2 new videos about their manufacture which I made especially (and will be on youtube soon!)
I enjoyed myself and you all made me feel very welcome.
Thanks again.
Gerald Stringer.
We now have aluminium radiators in stock for Aston Martin DB 2/4. These are practically identical to the original copper and brass units but offer a substantial saving on weight and are much more efficient than the original radiators.
They can be supplied in either a bare brushed Aluminium finish, powder coated deep gloss black, or painted in silver to match the original part.
Aston Martin DB2/4 Alloy radiator upgrade
We recently manufactured a massively upgraded Aluminium radiator for ‘Rosie’ – Alan Hersey’s Reliant Scimitar 5a GTE that he races alongside ‘Bluebird.’
Reliant Scimitar Aluminium upgrade radiator
Despite having a minimum amount of time to prepare a new engine (and fit a new radiator) Alan came second in the HSCC ByBox Brands Hatch Indy 2012 on 23rd September 2012 despite pouring rain. Of course, the fact that the new aluminium radiator was so much lighter than the old heavy copper and brass one was the key to his success!!!…. Well done Alan. More photos please….
This modified radiator will fit all GTE’s and GTC’s from 1968-1979 including 2.5 GT, 3.0 GT and 3.0 GTE. Please call for pricing.
Nothing like a mention in your local paper to make you feel special!!
Here’s a copy of the article and a link to it :
Croydon Advertiser Article 04/05/12
WHEN William Stringer founded his car radiator firm in 1952 (edit – make that 1962) he dubbed it Aaron Radiators to ensure it a top spot in the phonebook, helping draw in the customers.
Now with the company, based in Whitehorse Lane, South Norwood, celebrating its 50th anniversary as a family firm, the Stringers are ensuring the company maintains its ranking in the industry.
SUCCESS: Gerald Stringer (centre) and staff and two classic Rolls Royce radiators they are working on
William Stringer himself died four years ago but the company’s eight staff still includes his wife, Jane, who is managing director and her son and daughter, Gerald and Laura.
While the family ethos of the company has not changed, it has had to adapt to changing times which have seen the small radiator manufacturing companies challenged by an influx of large motor parts concerns.
Gerald Stringer, the company’s sales director, said: “There is so much competition these days.”
Aaron’s has also had to face the fact that the quality of radiators has had to improve.
When the business started, the life-span of a radiator was around two to three years. Now they can last ten to 15 years, although the effects of that economic challenge are offset by the fact there are a lot more cars on the road.
The edge in the industry has not stopped Aaron’s from still being involved in the manufacture of radiators, for both cars and heavy plant machinery.
But for Mr Stringer one of the most radical decisions the company has made to cement its future is to move into what he describes as “the bespoke side of the industry.”
More effort is now being put into reconditioning radiators for classic cars. Combining this with making an increasing impression on manufacturing radiators for kit cars, Mr Stringer is driving towards a confident future.
Aaron Radiator Co is 50 years old in May, so here is a group photo of the whole team. Bring on the next 50 years! Our founder, Bill Stringer, would have been proud of us and we all miss him.
manufacturing car radiators since 1962.
Aaron Radiators 50th Anniversary (with names)
Also appearing in the photo are a pair of 1920’s Rolls Royce 20/25 radiators, one before a recore, the other after.
One of our customers (David Barwell) has written a great article about cooling for the Kougar Owners Club of which he is the editor.
The Kougar is a fantastic looking kit car of which about 200 have been made since 1979, it uses a 60’s Jaguar as the donor vehicle and is currently made by Kougar Cars.
Kougar Sport Mk 1 3.8S
————————————————————————————
“Conversion to an aluminium Radiator by the Editor
Some years ago I wrote an article in this magazine about problems I was having with radiator cooling on my Kougar. When I first built the car I fitted the radiator from the donor vehicle (a 1968 Jaguar 420 ) which I soon discovered was barely adequate, when standing in a queue of traffic on a hot day and also at full power in the South of France in Summer. I subsequently learnt that most Jaguars of that vintage were notorious for cooling problems from E types onwards. However, after discussions with other club members and talking to a radiator repair company, it was suggested that I uprate the cooling system by fitting a heavy duty radiator core and fitting a heavy duty fan. It turned out that a Land Rover core could be fitted to the the Jaguar rad. top and bottom headers which had 158 tubes (5 rows) instead of the original 104 tubes (4 rows ) I also replaced the fan with a heavy duty Kenlowe unit and I also fitted aluminium blanking plates either side of the radiator to ensure all the air went through the radiator instead of bypassing round the sides.
Well, all this happened 25 years ago when I built my first Kougar in 1986. and I experienced no cooling problems for the next 25 years. However recently I have just started to notice, on a hot day, in a queue of traffic, that the radiator was struggling to keep the engine temperature below 100 degrees C.
On subsequent examination, when I took the radiator out, it seemed somewhat heavier than I remembered when I last had it out (to fit another engine ) and it would appear that the small tubes are silted up and not passing the water flow it should. So I then did a bit of investigation because, for a long time now, I have been toying with the idea of fitting an aluminium radiator, not that I was anticipating cooling problems , but because they look so marvellous in the engine bay. (OK, I’m a bit of a poser.) Anyway, for a genuine reason, I am now obliged to do something about it.
