Silence!  Yeah, that’s been the word revolving around my car projects.  Family life has taken a priority this year.  In February I started working on finishing out our basement.  I’ve done all the work myself and have been my own general contractor.  This was done in preparation for our second child that was born a month ago.  As the old saying goes…. The best laid plans…. I had planned to get that done before the baby arrived.  It was close but it didn’t get completed.  It still awaits paint and finish work. 

Also add into the mix of working on the basement, finishing a nursery, and a new baby I started a new job July 1.  So “Silence!” is the best way I can describe how those things have said that to my car hobby. 

I’m also restoring two sets of Saleen Stern wheels to offer up to other enthusiasts.  It’s time consuming but it is fun.  Stay tuned here because I will be posting a set up for sale before Christmas.    

Even though all of the above has been keeping me away from working on my car I have been buying parts.  When I went to the All Ford Carlisle event this past spring I picked up a 3 row radiator and a Motorsport off road 2.25” H pipe.  The 2.25” H pipe has long been discontinued and the 3 row brass radiators aren’t as common as they used to be due to the price of copper and brass going up.  Most of the parts stores stock aluminum core radiators with plastic tanks.  So getting a correct radiator from that era was in order.  

Close up of the radiator and core support of SA10 #05. Note how the area on top of the core is flat. All of the SA10s I’ve seen with the 3 core upgrade have this style radiator or similar.

 The radiator I bought wasn’t  as exact as I cared for it to be so I kept my eye out for another piece.  A friend of mine sent me a pic of one in a junkyard and I jumped all over it because it was as close as I’ve seen.  The SSC and SC cars through 1991 used a Griffin brass/copper 3 row radiator (this is some new information that has been confirmed by a couple of long time Saleen enthusiasts).  It’s fairly easy to spot these as they have no provision for an automatic transmission cooler on the driver side tank.  They’re also tougher to find because many people have moved to aluminum.  But in 93 when Saleen was getting it’s start again they used parts store style 3 row radiators to cut costs.  I remember buying one for my 88 GT 15 years ago and it was $119.  If you find a new brass/copper 3 row radiator you’re going to pay $200+ these days.  Most of them have been recycled. 

3 Row Radiator

2.25″ Ford Motorsport H Pipe