Radiators

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Joined
Aug 27, 2021
Messages
324
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Location
Williamsburg Virginia area
My Car
1972 H code convert., 351C 2V, FMX, 9in., Ram air, Pwr Steering, Pwr Disc brakes, air-conditioning, 15" sport wheels, Ivy Glo w/white deluxe interior.
Having allowed this project to take on a life of its own, removing far more than intended, like the radiator, there was an issue of tight quarters even before I removed bolt-one on the steering and front suspension systems.

This required some "creative" storage methods so a number of precautions were taken given the number of incidents that were possible, even in a creative sense. So, for my radiator, something that plagued me with my '66, I figured that a 45 yearlong gap between Mustang projects, I might have figured out a couple things that youth will not account for.

Well, after all that, it happened. Something fell from it's perch above the radiator onto the radiator.
This was a secure item to begin with but attributes surrounding the garage, allowed for the shelf to vibrate and so, for two years, that box decided it had enough and leapt. I get the box couldn't find a way to work things out but the innocent bystander, being the radiator, it was an unnecessary level of carnage.

As the box tumbled down, it did a half-gainer and the heavy, hard point of the corner and side crease, fell across the radiator, making a very prominent crease core tubes while flattening several rows of core fins.

After very close examination and attempts at cleaning up the fins some, the crease seems to be cracked in multiple locations.

As with most of us, I've toyed with the thought of upgrading but it's only been a thought, until now. Having stopped playing because of "other" costs we're now faced with. So, past experience would tell me, the easiest thing would probably be to just have it repaired. There is a lesson there too since the last one I did the repair/restore approach, the cost was almost the same as the replacement.

After doing some searching, I'm learning that something that was available in 2013, is rarer 11 years later. This kind of work, especially with the original materials, is becoming a lost art or been heavily controlled from a health standpoint. Meaning, by the time I factor in the travel and everything else involved, it might be more cost effective to replace and upgrade to a 4-row core.

Thoughts? Ideas? Places in the Williamsburg VA area? And lastly, verbal lashings for allowing it to happen?

Seriously, what have some of ya'll found when replacing the most important part of the cooling system.

For what it's worth, the problems associated with my '66 project were really more the fault of the 289 heads modified to fit the '69 Mach 1, 351W I've previously explained buying from a frenemy. He just would not part with those heads yet in hindsight, it really benefited me using the 289 heads I had from the seized motor the car came equipped with.

The biggest issue was, the thing ran so fricking hot plus, we could never seem to get a well repaired replacement core for it. At the time, it never dawned on me to find and modify to fit a larger radiator. More about cash-on-hand than anything else. So, it's déjà vu all over again.
 
I bit the bullet and ordered a 4 core from U.S. Radiator. It was pricey but I live in the desert so I needed the extra cooling for sure. Have not had a over heat problem since and I plan on running electric fans in the future.
 
I bought one of those $175 Chinese 3 core radiators from Amazon. My car is AC car, so I got a 26”. It cools great. The only problem is the mount points don’t work with stock mount parts….if I cut and grind some tabs I can fix that. Otherwise all good..
 
If your old radiator's tanks are still good, take it to a radiator repair and get a new core installed. I'm still running the original radiator in mine with no overheating issues.
This is what I did. When my original radiator developed a pinhole leak, I took it to a nearby radiator shop and had them build me a 4-row core that worked with my original tanks and top/bottom straps. The result looks like a stock radiator but with better cooling power.
 
I went griffin complete with fans from summit on a 0% purchase on their card as I spent about $7k on the last push to get the car started.

I would suggest an aluminum radiator, but others have had luck with contour fans for cheaper

The aluminum radiator/fan combo was easier for me at the time.

Griffin does suggest having a support that runs under the width is the radiator so it is fully supported and not just at the tanks.

Here is the support. I put weatherstripping on top to soften/isolate the mount.
 

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