Whats up........Doc!
Thought I had forgot about you didnt you....2 Strokes are waiting in Tennessee brother.
Going to look at a KTM 500 when the price gets right.Would look good on you.
damn it chad...you have to stop tempting me like that
i thought we'd lost ya,buddy!i'd sure like to rip it up on that ktm....or any of the other sweet rides you've found.
ahhhhh....one day.it'll happen.
in the mean time,i've got a little story about custom made parts.
unless you're willing to buck up and have someone do all the picky fitting work,don't expect miracles from something you've ordered over the phone.as some may remember,i had a rad made that cost me $1000.i couldn't use it as it was...all that bought me was something i could work with to get a useable part after some added labour and bits.
so was i ripped off?
nope.
it just would have cost that much more to get all the details done that i would be better of doing myself.
here we go...
here's the rad as i got it.the bottom (outlet)was not too bad,just needed to be angled up a bit.the top(inlet)had to be modified substantially.
the jag engine has a thermostat,and outlet for each bank.so,instead of the usual one top rad hose,i have two.i cut out the single top fitting,made a plate frome sheet copper to allow the fitting of two smaller inlets(these were stolen from the original gt6 rad)and everything was soldered together.a vent manifold was also added.this rad is a triple pass unit,so the top tank is divided into sections.these are great spots to trap air pockets,so each needed a passage from the high point of the rad to the cap,which is mounted on the engine.
this is the lower fitting,the rad will be mounted angled back at the top-to keep the rad outlet from pointing at the ground it needs to be angled up a bit.
i also needed just a bit more hood clearance at the top front corners,so these got cut back.
for all my modifications i needed some copper sheet stock.this is not readilly available in my area,so i purchaced a piece of 1 1/4'' copper pipe,split it and hammered it flat.works good for smaller pieces.
from this view you can see how tight everything has to fit together,and how the two inlets are arranged to aim at each head.
in this photo i've traced the routes of the left upper hose,the top vent hose and the lower coolant return hose.
while i still have important frame work to do so i can get this thing looking like a car again,the rad's been bugging me for some time now.and it's all got to get done in the end,so what matter is it which order it gets done in.