hey guys... in a bit of a pickle. caught a pretty good gear a couple of weeks back and my flex fan tickled my radiator, i thought no big deal, just get a new one. well, 5 radiators later, I have yet to find one that actually fits. with almost 100 bucks lost to shipping charges to send them back, I'm getting pretty pissed off. the dimensions are 16.5x17.25x 1 to 1.25. the thinnest aftermarket radiator I have been able to find, is a minimum of of 1.5(which when I got it actually measured 2). Do any of you guys know of a really good custom shop, or a retailer that actually knows what the **** they're talking about... my local napa, carquest, o'reilly's, radiator depot, and autopartswarehouse.com are all now on my **** list. Thanks in advance.
If a quarter inch makes a difference, you need to do something about the fan or the radiator mounting, to give it more room.
stock radiator was just under a half inch from fan.... 1.5 inch core would be alright, but the aftermarket radiators haven't been anywhere close to their claimed 1.5 inch thickness. That's why I'd really like to be more around 1 to 1.25 inch core, just to give me a few more **** hairs to work with. I looked into putting an electric fan on, but there just simply isn't enough room between the water pump pulley and the core
The first question would be...what are you putting this radiator in and how about a picture or 6? You've been trying Mustang/Falcon radiators and the Mopar Dart/Valiant ones I'd guess.
i know they are not in kanasas city but hays ks. out west. Best Radiator. They will get you what ever you need. they built me a a raditor and have repaired numerous others and gas tanks for me. let me know if you have any questions. http://www.bestradiator.net/ (785) 628-3258
it's in my ranchero, 170ci(same exact size as the stock 144). Been trying falcon/ranchero radiators.... I can get a few pictures tomorrow to show you guys how much room I'm really working with.
Have you priced getting the old radiator recored? not sure if they do this any more, but it used to be very common.
haven't priced that out yet... it's pretty toasted though, the tanks took a good beating as well, somehow the fan survived just fine. I've even tried looking for a short shaft water pump and an offset pulley to realign the belt(or even run an electric motor to it off the side of the block, no luck. I can't imagine I'm the only falcon owner to ever have this problem
The 1966 Galaxie owners are having the same problem. There is NOTHING available that fits Theres several for sale but nothing is anywhere near usable. The 8N Ford tractor guys cant get anything to fit either
Forgot to mention Best built my radiator based from the old one. all aluminum. but they do steel as well. mine is for a 58 willys pk works very, looks even better.
Something just don't sound right. The 144 and 170 are pretty much twins as I remember. I don't know of anything Ford ever built with just a 1/2" of fan space. I'd be looking for bad or broken motor mounts that may have let the motor slide ahead a bit. It also could be a wrong fan blade put on before you bought the car. A 1/2" of factory clearance just don't sound right. The Wizzard
I don't have any problem believing that you can't get a replacement radiator that fits. Time for some creative metalworking....
the motor mounts are a little weak, but they aren't terrible. fan is definitely stock, hell, I even bent the blades back a bit to try to get some more room. i know the 60 to 63 falcons are identical, but every single radiator I've found is only listed for 63-65 which is odd since the body changed quite a bit in 64. I've got a couple emails out to different companies... definitely will try talking to best radiator tomorrow
Since you mention 170/144 engines I suspect you have a 60-64 Falcon based Ranchero. The radiator 60-64 Falcons with 170/144 is #251. The core size on that radiator is 16-7/16 x 17 x 1-1/4. Inlet and outlet size is 1-1/4. The same radiator shows as fitting 170/200 1965 Mustang.
I guess I'm lucky having Mack's rad shop just a short drive away. They have been doing Custom, one of a kind, and can't get it stuff for ever. You might give them a call, I've taken them some pretty crazzy stuff and have yet to stump them. 1-800-452-0579 They are in Portland Oregon but will ship anywhere. Good Luck The Wizzard
yep, '60 to be exact, but there in lies my problem, every radiator I've got that had those dimensions(except 1.5 thick, I haven't seen a single one that is 1.25 yet).... ended up being a considerable amount thicker at the core than stated by the manufacturer. I appreciate all the leads to good business to check out, I'll definitely be on the phone for a few hours tomorrow trying to check around with everyone, thanks a ton guys, I'll be sure to keep you all posted.... maybe if anyone else is having the same problem they will stumble across this thread at some point. thanks again, Jesse
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