Radiator upgrade

The standard Golf Mk1 radiator is not a great fit for the 2.0L 16v conversion, the top water pipe is in the wrong place as well as the bottom water pipe. There are a number of radiators that fit under the slam panel these include Nova GTE, Corsa GTE, Passat Diesel and the Peugeot 205 GTi.

I fitted Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi rad as these have the same hose sizes, the bottom hose is on the correct side, the rad switch is the same size, and it fits nicely under the slam panel. The top rad hose even points in the right direction, and the bottom feet on the rad fit into the holes at the bottom of the front panel on the Mk1 Golf. Less than £60 Perfect 😍

I added some Pace fans from Demon Tweeks and stickaflexed an old stainless rad top plate to tidy up the look, before wiring the fans it into the existing fam loom. 

For the hoses, I used wire-reinforced flexi rubber radiator hoses, 32mm x 1000mm for the top hose and 750mm for the bottom hose. The bottom hose needs to be bent into a "Z" shape, so you need more than expected to bridge the small gap between the water pump and the radiator.

Evans waterless coolant was used instead of antifreeze, as it is so much better and does not need changing for 20 years or 1,000,000 miles. Evans Waterless Coolant eliminates:

• Burst Hoses & Ruptured Gaskets
• Engine Overheating
• Oxygen and Galvanic Corrosion
• Cavitation Erosion & Pitting

Some cool stuff from their website is below:

This radiator is the third one I have put in the car over nearly 20 years of owning it. The last two were not because of radiator failures but because of the water thermostat housing failure. The unit pictured below. 

Over time, this unit wraps with the heat, does not seal properly and leaks out steam, which looks like it's coming outta a hole in the bottom of the radiator. I have been fooled by this twice and have replaced the rad, only to find there is still steam coming from somewhere, which is fixed after replacing the housing. 

There is a magic alloy version, which does not wrap, that fits the VW 2.0L 9a/6a  block, but it took me a while to find one, and it did not come before I added a new plastic one. I think it came on the Mk1's US version, part no 055121121c 

A picture of the unicorn flange is below 😍 I plan to fit it next year in spring and be done with this radiator replacing BS.