engine and drivetrain New Curt Ingraham Radiator – “Outstanding”

[eastsidebimmer]

On Friday night, I finally finished my upgrade project to one of Curt’s “high efficiency” 3 row core radiators. The actual radiator replacement was a snap. Along with the upgrade, I decided to order each and every new hose and clamps for the entire cooling system, including the heater. I also installed a new larger fan blade and alternator bushings, as the engine side bushings had turned to liquid tar over time.

Since I have an early car with the smaller 15MM heater piping and a later style 2 barrel intake manifold, the circumference 2 of my hoses was too small. Fortunately, some NOS hoses from a local 2002er came in handy and I’m back in good shape, complete with the famous “blue raspberry” BMW coolant.

So far so good—the plumbing system rehabilitation was a nice feel good project without a lot of problems—Thanks again to Curt for building a fine radiator!

Ben

[winstontj]

Second that!!! Mine was like a dream come true - the needle sits @ 3:00 all the time now.

Watch out for that larger fan blade. May be overkill and it's quite a bit louder. You don't need it with a new stock radiator - nevermind Curt's better setup. It's easy enough to change and I bet you'll go back after a little bit. Or just pull it off and upgrade to an electric fan. That combo - Curt's radiator and an electric fan was one of the best things I've done!

[Jim_75Sahara]

Congrats, Ben! Now you can drive with the heater off in the summer. That had to be a VERY hot trip back from NC in May! P.S. Are you coming to JB State Park on the 24th??

[eastsidebimmer]

Yes, I've never been sunburned before on my shins like I was on the return trip home to Indiana from V@V. I'm trying to coordinate my availability that weekend for your OH drive--I hope to make it!

Ben

[02fanatic]

Hugo proudly wears a Curt Ingraham 3-core radiator...it hardly ever gets up to 1/2 way on the gauge...COOOOOL! :-)

[Guest Anonymous]

I am pretty new to this and hope to engage more frequently in the near future. I too order one of Curt's radiators, so far it is not in place. I just wanted to address the slight surface corrosion at the bottom well prior to reinstalling the unit with POR-15 first. I will also do the battery box and other slight discrepancies. All in all I am very confident in what Curt's 3 row radiator will do for my car--stay cool even when it's hot! Thank you Curt and to all of you for being here.

[brad_c-ville_VA]

uber will be getting one of the ingraham specials when the time comes...but for now my stock rad is working great.

glad you got it all installed! ben's car is really sweet. a nice, slightly modified early 02 in pristine chamonix white. best of all...he sold an E36 and got an 02! way to go, buddy. can't wait to meet up again. i think we'll be at indy next year for the F1 races, but maybe we can swing by indy on our way back from IL on some trip back to the midwest in the near future.

brad.

[eastsidebimmer]

Mi Casa is your Casa....F1 2007 or anytime!!

Thanks for the kind words--indeed, I gave up my E36 below for the rights to my 2002 ownership. The trade off was a high mileage 92 Honda Accord as a daily driver.....I miss the 328i, but I forget all about it when I'm driving my 02!

Ben

[brad_c-ville_VA]

well, it was a hot looking E36...even for a 4-door. and to be honest, i never liked the e36 4-doors until i saw yours at the hoosier F1 corral. i just saw a 4-door e36 m3 this weekend up close and your 328i looked just as nice...minus a few horses. but and 02 trumps both of them, in my opinion.

thanks for the invite! be careful, we might just take you up on it!

brad.