I soon discovered that it is not possible to buy a replacement aluminium radiator for an old Jaguar “off the shelf,” however I did find a company (there are probably lots more ) who would build a complete aluminium radiator as an exact copy to the existing unit with identical dimensions, water hose connections and fan fitting but of course with a totally different tube and fin design in aluminium. The aluminium tube stack design has much wider tubes and much improved tube to fin contact than a copper/ brass radiator. It is of course much lighter. So , I commissioned the company , Aaron Radiator Ltd in Thornton Heath,in South London, to build me a replacement aluminium radiator at a cost of £552 (including VAT)
The new radiator , viewed from the front, and showing the Kenlowe fan is shown below:-
Kougar Aluminium Radiator
The new radiator, after installation in the engine bay is shown below:-
Kougar Aluminium Radiator fitted to car
Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating , so the saying goes ,
but I have to say that the change in the efficiency of the new radiator, compared with the one it replaced, is dramatic. When I fitted the new radiator I also changed the thermostat to a unit that opened at 75 degrees centigrade. After now having run the car for many miles in hot weather, I think I may have to put the original thermostat back because the engine temperature is running a bit too low at the moment But now , when I open the bonnet to do a bit of posing, it looks bloody marvellous.”
————————————————————————————
Thankyou Mr Barwell for the praise and the mention in your magazine, I look forward to seeing your Kougar in person at our factory soon and will post more photos when you come to visit us.
This is based on an article that was published in Jaguar World magazine 6 or 7 years ago, I wrote the article aimed towards Jaguars of the 60’s and 70’s but the information is relevant to all makes of car of that era.
Since the 60’s many models of Jaguar have had problems overheating, specifically certain E and S-types. The main problem was the efficiency of the radiator and fan system, which can usually be remedied by replacing the radiator core with an upgraded one with more tubes and a higher fin pitch (and usually a completely different system of manufacture.)
Aaron Radiator replaced and upgraded the radiators on these models (sometimes when they were still new!) and still offer this upgrade service today with even higher efficiency modern cores than previously available or the ultimate in cooling- complete replacements in Aluminium.
Up until the 70’s most Jaguar radiators used a ‘Cellular Film’ core (Pic A). This has the advantage of being very robust and durable (many cars still have the original film cores, even though they may be 30 years or older!) but it is not a particularly efficient design. This led radiator design to favour ‘Packed Construction’ (Pic B) or ‘Tube & Fin’ (Pic C) cores which were lighter, more efficient and cheaper to make.
Bad design in fans and cowlings (fan shields) meant that many vehicles still overheated. Sportier cars were pushing out higher power than ever before from engines packed into a much smaller space as vehicle aerodynamics came into play and bonnets got lower. Upgraded electric fans can help remedy this by forcing more air through the core and replacing the fixed fans can increase power lost through driving the fan.
A – ‘Cellular Film’ core
B – ‘Packed Construction’ core
C – ‘Tube & Fin’ core
Two types of upgraded core are available. An ‘X-type Packed Construction’ core (Pic D) has more tubes and a higher fin pitch to increase the surface area the cool air flows over. The X-type is the most efficient core available in copper and brass and is available in many different numbers of row (thickness.) An upgraded ‘Tube & Fin’ (Pic E) is also available which, though not quite as efficient as the X-type, is more durable and resistant to vibration.
If your car is having problems with overheating, the core might be corroded and a build up of deposits inside it can restrict water flow. Older types of anti-freeze were not as good at resisting corrosion and sometimes radiators have had an under spec core fitted in the past. The difference in cost between fitting a replacement core that has the same cooling capacity as the original and upgrading one is not considerable as the only extra cost is the higher price of the core.
A – ‘Cellular Film’ core
B – ‘Packed Construction’ core
C – ‘Tube & Fin’ core
We recently built a nice aluminium radiator for a customer in France.
Here’s what the owner – Patrick Nicolas had to say about his race car :
“This JEM is a LWR-RS (Light Weight Racing) built for “race only” in 1969.
This car was well know in England when it was piloted by its first owner Peter Burnham from 1970 to 1992. Peter won many hilliclimbs and sprints in the 1300 class. You can read more about the car in the book “Mini – the racing story” by John Baggott.
When I found the car in 1998, it was in poor condition, close to a basket case. I restored it. After three years it was back on the track and I enjoy driving this old lady carefully.”
Here are some pictures of the finished radiator on the car and a great picture of the car on the track.
Good luck, Patrick, and thanks for the custom.
The JEM’s looking good! 100bhp and it weighs 500kg- fantastic.
Read more about this car on the Mini Marcos site and here on the Mini Marcos site.
—-added 19/10/11—————
More kind words back from owner Patrick Nicolas after his cars first race outing with its new radiator :
“Some news from your radiator. It worked very well !
I had never had before a cylinder head temperature as low. I think I win 10°C and maybe more.”