Radiator

[mikesplumbing]

OK, things are almost going to smooth for me, i'm getting worried, LOL.

Moving right along with my parts collection I'm up to the radiator now. I searched the links but i'm having trouble finding what I need or should use. Have any of you found anything out there that works better then something else or have any regrets on the radiator you purchased? Any advice on where or what radiator I should be looking at or staying away from?

Mike

 

[benT]

Mike: A lot of guys use the early mustang radiator to fit in the fiberglass T shells. I haven't used one so they'l need to chime in on the pro's and cons, and where best to buy one. For your build it may be the ticket. There are some rad shops selling aluminum ones on Ebay and such and they look like good deals, but they are not too old-school looking. Mine was a custom built aluminum one as my shell was unique. Works great, but so was the price!

 

[Hotrod46]

I'm using an aluminum Ron Davis radiator from Speedway. It's has 2 1" rows and works very good. It fits in Speedways 4 1/2" chopped 32 grill shell, but is about the same size as a typical T radiator.

With an engine driven fan and no shroud, mine has only approached 200 one time. In spite of triple digit air temps this summer, but I haven't had it in a parade yet. That's the real test. I could probably use more fan and may switch to an electric one this winter. I think they have an advantage in low speed traffic.

One piece of advice I can give is not to cut corners on your radiator. Spend the money and get a good purpose-built unit and you'll never regret it. There's nothing more frustrating than a car that won't stay cool.

Mike

 

[donsrods]

I've pretty much been going to PRC for everything.(aluminum) The one in my 23 won't go over 150-160 on the hottest Florida day. The one in my Kids 30 RPU will sit there and idle for half an hour and as soon as the fan comes on it drops to 140 or so (and that is a 468 ci Olds). So far we have bought 4 or 5 from them and their stuff is really nice and reasonable.

Whatever you do, put a full shroud on the radiator............makes a huge difference.

Don

 

[mikesplumbing]

Don, do you have a photo of the type of shroud your using? I have to start thinking of how I'm going to do this and keep a vintage look, that might be a bit hard to do. Any ideas would sure help.

Mike

 

[RPM]

The 66 Mustang radiator works good, we have used it in several cars. You should be able to buy a new one at you local Advance Auto for about $125.00

 

[eafree]

Mike I'm glad you asked this question. I was just looking at radiators last night and was thinking man these T radiators are high dollar. I will probably look into this 66 mustang that RPM talked about in the post.

Eric

 

[bill4u6]

I use a 66 mustang 3 row and never had an overheating problem even in trafic and 95deg. temp running sbc with about 400hp.

 

[terrymac]

I'm using a Walker Rad off E-Bay. I took the dimensions and went to my friendly salvage yard and got an electric fan and shroud off a Honda Pilot. Works great and looks like it was made for it

 

[rb61069]

Try superior radiators on ebay!

 

[donsrods]

Don, do you have a photo of the type of shroud your using? I have to start thinking of how I'm going to do this and keep a vintage look, that might be a bit hard to do. Any ideas would sure help.

Mike

Mike, I scrubbed the vintage look for better efficiency. Living in Florida I learned years ago sitting at a light watching the needle climb is not fun, so I went with the biggest electric fan and shroud I could get in there. I'm running a SPAL 16 inch fan that literally will drop the temp from 180 to 150 before the light turns green again. I don't even have to turn it on often, but after a long ride or in traffic I get nervous when it goes to 180. I know that's low, but I just feel better.

For a shroud on my T I am using the one PRC supplied with the radiator. Again,it is aluminum and not in keeping with the overall theme of the car, but it works well. For my Son Don's T he went with a Walker Cobra radiator, also with a SPAL 16 inch fan, but we made his shroud for him. We simply bent up some 18 gauge into a cookie pan shape that fit the core, then cut a hole in the middle for the fan. We welded small studs onto the back so we could bolt it on and then painted it black. Took all of an evening to do and it works well.

Don

 

[mikesplumbing]

Just sitting here watching Brett Favre spank the Pack and thought I would start looking at the whole radiator issue. Thanks so much for the advice, the last think I want to have is a cooling problem on my bucket. If you take a look at some of the cars like Kookie etc. they have the appearance of a chopped grill. Is that what it is or do they just lower the grill into the frame. The inline engine is a little tall so I may be limited I guess. Just trying to figure out first what would look good with an inline , and second, what combination of radiator and grill would work.

Mike

 

[mikesplumbing]

Actually Don, that looks darn nice! Real nice!

Mike

 

[LKE]

My last T had a mustang radiator in it also. With a mild 283, and a fan stat that turned the fan on at 185, my fan only came on on the hottest of days. I would have no problem using one again.... on a car with a mostly stock small V8. also used a small elec fan. 14" maybe ?

 

[donsrods]

Mike, the Kookie car actually had a taller radiator than it looks like. Some of it is dropped down below the frame rails and isn't readily noticeable. I guess it worked because Norm lived in Southern California and ran a Caddy engine that needs good cooling.

My 27 is running a 32 grille shell and a custom radiator I had built years ago by the BrassWorks. Mine is chopped 8 1/2 inches from stock and Walker refused to build me a radiator because they said it wouldn't cool being that short. The one from the BrassWorks is 4 inches thick and when everything was fresh it did a reasonable job, only getting slightly warm on extended traffic lights or in traffic. As the engine aged the temp started becoming an issue and was the final straw why I tore it down for a rebuild 9 years ago.

My engine this time is a lot more HP so I am concerned about cooling it. I am going to reuse the one I have as I had it reconditioned by a local radiator shop years ago but never used yet. I have also discovered SPAL fans in the last few years and also the benefits of a shroud, which I did not have before. So with the biggest SPAL I can get on it (14 inch) and a shroud I think I should be ok. If not I will call PRC and have a new aluminum one built and if needed add some sort of hidden cooler under the car to suppliment the cooling system. I originally was limited on the size of the electric fan I could fit because of the length of my small block Ford engine. But this time around I bought the short water pump setup and picked up an inch and a half, so a decent fan will fit now.

Don

 

[mikesplumbing]

Thanks, I just looked up PRC stuff and the SPAL fans. It looks like a nice set-up.

I think I need to determine what grill i want first though. The model T style must be pretty different than a 32 grill right?

Mike

 

[benT]

Mike: I also have a spal fan on my alum radiator. Its mounted to an aluminum shroud similar to Don's. Lots of days the radiator barely runs hot enough to kick the fan on. When it does, it never gets hotter than 182 deg. I am a big fan of the spal fans. I know there are cheaper ones, but the spals are the best IMO.