[Manta Rallier]

In what part of the country are yo located, OP, just in case someone knows a rad shop near you...?

Just keep in mind that aluminum radiators need more frequent changes of coolant. No, you you don't have to change it every week LOL.

With the brass radiators, the cast iron in the block is the sacrificial element in the electrolysis that will occur through and around the coolant. With an aluminum radiator, the aluminum becomes the sacrificial element in the system. So just change your coolant regularly with an AL radiator, to keep the anti-corrosion additives in good shape and keep the core from become clogged with corrosion. Consider using a longer life coolant like Zerex G05, which is a hybrid OAT coolant..

 

[Manta Rallier]

This one looks more correct, but narrower? See spacers on sides for mounting compared to Coolex.

Fit OPEL ALUMINUM ALLOY RADIATOR ASCONA A MANTA A REKORD D Voyage,Caravan 56MM | eBay

Yes, that one is obviously narrower than stock with those extended side mounts.

The Coolex one won't be strightforward to make the lower hose connection as it is going to have to angle 90 degrees outward then 2 more 90 degree turns with that lower outlet at the wrong spot. But maybe OGTS will order them with the outlet in the right position.... Cooleex indicates some ability to change that.

The Coolex ad also seems say that it is 23 mm thicker than stock... that is almost 1" ! (But the sentences are not complete sentences... so I think that is waht it is saying.)

 

[Manta Rallier]

Well, if you get one with a rear bottom exit of the lower hose, you're gonna have to mess around with non-standard lower hoses. I'd be concerned that the 1st 90 degree turn out of that lower port to get around the fan blade's path could run into the fan blade. You might be able to make a judgement by looking at the present installation.

If the core is extra thick, like that 23 mm, it could easily add half that thickness towards the fan blade.... in other words, you could lose 1/2" of clearance between the rad and fan. So check the present clearance between rad and fan and take that into account.

And the Coolex ad says 'Manta' and 'Ascona', not Manta A or 'Ascona A'. So who knows how, and in what cars, these are getting used.

 

[Manta Rallier]

Maybe on a GT? IDK about that. But this application is the Manta A / Ascona A. The lower hoses all come out of the side, auto or manual. Same PN in the Opel parts catalogs for manual and auto. (Which seems odd to have the cooler in place for a manual trans.... but that could be a single 'service part' meant to support multiple applications.) The hose connections were the same for all 6 or 7 50 series cars I have ever owned... and all except one were manuals, with the side exit for the lower hose.

Here is a pix of a '73 Manta A manual trans rad... side exit.

And this pix brings up one more question on these rads. See how the filler neck is located on this original 71-73 radiator? The filler neck and rad cap location shown for the Coolex the top center.....that just brings up a question in my mind of if there will be adequate clearance to this non-stock filler location to the hood. It might be fine, but I just don't know....

The 'Winner' rad on eBay brought up by the OP and again by opelbits in post #9 looks the best right now!

 

[Manta Rallier]

I found this for an Ascona B 81-88 1.6s. Has the extended side mounts.

I never saw any B parts but that makes some sense.

 

[Manta Rallier]

They do place the radiator fill in the center at top of tank. Has anyone had hood fit issues with the radiator fill in the center? Seems center would be better location but then again why did Opel put it where they did to begin with?

I am not sure anyone can tell you if they have had clearance issues as there may never have been a top cap rad made for these cars.

Here is pix of the fit in my Ascona, which is the same fit-up as the Manta A. I stuck my arm under the hood and took this with the hood still up 3-4" in the back. You can see the bracing under the front edge of the hood is getting close to where a center cap would go, and it will get another 1/2" or more closer with the hood fully closed. So the center cap in the Coolex pix could well be a problem; it's gonna be close. The stock rads had a depression in the center of the top tank, almost like Opel considered a top center cap but abandoned the idea.

Dropping the rad's position in the Manta/Ascona A is not a snap by any means, as the bottom biscuit mounts to a reinforcement on the front valence. I have dropped a rad maybe 1/4" by changing the biscuit.

BTW, just in case, don't let them drop the height of the top tank to make more clearance. They probably would shorten the core first but just know that the upper tank is also the expansion reservoir in these older systems without a coolant recovery setup.

 

[Manta Rallier]

BTW.... Putting the fill down on the side has the benefit of not allowing you to overfill the top tank. That is necessary in an older type non-coolant recovery system; there has to be an air gap at the top of a certain size in that type of system. If you overfill it, then coolant just blows out the overflow tube as needed to force the necessary air gap in the top tank when cold.

Makes me wonder how Coolex has that top center neck set up... for a coolant recovery system? You ought to ask if you go with the the top cap. IIRC, I think that the cap is what changes between a coolant recovery system setup and one that is not, but I just can't recall 100% at the moment.

 

[Manta Rallier]

Hey I think this helped a lot of folks...

 

[Manta Rallier]

Shipping out of Europe to the US is getting better and better. The Pirelli's I bought from the UK got here in 5 days; a Pirelli dealer in California would have cost more for the tires and shipping, and taken a week with UPS Ground shipping. And the Weber DCOE parts and jets from the Czech Republic got here in a week, even with the slowness of the local USPS office.