|
|
|
|
Original Message
|
| El Mongo radiator - worth the trouble? |
| By Mike - 03/24/2006 9:09:27 PM; IP 72.66.101.222 |
[note: i just posted this on the 'Galaxie Archives' website as well]
Howdy all - seeking advise on this one. Im a big junkyard hounddog and like looking for deals. Im in need a replacment radiator for my '64 Galaxie with 390. While at the yard today, i found a very big 4 row copper/brass radiator out of a older F350 tow truck. It had the inlet/outlet and tranny cooler connection lines in the right locations - so i decided to get it for $35 + $10 for the shroud. Its in great shape from what i can see - and the coolant came out neon green.
SO - as you would expect, this thing is about 5 inches wider, and 1 1/2inches thicker than my original. It fits very snugly after i move a battery brace out of the way.
Problems are that i will have to get abit longer radiator hoses, And the tranny lines dont quite reach the inlets (about 4 inches shy) on the 'new' radiator. I will have to figure out a way of extending these tranny lines, or maybe rerouting them abit.
I will also have to fabricate some braces for it to keep it in place.
Also - the stock four blade fan is only about 1/2 inch from the radiator fins now. So heres the question - i really like how good shape this radiator is, and that its old school brass/copper. Ive heard 4 rows are great for cooling - and i do get hot humid summers here in DC.
One - I dont mind doing 'monster garage' type stuff, and i do have access to a full shop where i can work on a lift etc, but would all this adjustment be worth whatever a benefit of a 4 row brass/copper Large radiator would get me in cooling capacity?
Two - i read somewhere that if the radiator is really thick, the stock fan may not be able to pull the hot air off of it quickly enough, and you wont benefit from the extra rows.
Three - is it good or bad to have the fan so close to the radiator fins?
Oh yeah - this radiator i would say weighs almost twice what my other one did. Thats actually a reason i will probably swap this out with a good aluminum one. But im low on dough now, and I can always get the $400 or so good alumnium one down the road. Main reason Ill switch it out eventually is im interested in lightening this big gal up (eventually) as much as possible. So far ive replaced stock intake manifold, and fiberglass bumper in rear.
Thanks for any advise on this radiator situation. |
|
|
This thread, so far...
|
|
|
|
Post A Response
|
|
|
|
|
|