| Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? | |
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lamune
Posts : 868 Join date : 2014-05-09 Location : Seattle
| Subject: Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:03 am | |
| Just wondering if anyone knows any aftermarket source for a radiator that's got a core width the same as what the car came with, which is I think 2". The replacement ones, while fine, are all 1 1/4" thick cores. | |
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Fred Kiehl
Posts : 7283 Join date : 2009-11-13 Age : 76 Location : Largo, FL 33774
| Subject: Re: Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? Sat Mar 23, 2019 9:33 pm | |
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lamune
Posts : 868 Join date : 2014-05-09 Location : Seattle
| Subject: Re: Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? Sun Mar 24, 2019 12:16 am | |
| The only thing I've found so far that definitively has the 2" core thickness is the Cold Case radiator, which looks like a pretty nice one for sure with a pretty "nice" price! | |
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RedandBlack
Posts : 564 Join date : 2016-01-19
| Subject: Re: Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:08 am | |
| Champion radiators on eBay. I run one in the wagon. Had to trim the upper fan shroud a little bit to make it fit but it'll definitely outperform the stock unit | |
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lamune
Posts : 868 Join date : 2014-05-09 Location : Seattle
| Subject: Re: Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:48 pm | |
| I hadn't seen those before either- thanks for the tip. It's also interesting that the C/K trucks use the same rad, so there may be some options there as well. | |
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booster
Posts : 608 Join date : 2020-04-21 Location : Andover, Minnesota
| Subject: Re: Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? Wed Aug 11, 2021 6:52 am | |
| Just bringing this back up to see if anyone has installed one in a wagon? | |
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mtrhead79
Posts : 1614 Join date : 2010-04-24 Age : 55 Location : phila. pa
| Subject: Re: Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? Wed Aug 11, 2021 3:11 pm | |
| i have the cold case one in my wagon it is huge. i have a raiss cold air intake and i had to modify it because the fans are now further back and now stick up where there was a step down. i also cut a little off of the rad support where there was a little lip that bends in near the tank, that was touching the tank of the rad. i could have just bent that "flap" open some more. i was afraid that bending it would crack the powder coating off the support. i can take pics when i get home from vaca if that would help | |
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lamune
Posts : 868 Join date : 2014-05-09 Location : Seattle
| Subject: Re: Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:20 pm | |
| Booster - I did forget to reply here. Maybe I replied elsewhere? Well I'm old enough to tell the same stories over and over again, I guess.
I went with the Cold Case unit as well. It was cheaper than buying a NOS original-width unit. Like motorhead79 points out, the thing is huge and although they say it is a "drop in replacement" it's not even close to being that. Though not horrible. In a nutshell it's too wide to fit in the stock rubber mounts. I ended up gluing mounts for a 70 big-block Chevelle to where the factory ones go. I had to cut some plastic away from the upper plastic mount for clearance. The fan mounts are totally different and I had to insert rubber spacers (I think they were from shocks) to space the fans correctly. The top/bottom metal fan mounts are also too narrow, we cut them in half and spot welded some sheet metal to increase their width and also did some TIG cut/splice on the fan mount sheet metal screws to lengthen them.
Probably the worst part is that the cooler lines get shifted toward the rear due to the increased width of the side tanks and the fact that the cooler fittings on the tank don't use the same thread as the stock unit and require an adapter. When I attempted to assemble it the first time I damaged the fitting on the radiator due to the clearance problem, and Cold Case basically told me they were sorry to hear that and that it was impossible to fix. So I bought another one.
This time I cut the ends off the cooler lines and shortened them about an inch or so, and that solved the problem. I also learned how to flare steel lines.
So I do recommend the radiator itself- it's amazingly more capable than the stock unit and I think it increased the cooling capacity by about half a gallon or so. Just be aware that the cooler fittings are 100% aluminum and very easily damaged and that you may have to modify the cooler lines to get clearance. I think if I were doing it again, though, I would cut the fittings off the cooler lines and replace them with the fitting that matched what's on the radiator and bypass the adapter altogether. That strikes me as probably the better option.
I probably have pictures somewhere, I can share them if anyone thinks it'd be helpful. | |
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| Does anyone make a full-core-width replacement radiator? | |
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