Subie ej25 radiator/ line debate

Carey at Special Edition is the guy who has the answers on all things Subaru powered. He has a couple of sizes of radiators he uses, one for the Speedsters and one for the Spyders. They use 1" nylon covered flexible lines and AN fittings to run the coolant. The pics attached show the radiator they used in my Speedster and more recently in my Magnum GT conversion they are doing. The radiator in the Magnum was custom made after Carey found one that would do the job. He may jump in on this when he sees the post and give additional info. I love the Coyote!

Interesting. I think those are -16AN fittings. I have no idea how I would connect them, but the size and flexibility of the lines would be helpful.

Greg at Vintage motorcars.com uses the 1" flex hoses and a two pass radiator like yours. You would need to have the AN aluminum connections welded on your radiator. This may be good for your project because you can have them welded on in the perfect location and at nearly any angle. They eliminate a lot of extra work and futzin around..............Bruce

That's about $400 in hose alone.

@Jeff Hicks, do you have a build thread posted on the Coyote?

Over on Facebook at Hardcastle & Mccormick- the Coyote.

I'm an admin on there and post most stuff.

Jeff......Before I went with the hose, I was thinking about using 1 1/4" copper tubing. Even using copper elbows were practical because of the nice close radius's they avail.  The whole system could be finished off with some straight pieces of blue silicone hose to complete the connections, tidally,  at the radiator and engine. This may cost less than th AN hose, connections and radiator mods..............Bruce

The subi guys generally warn against the use of copper and brass in the cooling system though. I don't know why.

I did a bit of work on the radiator and picked up a 1.25" 90* at the store. It's all going to fit. I'll be running some flex to get around the front components and then two 8' 1.25" aluminum tubes straight back between the seats. From there I'll open up to 1.5" for the engine and filler.

I have a filler and overflow on the radiator too.

I ran aluminum tubes fore and aft donated by a hang gliding buddy...maybe 1 1/4" and it worked well. Aluminum dumps heat very well.

And my radiator is probably overkill but I'd rather have it that was than overheating or the fans kicking on every 30 seconds.

Any chance you could post a sketch of your coolant hose profile, front to back  ? thanks.

Both copper and brass are susceptible to electrolysis from stray DC currents.  Old car brass radiators were isolated with rubber mounting and rubber hoses so avoided issues.

Wolfgang.......Yes, both are susceptible. Aluminum is more than the others. By using silicone hose as the final connections and making sure the ends of the tubing don't touch, they will last a long time. Sort of a dielectric connection. Having a fiberglass body helps too. It is imperative that a good quality coolant be used as well. Rubber isolators for the radiator are also necessary. Not only for the electrolysis but for vibration. This is especially a concern for aluminum radiators because the type of aluminum used doesn't do well with vibration and slight mounting stress. Loosley capturing or holding the radiator with some sort of "U" shaped strips of rubber around its perimeter is a very good way of mounting it.   Just bare bolting the mounting tabs on the radiator to the body can create a problem in the future, in my opinion...Bruce

I'll be running rubber supports on the radiator for vibration and dielectric protection.

FYI, Using marine grade coolant hoses is what IM used on my car, it has a wire within it for strength.  

Thanks. Might need a few feet of that!

Just found a good deal on shields 250 series marine water hose. Think I'll run that. Easier to fish through the chassis and less connections.