And the radiator showed up....The ins and outs of aluminum

Initially I was extremely impressed with this puchase- lighter, shinier, gives an extra 20 hp at the wheels.  Really.  Read on for the actual install problems....

Original MGB radiator

New fangled aluminum radiator

A 7 lb lighter radiator cantilevered in front of the wheels about a foot shaves off an extra 14 lbs off the cars nose.

China again....

No holes came in the mounting plates....mark and drill

There was a question on how many rows- 3 total.  Just by looking theres the
same amount of rows in the core too.

Installed! It covers up the upper gap nicely and it has a drain plug.

BUT heres the catch-
I had to cut off 1.5" off the bottom radiator hose, The overflow tube barely fits on the nipple,
And thankfully my car doesn't idle at 3000 rpm because even with a rubber washer spacer between the radiator and the shroud, there was a FAP FAP FAP sound as soon as I turned the key. I don't know how to spell that sound any better- but definitely a FAP!

I spun the fan by hand and found that the lower tank was being hit by the fan just barely. Its the way the mounting plates are TIG welded on.    No damage- but ,,,
So in the interest of invention I shimmed the radiator out from the shroud with 3/8" nuts over the 5/16" bolts.  This gave plenty of space on the lower side of the fan to tank.

The shiny finish disappeared as soon as you try to wipe off any spills.  I'm guessing its a silver colored shipping anti corrosion finish. 

On the upside
Idling in the garage 80* 85% humidity- the needle only goes to the right leg of "N" on the gauge.
Before when idling it routinely got up the gauge 75% of the way.
And its not leaking. 

AND this looks EXACTLY like the aluminum one Moss is selling for $300,