Anyone running an older Ford Pickup...I suppose any older pickup...and an SBC, what radiator are you using and how did you mount it? I figured it would be cheapest to get a new unit for like a 1970s Impala, they used to be around $120, but I've never put in a radiator that wasn't just a bolt in replacement. Any ideas? Thanks
Just order one for the 1960 F-100 with the outlets for a small-block chevy. They will do it at Ron Davis or Griffin if you want an aluminum radiator and Mattson of you want a traditional br*** one. Just tell them what you are doing and they'll make it work. That way you won't have to butcher your core support to make a radiator that wasn't designed for your truck fit. I have done this on my '42 pickup, a 1960 f-100 I had and am getting ready to order a new one for my '59 F-100 that I am putting a SBF in...
OGNC, any idea what the typical cost is? I'd like to keep a br*** one. I couldn't find any prices on Mattson's site. I might be better off finding a local shop to recore and switch this one around... Thanks.
and judging by your signature we may have similar ideas for the inside of our trucks... these are early T-bird buckets that I got at the Pomona swapmeet for $40 and had recovered... The gold pleated section runs all the way across the headliner, too...
The last one I had custom built was the one for my '42 and that one was an aluminum radiator from Rod Davis. Now the one for my F-1 was originally set up for an inline 6 and I put a flathead in it so I had a local guy re-core it and add the outlets for the flathead and it was right around 200 bux...
I am just worried that the level of custom radiator experience in the Hartford area will be different than, oh say, Southern California. I'll ask around to see if there's any shops here that are worth a damn. That sounds like a reasonable price to not have to jack around with anything. Your interior looks great. As for my signature, that was for my '55 Fairlane, which I still own but sort of lost interest in. I'll probably just keep the interior of my '60 the way it is... The only buckets I could find up here were trashed and around $200, some sets didn't even match. Add that to the cost to recover and it doesn't make sense for me...at least not for now, we'll see what else needs to be bought in the next year or so. Thanks.
I was able to use a '70's Chevy Nova Radiator in my '57 F100. I am running a SBC and I have had no problems. You will have to use some brackets and adaptive thinking to set it in the radiator support correctly. If you have the money buying one that is made to fit the radiator supports with the Chevy inlet/outlet would be the best option. That is my $0.02. Good luck!
My local radiator guy barely speaks English, so I think you could explain it a lot easier to your guy than I could. I had to show him pictures on my phone of the motor to get him to do the dual inlet deal in the top tank. He just didn't get why I wanted two "holes" in the top tank until I showed him a picture. I think if you take your stock radiator with some cardboard tubes taped to the tank where you want them, and some pictures on your phone, you'll get exactly what you want...
I ran a '67 Impala radiator in my '60 F-100. It fit like it belonged in it. I had a 351 W in mine though.
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