Radiator for mopar v8 swap

As many of you know, its a tight fit getting a v8 into an early 50s mopar. I have been dead set on using the stock radiator with my 318, however I have heard the if it is reused it needs to be moved foreward (by turning the radiator support 180 degrees) which is simple, but you lose a support for the grill that way. I was just wondering what the easiest way to solve this issue is. Oh, and money is tight so custom radiators are out..... and Im not much of a welder

Thanks alot guys.

 

I won't be using the stock radiator for mine either, but I know I need to make new mounts for it anyway. Check out shadowcustoms blog, he put in a bunch of pics when he swapped in a 273?

 

my car is a 51 if memory serves yours is a 53? and my car has a sbc on the radiator i rocked the mounts toward the core support. take the straps loose and resolder them so the radiator sits closer the the support. i can snap some pics of you need.

 

Nah, Mines a '50, Ive already talked to Vince, of the shadowmtkustoms blog, he didnt state it in the blog but he used a 3 core 65-66 mustang 302 swap radiator.... So Glendale, you just moved the mounts on the radiator itself to give you clearance????

Something else, how much does it usually run for a radiator shop to clean up and recore an old radiator??? will it be cheaper to do that or just go buy a new one that will give me the clearance???

 

Room tight? I do not understand ?
I put a 392 Hemi in my 48 DeSoto, had plenty room, used stock radiator, in stock position, no heating problem.

 

what about losing the fan blade and putting an electric fan in front of the rad?

 

An electric fan is an idea.... If im not mistaken I thought desotos were a little bigger than Dodges, also the problem is the protruding water pump.

 

Jack, your '48 Desoto is a whole different car compared to a '49-'52 Dodge. The nose on your car is HUGE.

And I did mention in my blog about using a 65-66 Mustang Radiator.

Step by Step
So, it has come up quite a bit on Ruffrodders.com and the HAMB, guys asking about swapping a V8 into their old Mopar. There are a lot of questions out there because it really hasn't been done a lot, and if it has, not really do***ented. That's were I come in, hopefully clearing up any misconseptions and mystery behind doing one of these swaps. When I bought my Dodge, I had two options. Try to resurect the old flathead 6, or swap in a V8. I chose the later. Below, in my previous posts, you will find all the pics I took do***enting what I did. I will try to explain here, though, step by step, how I did it.

It was just more cost effective and less time consuming to drop in a V8 instead of rebuilding the old motor. In my honest opinion, the best thing to do if your planning on dropping a V8 in your 49-51 Dodge or Plymouth and your on a budget(I'm not sure if it will work exactly the same on previous or later years) is to use a Small Block Mopar, and not just because of the "Keep it Mopar!" thing, but because it WORKS with a lot less headaches. Any time I've seen someone drop in a Small Block Chevy in their old Dodge or Plymouth, they've had to change out the whole front clip, cut the firewall, and do some serious re-engineering. You don't have to touch the steering box if you drop in a small block mopar, 273 or 318, from a sixties Valiant or Dart. Mid Sixties Mopar A bodies, Dart and Valiant, have special exhaust manifolds on the drivers side to clear the steering box and column. A bodies are small cars, so these engines were designed for tight spaces. I didn't have to modify anything except for new motor and trans mounts. Keep in mind, that when I did this, I was only 18 with a two car garage and the basic tools. If you can weld and wrench, you can do it, too.

Oh, and another thing. If your ready to do this, I would seriously consider buying a donor car instead of just the motor and transmision by itself. All in all, it makes things so much easier. There is a lot less parts chasing and trying to figure out where things go or how it works because it's all right there. This is your best bet.

This is what I did:

I bought my 1966 Plymouth Valiant off of Craigslist for $250. Besides looking **** ugly, it ran great. I pulled the entire driveline. Motor, trans, rear, and driveshaft, and a bunch of other stuff like the headlights (which fit perfectly in my '50 dodge and are 12 volt which you'll need later), and other micelaneous stuff. After I stripped it of everything I could think of, I junked it.

