Hello; I tried this post on the Ford barn, but I received as many negative answers as positive ones, and not enough one way or the other to be conclusive. I have a 30 A' coupe with an original but pressurized radiator, and the cap is on the back side of the top tank / under the original hood. I have a 32 shell with the top filled in where the original radiator cap would have been. Visually it appears to be a close fit, but do I need to cut into the sides of the shell at the bottom @ the fenders in order to fit the original dimentions of the A' radiator? I believe that the 30/31 mounting brackets are slightly off in relation to the holes in the 32 shell....OK - so who out there has done this conversion, and what exactly am I looking at if anything??? regards, Steve
a 1932 shell will fit perfectly on a 30/31 radiator with the exception of the cap placement. If you are going to use a "filled" shell the only thing you will have to do is have a radiator shop remove the stock neck and add a fill neck to the back of your 31 radiator.
I haven't done this but I did measure my 31 radiator against a 32 radiator so I could do it in the near future. Only thing I noticed different is that the mounting holes are off by a quarter inch. The holes on the radiator that mount the grill shell need to be moved closer to the front of the radiator so the radiator doesn't hit the insert and the holes that mount the radiator to the frame need to be moved in the opposite direction so the radiator is back in its original position. I also heard a 32 commerical shell fits with no modifications.
My 31 with stock type radiator (with relocated filler) and 32 Shell. Only had to trim where the shell slips between the front apron
I the '32 shell you have is not a repop, you might find someone that would make you an offer to trade for one that's already trimmed, plus some moolah.
My project truck has a 31 radiator in a 32 shell Fits great but top radiator fill has to be moved or filled
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