Bottom radiator cowl

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liirge
Posts: 210
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 15:54

Bottom radiator cowl

Post by liirge »

Dear all,

I was breaking the moke again today and one thing led to another meaning I now have no radiator and no bottom radiator cowl; if you're intrigued think captive nut in the radiator breaking and bolt holding the radiator to the cowl just spinning.

So I've had a look online, and I see that for the Mini between 1960-1974 there were two types of cowl in use. One type for the cooper and S and one for all the other minis.

This made me think to myself, BMC liked adding random parts to the moke, have they gone and used a bloody Cooper Cowl?

So can someone confirm to me, either with a parts manual (don't have one, but just the number would me) or with their knowledge. What Cowl am I likely to find on my 1966 English Moke (the part that came off is original as is the 4 core radiator I've gone and broken).
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spider
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Re: Bottom radiator cowl

Post by spider »

The original P/N for the Lower Cowling was ARA1149.

I'll check if this interchanges with the Mini one, I'm pretty sure it does.

<Edit: I don't have a cross reference which tends to indicate it was a unique Moke Cowling. All the Aust produced Mokes used the same Cowling from the ordinary Mini Range. I'm sure a ARA2769 will work OK, though you may have to change (or bend!) the bracket under the cowl. All you are looking for is so that the radiator doesn't touch the body and you have enough room in there to slip a fan belt through the gap.

The difference between a Mini Cowling and a Cooper S one is the location of the bracket that spot welded on the bottom that has the captive nuts in it. As I recall, the Cooper S one, when fitted to the same lower bracket, will push the radiator away from the engine, but then they also used a different lower bracket to bring it back in a bit. As I recall that was done to get some clearance in there to allow one to change the fan belt without the need to remove the radiator >
Old Mokers never die, they just smell that way.
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liirge
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Re: Bottom radiator cowl

Post by liirge »

Thank you for this.
That part number corresponds with the non-cooper S style cowl.

Looking at my old one, I think I'm going to try and bend it back to shape and reweld where it has come away at the bottom a bit.

Next question is the radiator, I had a 4 core radiator in her, which I believe was to be original as they are meant to be more resilient to harsher conditions.

I was thinking either replacing with the same or going for the standard 3 core, I have never had any problems with the 4 core clogging up and it did an OK job at keeping her cool unless she was sat in traffic on a hot day. Would the 3 core be ok to go with? or should I just take the plunge and get one of the snazzy minispares 2 core jobs?

A
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spider
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Re: Bottom radiator cowl

Post by spider »

I perhaps should have asked from the outset if you were looking to keeping your Moke original or if you wanted to make it good (so that crappy bits don't break and other bits generally improved upon).

Just going back to the radiator cowl, IMO, they are all rubbish. I gave up on the stock types years ago, they all break. Considering the weight of a stock Radiator, how it mounted and the vibration / shock they cop, it's no wonder. This is fairly typical;-

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This is one I made up for Shorty;-

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Finished;-

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OK, now, Radiators. As best as I can determine, the UK Moke was never factory fitted with a 4 'Core' (tube) radiator, nor was it offered as an option. The original was the same as the 850 Mini (ARA1573), then they changed to the same one as the Mini for a short while that had the 13lb cap (ARA2063), however this was very soon up-graded (in line with the rest of the Mini Range) to the 16 gill per inch, 3 'Core' Radiator, as also fitted to the Cooper S (ARA2064). None the less, a better radiator is a champion idea.

The ones Mini Spares (and most other places sell) have are a good radiator, however the sides on them crack after about 6 - 24 months

Image

Image

I do use these radiators (the 4 'Core' variety), however I fit new sides to them;-

Image

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That is the better option if you can do the modification (and have a drain plug fitted :evil: ), failing that, I'd suggest having yours cleaned out or re-cored.
Old Mokers never die, they just smell that way.
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Tim
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Re: Bottom radiator cowl

Post by Tim »

Its probably worth noting that Spider tends to drive his moke on somewhat rougher surfaces than many of us. I've never broken either a radiator shroud or radiator side piece in almost 30 years of ownership, but my Moke has never flown through the air either. :lol:

Tim
Any sarcastic, ignorant, libellous, unfounded or stupid opinions expressed in or through this message are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the opinions or views of any member of The Mini Moke Club or the opinions or views of any other individual.
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spider
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Re: Bottom radiator cowl

Post by spider »

Bhaha,,,, true - in part.

Tim, I've broken loads of the cowlings in Minis of paved roads too,,,, they really are rubbish. Even Mellowyellow has broken hers. Trust me, she is a very gentle driver (too gentle most of the time!). Tim, if you haven't broken one, I'd say it's because you haven't realised it's broken!!

In regards to the radiators, I've not had trouble with the factory ones, they are quite good, but the replacement ones are considerably thinner gauge steel on the sides. Ask Halfpint, he broke his in a couple of weeks. Mine lasted nearly 6 months, Cyclops busted his in about 4 weeks,,,,,,

Well, Tim, in regards to flying, happy to teach anytime mate :) But on the sand dunes it's a very soft landing ;)
Old Mokers never die, they just smell that way.
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liirge
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Re: Bottom radiator cowl

Post by liirge »

Yer, the cowl is bent slightly, where I had to 'persuade' it to come away from a seized radiator bolt. It has also come away from mounting point at the bottom. Both of those things I believe I can fix with a vice and a MIG welder.

I decided to get the minispares 4 core radiator, used by a friend in grasstrack racing. I went for the four core as that is what came off (I had my radiator repaired when I restored my moke and I distinctly remember them saying 4 core) the moke, and it was just able to keep her cool, so I might struggle with the 3 core.

This all came about because I had some trigger wheel on the front pulley that was hitting the ruddy bolts mounting the radiator. Hoping now it won't make such a racket and won't stall at every junction, ever!
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