The 280i is notorious for running hot, mainly due to the fiberglass body not allowing the heat to radiate out. My car has both a dual electric radiator and engine mounted fan. I've been told that most cars have one or the other, I know I'm giving up power with the fan but it runs cool in all weather. The issue I have is that the old cooling lines are cracking and looking pretty sketchy. When i replaced the valve covers I must have caused one of the hoses to crack because I came home to a puddle of coolant on the garage floor. On closer inspection many of the hoses are very questionable including the lines that enter by the drivers feet for the radiator (Scary).
I'm going to replace all the coolant lines with new silicone lines which take higher heat and pressure. I may not be able to replace them all but will do most of them. Since this car is so unique it is not possible to get some of the funky bends since silicone lines are molded. It is possible to get different angles and couple them together but I don't think I want all the couplers.
It may be hard to see from the photo but the metal clip that was spot welded to the radiator has broken off. I noticed the radiator was sitting 2 inches lower on the left side. It had actually broken the weld and was sitting down on the bodywork. I'm thinking I can jb weld the part back on and hopefully it will stand up.
I'm left with this ugly AC and alternate bracket with no AC compressor. I was looking to see if I could buy a replacement with just the alternate part but so far it hard to find a match, I may be able to fabricate such a part.