Brain picking time
My old Cox GTM always used a front mounted radiator, in its original build form with cooking 998 and single carb a standard mini rad was fitted, when i installed a 1430 “S” engine I fitted a Renault R16 rad across the front sub frame, fully ducted with an outlet from the top of the front cover
Later coupe’s with a tube frame back end can be fitted with the rad alongside the engine, like a normal Mini, is this effective enough with big bore semi race engines?
My gut feeling is the front rad is more effective and has more space to fit a bigger rad, the 1400 engine I will use is currently installed using a VW 1800 Golf rad mounted across the back of my twinny mini, (my donor car)
I also feel it is better to put some weight up front where possible/sensible to get a better balance between front and rear.
It can get a bit warm here; 44c is quite common in our dry season, I can remember my Cox being warm in the English summer (before global warming) with the water pipes running through the centre tunnel and that big front screen, If I don’t want to drive around with a drinks bottle and hydration pack plumbed in to me I must consider fitting an a/c, GTM Cars used to list it as an option?? And I see some of the much later export Mini’s were fitted a/c.
Anybody have any experience or pearls of advice to offer, or do I just raid a small Jap car for bits and cobble it together, again I’m thinking of installing up front and long pipe runs up the tunnel to the compressor mounted on the engine
We have really bad and many dirt roads here, the front and rear HiLo’s will have to be jacked up, a bit like a “desert raider” if I don’t want my kidneys to look like they were in a liquidizer the suspension must go up and down, there is currently a 6mm thick bash plate fitted on the twinny installation, which apart from maybe a fresh coat of paint will remain.
I modified my rear rod change gearbox to pass the selector shaft through the front of the gear box casing, so don’t have any nasty bits dangling underneath to worry about.
If you chaps can think of, or offer any thought to the above, now is your chance, even if it’s why you don’t just get a Land Rover (I was tempted by a Blitz buggy)
John

I would certainly go with a front mounted radiator.

I used an early twin pass Metro radiator with a Davies Craig electric water pump and not only did it cool the engine easily, it had sufficient excess capacity to cool the oil too when I found it necessary to fit a Laminona oil/water intercooler to keep the oil temperatures in check.