Cooling

GEM4PLAY · tinkerer Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 252

I'm not sure if everyone is aware of this, a torana radiator will fit in the front of your gem with no hassles.

All i told the radiator shop was 'I want a torana 3 core to fit in the gemini support and 3 hours later there you have it.

So for all the worked n/a, turboed, and blown gems thats a good way to keep cool under the bonnet.

Gene FJ20DET · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2003 4:02 pm Post subject: Re: Cooling

the inlet and outlets need to be swaped from left to right and right to left tho. i had one in the tg
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BlueTC · petrol head Joined: 22 Oct 2002 Posts: 1148

yer what model Toadrunner?,

i heard that series 5 RX7 radiators fit? even though they are tall??,

and have an oil cooler at the bottome

regards

Gene FJ20DET · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2003 10:27 am Post subject: Re: And what type??

LJ
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rob_w · tinkerer Joined: 19 Feb 2002 Posts: 395

also, a RA 40 celica radiator, [which should be the same as a corona radiator], will bolt staight in, with no mods to
te-onwards gem. not too sure bout the tx-td.

rob

Racegem · backyard mechanic Joined: 30 Jan 2002 Posts: 987

My first TC copped a radiator from a TA model torana. The outlets are already on the correct side, although the bottom one has to be changed to a straight outlet as the right-angled outlet on it faces the gemini's chassis rail.

But, if these torana's are a bit hard to find, another option I accidently discovered the other day while swapping motors from the race car to the Rodeo. Had the radiators out of both cars and sitting one behind the other, found they have the same mounting holes, the same outlets on the correct side, but the core is wider as the "wings" are narrower. If you look at the gemini radiator opening through the grille, you'll see the side wings that mount the radiator protruding into the opening, the Rodeo radiator fills most of this opening with core so you get two advantages. Not only more volume of coolant due to the larger radiator core size, but better cooling efficiency because it utilizes more of the factory opening for air flow.

The model of the Rodeo is the KB series. See... they're not just good for their G180 & G200 motors...

Cheers, Yonnee.

DrIFtA · tinkerer Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Posts: 246

Which model Gemini did u have 2 compare this too?? There are different bolt patterns for mounting the radiator across the Gemini range. I have a '76 TX, and have found that the later models (TF, TG etc.) radiators can't be simply bolted in with no fuss.

Cheers

td gem now tg gem · tinkerer Joined: 21 Nov 2002 Posts: 82

i have a 78' td radiator in my tg....fits exactly the same.
just my 2 cents.
dave

ByteMe22 · backyard mechanic Joined: 28 Dec 2001 Posts: 591

tx radiators are different to tc-tg radiators... tx have a single bolt up through the rad support panel and held in by rubbers on the side .... where th other ones have bolts on the side to mount it.....

td gem now tg gem · tinkerer Joined: 21 Nov 2002 Posts: 82

oh righty o then ...
didnt know thanks mate
cheers
dave

SHEEL · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 1:50 am Post subject: Re: And what type??

my gem has a VK commode radiator in it, which is the same as UC torry apparantly
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Racegem · backyard mechanic Joined: 30 Jan 2002 Posts: 987

Might be a VK core, cause the mounting system in a commodore has two pins at the bottom and two rubber blocks on the side near the top. Completely different from TC - TG radiator mounts...

In my opinion there can be a point where you can have too big a radiator for a car. The more volume of water, the longer it takes to get to operating temp. Time how long it takes to boil two cups of water in your kettle next time you make a coffee. Then fill the kettle to the max. and see how long that takes. Same if you run without a thermostat.

My 3 cents...

Yonnee.

TXcoupe · petrol head Joined: 05 Oct 2001 Posts: 1675

yeah i ahve a fine 3 core in my TX and its hard trying to find another radiator - i ahve the push in style - theyonly way to avoid this is to change the radiator supprt panels for a later modle gemini

SHEEL · Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2003 2:17 am Post subject: Re: Huh???

sorry guys the dude who sold me my car mis informed me. i did some research and found that my radiator is out of a HZ Holden, it has had the pipes relocated to suit the gem and the brackets have been modified also. pipe relocation has to be done professionally but the brackets are quite easy to cut and drill urself.
Sheel out
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Ben Wight · backyard mechanic Joined: 04 Oct 2001 Posts: 946

Hey Yonnee, you have to think about it another way, taking into account the action of the thermostat.

It doesn't matter how much water capacity your radiator has, the engine will take the same amount of time to heat up, as the thermostat will be closed, so you are only heating up the water housed in the engine itself.

The thermostat will then bleed in cold water, and then close again, and the process repeats. So yes, a larger volume of water will take longer to heat up, but its only the water in the engine that is of interest.

Ben Wight