I cleaned up the motor, put in new freeze plugs, cam and lifters, roller timing chain, gaskets, but since it was already running good, I didn't have to do much else. I also put a shift kit in the transmission. (I got all of this from Summit Racing)

The rearend from the valiant fit, too, after a little bit of coaxing. (Cutting the spring pads off and welding them back to match up with my stock leaf springs.)

If your planning on dropping a motor in a car, any car, and need some kind of motor mounts, I would HIGHLY recommend Ch***is Engineering Inc. I bought the Engine Mounts, the Universal Frame Adapters, and the cushion kit. I was going to get their Universal Transmission Mount, but I found out that I could make my own for a lot less.

After welding in the motor mounts and transmission mount, I went ahead and wired it up. This another thing that can take forever or just the weekend based on what kit you buy. This, again, is just my opinion, but if you want to do it right, without cutting corners, get a good kit. I bought the Mopar Powered Bare Bones Wiring Harness from Ron Francis. It was almost as if the Harness was made specifically for my project. Everything had its place, the instructions were so easy to follow, and the quality of the kit was way above expectations. My Dodge fired up the first time, too. Do your research...

Now all that was left was fuel. This is when I went to Summit Racing. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to do this, I'm only letting you know what I did, and what worked for me. I bought Summit's Complete Fuel System Kit. Everything was matched and was cake to hook up. I got a Fuel Cell from Summit, too, only because it was easy and works.

The last thing I did was have a custom drive shaft made at a local drive shaft shop from the drive shaft I got from the Valiant. I needed it just a little longer.

I used a Floor Shifter from B&M only becuase I was on a budget. It looks good though and works. If I had more money I would have totally gone with a Tall Genie or Lokar shifter.

Another thing I forgot to mention earlier. Throttle Cable. Hooking one up was A LOT easier than I thought it was going to be. I got mine from Speedway Motors. If you've got the cash, though, you could always upgrade to a Hight Tech Lokar Throttle Cable. Both of these, though, hook up to the stock throttle pedal.

For cooling I used a 65-66 mustang 302 swap radiator from Mustangs Plus. It fit between the radiator supports instead of in front of it to make room for the motor. I hooked up a frame rail style transmission cooler from Summit Racing, too.

Oh, and don't forget about exhaust. I did drive around for about a week "open headers" but eventually took it into a local shop and got some gl*** packs put on it. What you chose is up to you, though.

I hope all that helps. It can be done, cheap and easy, without a lot of headaches. Just do your research. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the pic vince, i must have skimmed over that So did you have to fab up mounts, or was it wide enough to mount to the stock core support???

Edit: Scratch that, I see that you have some steel bar as a sort of spacer.

 

I realize the DeSoto and Chrysler engine was longer than the Dodge or Plymouth, but I had a plenty of room, and no alterations to the firewall, plus the original idea was to get radiator closer to the engine.

Jack

 

actually the support for the radiator is a c channel i slid the rad down the channel. and had the rad mounts attached so the rad stood more towards the support itself. it would probably be cheaper to go with the mustang rad. the outlets would have had to of been swapped on my car. and i hate electric fans otherwise i would have not have had to do any of that.

 

Don't forget that the water pump for a <1969 exits to the driver side (iron pump) and the >1970 exits to the p***enger side (aluminum pump) for a small block MoPar.

 

I think that in '67 V8 Mustang radiators started having the bottom outlet on the p***enger side, so you likely can just find a radiator for whichever side your engine outlet is on. Look at radiatorbarn.com - they offer different levels of cooling and free shipping. Also, was told that Autozone is a source for radiators.

 

Ive been looking on autozone and they are really reasonable, and there isnt shipping if you send it to the store... so since my 360 (Ive since learned my motor isnt a 318) is a 78-79 the bottom outlet needs to be on the p***enger side, right??? The only issue Im having is finding a radiator with the p***. side outlet that will fit within my stock core support... Most of what I find are 20-almost 30 inches wide.



Edit: looks like my best bet is going to be a 1966 mustang 289 radiator...they are around 16"X16" and an Inch and 7/8 thick.... it should be efficient enough for my 360 right???

