Read about someone turning a wide OEM radiator on end so that it will fit in a 30's vintage car. Does a radiator work effectively when turned like this? Thanks
I ran a Mercury Monarch six cylinder radiator turned on it's side in my 48 for a couple of years without a problem. The radiator doesn't give a damn if it is one way or the other. It sure looked like hell with the hood open and a radiator that was all wrong for where it was in there though. Desperate times called for desperate measures at that time but I wouldn't suggest doing it except to get a rig running or replace a stock radiator that ****ped out and left you stranded.
No reason it wouldn't work the same. Arranging a cap or filler might get interesting but not impossible.
Wouldn't the only things that matter is that the radiator fill is the highest point in the cooling system and the pet**** is low so you can drain it? I thing as long as you follow that it should be fine.
Why not pull the radiator and have it checked by a radiator shop,you can have the outlets changed to correctly match up with your engine choice and even install a new core,, Do it right unless you want a rat rod! HRP
It's just a water to air heat exchanger, doesn't care if the tubes are horizontal or vertical. 'Course you might want to consider water flow direction in the radiator when it is tipped from it's normal orientation.
That's the tricky bit. And, yes it would look ugly but he didn't ask that. He only asked if it would work. We once fixed a dump truck by cobbling together 3 Oldsmobile rads. It looked like *** but it worked, and kept a hard working contractor on the job for a week while we waited for a new rad to arrive.
The radiator in my 36 Hudson is an 80's GM truck unit mounted on its side and a new hand made tank soldered on the ,now top side. Has worked for many years.
The radiator itself doesn't need a filler neck , the system does . It needs a place to bleed air out. Could be a bleeder screw too. I saw the coolest cooling system arrangement on a 392 hemi yesterday.
Thanks everyone for this information. This is exactly the info I'm looking for. My project is a 37 Roadmaster and I have a 95 Roadmaster donor car. The 37 has a 18 wide x 28.375 tall radiator and the 95 has a 30.44 wide x 17.25 tall. Turning the 95 on on end may fit. I'll check on having the fill neck and drain moved. Thanks for all your help
Some crossflow radiators are double p***. They have a divider in one tank, so the coolant p***es through the upper portion and then drops down and goes through the lower half of the radiator. I don't think one would work well turned sideways. A regular single p*** crossflow unit will work just fine. I had one in my 40 COE with a 454
I used a '68 Camaro radiator turned on its side for a while. The fill neck was moved to the top and the water inlet and outlet were relocated. It will render the drain pet**** useless, and you will have to create a suitable mount system
The 95 Roadmaster spec says it is a 1 row radiator. Is that the same as a single p*** so will work turned on end?
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