Hello all,
The water tubes to/from the front radiator need only be slightly larger than the smallest orifice in the water system. Usually this is the orifice in the thermostat when it is open. The tubes can be made of either aluminum or copper. On my race car I use 22mm ID aluminum tubing with AN-16 fittings welded on. All of the flex lines are AN-16. I have never had an overheating problem.
I also run only the front radiator with two small fans for slow speed work. One modification that I made was to replace the small petcock on the top of the front radiator with a small copper line running from there back to the expansion tank in the engine compartment. This allows the system to self-bleed itself of air, as the expansion tank is the highest point in the system.
The A112 waterpump should be easily able to handle any pumping requirement. Do not remove the thermostat. It is there for three reasons.
1. faster engine warm up.
2. restrict flow speed of the water - remember that if the hot water rushes through the radiator it will not have sufficient time to shed the heat. All you are doing is sending still hot water back to the engine to get even hotter. Even if want to remove the thermostat, replace it with a flat plate with a 1/2 to 5/8 hole.
3. The restriction of the thermostat/blanking plate allows the water pump to build slightly more pressure in the down side of the thermostat (in the block/head). We all know that pressurized water systems can take more temperature before they boil. Hence raising the pressure in the block will raise the boiling point of water in the block.
BTW - The absolute best conductor of heat is pure water. The worst conductor of heat is ethelyne glycol (anti-freeze). The maximum percentage of anti-freeze (should be called anti-boil) should be no more than 25% of system volume.
Hope this helps
Paul Vanderheijden
www.scuderiatopolino.com
