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View Full Version : Update; Formula454 stainless steel radiator tubes done, need opinions!



yody
02-22-2005, 11:21 PM
Well i finished my radiator tubes. THe lower one was a pain in the butt! I will post better pics of that one tomorrow. THe upper one is 1 1/2" stainless tubing. I used to 90 degree bends and cut them and tig welded them together. Then grinded down teh welds, and polished out the entire thing. Then i used Pi-thon ends to lock it down. The bottom one is 1 3/4" stainless i also used 2 90 degree bends but had to cut them reallllly short and weld them up. it really came out nicely. My question is does the stainless look out of place with all the aluminum? it looks much darker, i am thining of ceramic coating the tubes to match the valve covers and headers? what do you guys think??
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)

MrQuick
02-22-2005, 11:41 PM
looks good Dody, The tubes kinda match the valve sovers so its cool. Its nice you are going with the Raiders colors, I know you are a big fan.
Nice tig work,Very impresive. Will it be ready by March 19th?

C4Bird
02-23-2005, 12:22 AM
Looks great! I'd keep them polished stainless. If I could tig stainless and have it turn out like that I'd hang them on the living room wall.:worship:
-Nate

zbugger
02-23-2005, 12:58 AM
I don't know, maybe it's just me, but shouldn't you be allowing for some flex there? It looks really good and clean, but when the engine torques over, is it gonna put any undue stress on the welds on the radiator? It does look good though.

Tiger
02-23-2005, 01:59 AM
I was going to say the same thing, looks wonderful, but I think it will break when it all flexes

André

astroracer
02-23-2005, 03:29 AM
I don't know, maybe it's just me, but shouldn't you be allowing for some flex there? It looks really good and clean, but when the engine torques over, is it gonna put any undue stress on the welds on the radiator? It does look good though.

That's the first thing I thought when I saw it hard plumbed to the radiator. You need to add some allowance for engine roll otherwise the radiator neck will crack. The aluminum neck is the weak link and it'll go before the tube will. It looks great, don't take me wrong, but you need to add a flexible link.
Mark

Restomod
02-23-2005, 04:00 AM
Solid engine/trans mounts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They look GREAT asis!!!!!!

rocketrod
02-23-2005, 04:04 AM
Looks awesome, BUT as posted earlier you need to allow for some flex.

Jagarang
02-23-2005, 05:11 AM
Kinda gives me the heebee geebees!! If you can solve the torque issue they are SCCchhwweet!

69boo307
02-23-2005, 05:24 AM
Looks mucho cool, but like everyone else I was wondering what will happen when the engine twists under load.

mdprovee
02-23-2005, 07:35 AM
Looks great, just the same concerns.

Mike

ProdigyCustoms
02-23-2005, 07:44 AM
Obviously the motor is hard mounted. I may do a GP on Pi-thon stuff soon. It is awesome stuff.

astroracer
02-23-2005, 07:58 AM
Obviously the motor is hard mounted. I may do a GP on Pi-thon stuff soon. It is awesome stuff.

Even though the engine is hard mounted it will still transmit a lot of vibration into the softer aluminum of the radiator. It won't take long for the aluminum to work harden and crack... Expansion and contraction of the radiator and tube will also put stress on the joints...
This is just my opinion of course but I feel it would be alot safer to add some flexibility then destroy a $600.00 radiator.

MrQuick
02-23-2005, 08:06 AM
I thought the Python sections offer some flex...he's got money to replace radiators frequently... :idea: .

yody
02-23-2005, 09:56 AM
blah, blah, blah......just kidding. The pi-thon connectors use rubber radiator hose inserts. there is some flex, not much but you basically insert a piece of radiator hose inside the pi-thon connector, then slip the whole thing over the tubes, and tighten it down. ALso prodigy summit sells the pi-thons so i don't know if a GP would be summits prices.

jeffandre
02-23-2005, 10:05 AM
looks good Dody, The tubes kinda match the valve sovers so its cool. Its nice you are going with the Raiders colors, I know you are a big fan.
Nice tig work,Very impresive. Will it be ready by March 19th?

Vince,
Ironic as it may seem, I was just thinking yesterday about how many versions of the name 'Yody' you have used in the past...and you came up with another one! :lmao:

Yody,
Your car is killin' me! You need to get your butt over to my house for a few months so I can catch up a bit!!! :worship:

yody
02-23-2005, 10:08 AM
yeah, someone needed to point that out! Pretty soon hes going to run out of the alphabet

yody
02-23-2005, 10:09 AM
also i am using polyuurethane motormoutns, but do to header to floor clearance, and tranny to tunnel clearance, i am thinking of using one solid mount and one polyurethane

ProdigyCustoms
02-23-2005, 03:37 PM
If I do the GP it will beat Summit.

68protouring454
02-23-2005, 06:33 PM
count me in frank on the gp, cody looks kickazz
jake

CoryM
02-23-2005, 07:07 PM
They look very nice, good colour scheme you have going. I have to say that with poly mounts there is no way you have enough flex in the lines. Those clamps are still too rigid even with the rubber. The rubber is just to seal the 2 peices together, not allow movement. I dont think you will be happy with the results of running the car like that.

F70t/a
02-23-2005, 07:21 PM
It's looking good man!!! :naughty: When do you plan to start it up?

yody
02-23-2005, 07:43 PM
well, the more i think about it, i will go with one solid mount. THere IS a decent amoutn of flex in it. but this combined with other clearance probs will make me use one solid mount. I should be starting it up in a few weeks, just waiting on the lower Pi-ton locks for the lower tube, and a few other minor details.

navyflyer72
03-04-2005, 12:06 PM
Count me in too on a Pi-Thon GP.

383blown
05-14-2005, 08:27 PM
Count me on the GP if it beats Atech pricing

yody
05-14-2005, 09:43 PM
wow, dug up an old post, better luck pm'ing prodigy