Cooling system for altered

[thommysgarage]

I am building a car for the altered classes, 78 Firebird. The rule book says a gas coupe must have a radiator in the original position and that an altered is allowed some more modifications such as blocking the grill and lights. Does an altered need to have a radiator and would it need to be in the original position? What about a water tank?

[Jorge]

Thommysgarage,

        Take a look at the build diaries under "Getting ready for bonneville" rebuild, its the second one on that page. The Langlos are great people and they do some amazing work, they too run in ALTERED. Read through there build and take a look at there setup and your questions will get answered. They run a setup just like you want to do. Shoot them some questions and they'll be happy to help you out.

                      Jorge

[LittleLiner]

I am building a car for the altered classes, 78 Firebird. The rule book says a gas coupe must have a radiator in the original position and that an altered is allowed some more modifications such as blocking the grill and lights. Does an altered need to have a radiator and would it need to be in the original position? What about a water tank?

disclaimer: I am NOT an official with SCTA.  But this topic was covered in these forums when the 2011 rules were announced and the new (then) wording for Gas Coupe Radiators was announced.

That rule only applies to Gas Coupes.  Altereds are not required to have a radiator.  And if an Altered does happen to have a radiator, it does not need to be in the original location, nor does it have to be the same size or larger than the original stock radiator.   Yes, you can use a water tank in Altered.  Since your car is a 78 model year you might actually be in Classic Altered.  Same deal for Classic Altered's radiator. . . anything goes.   

[RichFox]

Been running in Altered since '78. No radiatior' Dodn't want one. Don't need one. The rediator in the tank is very nice. But more than I have found necessary for my humble efforts.

[fastman614]

As has already been stated, you DO NOT  "need" a radiator in the Altered Coupe/Sedan Class... you must, however, give serious thought to the alternate methods of keeping your engine heat under control. Our car, with a 1000hp BBC engine, a 30 gallon water tank and 100lbs of ice in the water, will, at the end of a 5 mile run, have melted ALL of the ice and the water will be at the 180 degree mark.... which is pretty good, actually....And we use a thermostat so that we can heat the engine properly at the starting line.... We also utilized the same design concept in our lakester when we built it.... and it too works pretty good.