Okay need your help and advise here. as of now i don't own a radiator for my RPU project yet. I'm running what i believe is a '46-'47 59AB flathead motor. The grille shell i'm running is a '32 truck grille which will be cut about 2 inches small to fit the cowl height of the 1927 Model T body. My question is... what year radiator do i run with this set up? suggestions? hence, i don't wanna use a brand new aluminum one either ( even though they cool better) for the look i'm going for as i'm not running a hood and will be very visable. The radiator needs to fit the grill shell which will be chopped about two inches, plus it has to have the water pump outlet's, two on the top and two on the bottom. Ideas or any leads on where to find a proper one? thank you and best wishes, cab
stock 32 radiator with a 2-3 inch shorter core. if you find a good used stock radiator it will be about $75-100 to have it cut down, or if you find a junk original when you take it into get recored just tell them to order a couple inch shorter core.
I used a 48'ish f100 radiator in a 33 commercial grille... I dunno size wise how much it differs from a 32... I put it and the grille in front of the crossmember to avoid chopping either.. cooled like a mofo and looked like it should be there!
It looks like you are going to need to mock it up and do some measuring, not much room for the motor and the radiator per your picture. I had to cut my radiator a bunch and it cost a bunch to make it fit. Might want to check out the COE flatty radiator from early ford trucks, it has the bottom hose outlets raised up the radiator about 8" which would allow you to fit the radiator down lower in the frame. I have one and can maybe get a few pics if you want. george
George, yes please, send some pics to: cabbie@ix.netcom.com I'd love to see what that looks like much appreciated and thank you, cab I'm not really wanting to put the radiator in front, but on top of the crossmember where i feel it should go
A brand new aluminum radiator painted high heat black (Barbeque high heat works best and every hardware has it in stock) used in conjunction with a custom shroud (which can be made to look old timey) will give you best of both words, old looks, up to date cooling. Frank
I heard that if you paint an aluminum radiator it loses it's true function/potential and actually loses it's cooling capabilities, is this true? Frank, can you send me some pics of what your talking about, i'd like to see how it's been done if ya can. Thanks again for your advise cheers, cab
cab....here are a few pics. my coe radiator with the raised bottom outlets and the 50 F1 radiator I had chopped down. george
Centerville radiator Fremont you bring him top and bottom and he'll make the core he has built many rad. for me in all kinds of custom sizes.. Gordon
Justin, I think i'm liking your idea the best Is it possible to have a radiator place/shop take a stock '32 radiator, remove the middle outlet for the banger motor, and have them add two top ones for a '46 flathead model engine? George, thanks for taking the time to send these pics Morning crew, got any ideas on this and any leads on where i can find a stock 32 radiator besides Ebay? cheers, cab
Cab...I did exactly what Frank suggested in my pickup and i have way less room in my grill area than your truck.I painted the rad black....just doing dusting coats and i have zero cooling issues.i was very worried about this too. i run a Jim Davis Racing rad. Worth every penny the mock up looks killer Steve.
Alright fellas thanks for all your input and Jeff and TMAN thanks for chiming in, that's really good to know Gordini, what have been the costs for taking it to Centerville, are they reasonable prices? sweet, cab
Provided that the coating isn't put on so thick that it becomes an insulator, then not necessarily true. There's far too many black engines in motorcycles for it to be detrimental. Bob
Steve- For stock bits try looking on the ford barn. I saw a few stock radiators a few days ago.E-bay is..........well, not the most cost effective resource. If you don't go stock paint the aluminum black, you'll be stoked! FLIP
Well, '32 V8 radiator cut down is the obvious choice, bu expensive noi matter how you do it. Good stocker, stocker with new core, aftermarket with flathead piping are all going to be expensive. Later flayhead radiators come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. I've never really investigated them, as I have original radiators from the days when they were $25 dollars, but I could check a '39 and a '48 against a deuce shell. I do know they are wider than a '32 but surprisingly little...might be a chance. Don't know your details, but with '32 frame you might have some spare space between rad and engine...a slightly over width one behinfd the shell masked by some shrouding might be an alternative.
Im running a 59AB in my coupe with a 29 grill shell. I had one upper spout filled, 2 upper spouts added, and one lower spout added. I was told by a few people that my repop 29 rad wouldnt cool the V8 flattie, they were wrong. Before putting my heads and water pumps on, I spent 2-3 hours purging the water valley's with the compressor. If you do this, wear a mask! I got as much of the rust/slag out as I could for fear of overheating. Once it was all back together, the motor ran COLD! I ran it with no fan in traffic and it barely got over 140 (the thermostats were lodged in sideways on accident). Now that everything is running and put together right, I run 180 when its hot, and ive only seen 190 for a minute or two, and it was 100 degrees out. My car runs cold, im stoked. Check out my profile for pics of my setup...
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