I was just wondering if there is any interchangeable radiators for a my 53 Merc since I dont have a flathead anymore even tho you can block off one off the ports...
I put one out of a 302 Maverick in my 53 Ford and it fit fairly easy. I had one out of an early slant 6 mopar first but I kept running hot. I also ran hot (220*) with the maverick radiator but I'm running a 351C and it seemed that the engine just needed more cooling capicty. So I broke out the 4" grinder with a cut off blade and cut 3" out of each side of the opening and put a 74 Ford big block pick up truck radiator in it. All better..
If your radiator is good, have a radiator shop place the outlets where you want and fill the one you do not need.
I think you can use some of the fairly large ones from the 70's pickups. Might not be strictly traditional, but should be able to find something that fits and has outlets where you want them. Get a tape measure and head to your junkyard of choice. Randy
Any Ford or Mopar radiator will be interchangable as long as it isn't too wide. It might take a little bracket fabricatrion. Mustang radiators are the obvious choice, but given your 390, I would look for a 3 row, since the 2 row doesn't cool my 383 that well. Measure in the car to see what the maximum width you can accomodate is, then try to find a radiatro that is as close to that as possible. Crossflows are more efficient than downflows. Good luck
Yeah, it should work in theory. I see no reason why not. I'd personally use a fan shroud just ti be on the safe side. Very little ****s worse then getting killer hot sitting in traffic and fan shroud is cheap insurance against that.
They sell those universal griffin radiators in Jegs. They're the same size as the Mustang units, except don't have the mounting hardware specific for a Mustang. Average price is around $200.
The Jalopy Journal