 

I cannot help on the radiator ... HOWEVER the 360 is a MUCH better option than the 318...you can get 340 heads or redo the 360 heads to really up the horsepower...the differences between the 318 and 360 are like night and day...much better and cheaper...something else to chew on if you have not.

 

See Ive got mixed reactions... one of my car buds told me I got duped. But everyone on here has said I did good... $20 for a 360 and a 727 that are in good running order I was watching horsepower last weekend and they were building a small block mopar and were talking about the casting numbers... I go out and check and lo and behold a little 360. Ive never really done any internal engine work so Im not on the up and up when it comes to that. Im just trying to get it in the car right now.

 

You can check around for suggestions...Easy to find 340 heads but a little costly...if you take yours to a shop they can give you options to resize without changing any other thing on the motor...just bolt the heads back on. OR if aluminum 360 heads from stock motors give you the same results...easy to change. i'd say go traditional but 360 aint traditional so the choices are endless.

 

$20....no doubt you did good.

 

Its definitely not a poly or a hemi so traditional is out.... but at least Im not thrwing autozones $20 chrome special on it... Im gonna do it up the best I can.

 

Keep in mind that all 360's are externally balanced if you do decide to do any work to it; if you want to get a different torque converter for example.

 

Ill definitely take note. Thanks.

 

Some 360 heads are prefered over the 340 "X" or "J" heads buy many people these days. They have the benefit of Magnum ports and open combustion chambers that run well on pump gas. You have a good motor to start with.

I would just get the 360 going and worry about squeezing more power out of it later. It's never too late for bolt ons

Read about heads here.

360 flex plates here

 

Im with you on that one fish. My dodge has been out of commission since 1970... it needs to see the road soon lol

 

I like the 360 Mopar,just dont run it hot,bad,very bad things happen.Then the 318 looks better.Just my opion guys.......................YG

 

360, huh? Now you're going to have more cubes than me!
Well, I've got a 360 for the van so I guess I can live with that!
As mentioned, 360s are cast crank and are externally balanced. This means that the balancer and the torque converter have offset weights.
Since you got the motor/trans complete, this should mean no worries.
The motor will be plenty for now and a good base for the future.
As for the radiator, try to find a good radiator shop and ask them about finding a new one to fit. They should have catalogs with measurements and outlet locations. I doubt you will find any stock crossflows that size, so look at older stuff. Finding something like a Mustang radiator that works should be easier to find and cheaper.
Did you find the exhaust manifolds? That will cut power a bit, but I wouldn't worry about that now. Get it running, driving and stopping first.

 

I found the exhaust manifolds from a fellow on here, they came last week! for pretty cheap. Would you say that any 3 core radiator would be enough to cool it right???

 

There are dozens of variables you need to consider when deciding if a radiator "is big enough" to cool your engine.

Some important things-

- Be sure you have sufficient airflow through the radiator and OUT of the engine compartment.
- If you run a mechanical fan, get it as close to the radiator as possible so it is drawing air through it, instead of from around it.
- If you run a fan shroud, don't half-*** it because that is useless. It needs to tightly fit the fan so it will duct air as it should.
- Run a high pressure cap so that it will be more resistant to boiling over.
- Run a 195 thermostat. Some people want their engines to run "cool" by putting a 160 in there, but a few bad things can happen. The coolant spends less time in the radiator, which means it is warmer when it gets back to the engine. Eventually it will overheat. Also, a higher engine temp tends to run smoother and get slightly better gas mileage.

 

I used a Duster radiator on my 318 swap in a '51 Plm. Only had to narrow the bracket on one side. Used shortened stock radiator hoses and the integral trans cooler. Changed the fan to a flex fan to be a little quieter at highway speed. Never runs hot even in 100 degree temps. I posted the details of this on a thread called "SBC in Early 50s Mopar?"

 

When picking a radiator, make sure the water outlets on the top and bottom of the radiator are on different sides.
If outlet at top on the right, outlet on bottom should be on the left.