Looking for radiator options! I have a 1951 Chevy truck. Put in a 307 with the long water pump Very little clearance with stock radiator which has failed. wondering what could possibly fit as a replacement or anything that can be done to keep the stock radiator. I live in the desert so it does get hot! This is a daily driver and I haven't kept it stock but I do like the fit of the original. To keep it complicated I also can't afford too much, I work for a living. I will appreciate ANY advice!
How much room are you talking about? I bought a new radiator for my 48 plymouth that was meant for a 65/66 Mustang. My problem was in the width of other radiators. The Mustang is around 18" wide and just a little taller.
Quite a few people suggest old mustang radiators. I suppose they are the smallest. Brackets are easy to change/ make. Im just not sure about depth. Can you tell me what the depth is?
Cross flow radiators are more efficient than vertical flow. Check a radiator application catalog that lists the dimensions and pick one that comes close to you stock one (or the space available to mount one). Might have to fabricate some mounting brackets but hot rodders have done that since the term was first used. Frank
The stock radiator is a little bit taller than it is wide, isn't it? To get more room you could change the water pump, pulleys, and brackets to us a short pump, but it's not as easy to find the parts for this as it used to be, Chevy mostly quit using the short pump by around 1970. I have found a couple good used later 50s chevy truck radiators on ebay, but it's been a while. If you know anyone around that that has a shop that works on old cars and trucks, they might have something laying around that would fit. Although you might discover that used radiators are hard to find, they're worth so much for s**** now.
Hey Car Guy Wannabe - My car's getting the rest of the floor put in this weekend at a friends place out of town so it's not around. I did though go out and look at the Ebay vendor where I got mine from. Their site says the core size is 16 3/8 x 17 1/4 x 2 3/4. Radiators4Less on ebay with free shipping. Also, if you go with a Mustang radiator, they sell one with the openings on the correct side for Chevy so you don't have to switch it around. If you need the entire radiator dimensions, let me know and I'll measure it for you tomorrow.
I bought an aluminum radiator for a 65/66 Mustang for the 305 SBC in my '37 Plymouth, works great, you just have to be careful handling it because it dents very easily.
Thanks for your responses! I got a 65 66 mustang radiator off craigslist for $50. Its in great shape so Im going to try to make it work. Its significantly smaller so I will have to build some brackets. Any suggestions as far as distance from fan or any tips for possibly a shroud? Thanks again! I will update...
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