66 Valiant slant six radiator upgrade/swap
My Valiant was a dead stock slant six/three on the tree when I bought it. When I brought it home, the first thing I did was change all the fluids and work on fixing leaks. Of which there were many.
I had my shop work on all the items that needed a lift to get underneath the car. They said they couldn't back flush the radiator because it had a split seam, so I replaced it with an aluminum model. I'm including the info here, in case anyone else would like to do this upgrade without the hassle of figuring out which parts will work.
Here's a photo of the original configuration.
The new radiator is a model CC2374B from Champion Radiators. I got this one because their standard model for the /6 has the lower hose fitting on the driver's side. My original was on the passenger side, so the tech at Champion suggested this model instead. This was a good call.
The new radiator fit OK, but I did have to drill my own mounting holes in the flanges, as the stock ones must be set for whatever this is supposed to fit. After about 50 test fits, I had it bolted down properly.
The biggest challenge was finding new hoses to hook it all up. The original setup had 1-1/2" hoses at all points. The new radiator had a 1-1/2" upper hose fitting, but a 1/3-4 lower hose fitting. I was looking at having to use a universal flex hose setup with an adapter for the 1-3/4" fitting. Hardly my first choice, as I prefer formed hoses when possible.
So, first of all let's give a shout-out to Frank at the local NAPA store, who let me cruise through the rack of about 500 hoses in the back room, looking for anything that would fit. And, like the blind pig that finds an acorn once in a while, I found two hoses that fit. The upper is a NAPA part# 8631, and the lower is a NAPA part# 8943. The lower hose is particularly impressive, because it's the right shape to clear the fan belt and it's also 1- 3/4" on the lower end, and 1-1/2 on the upper end. Neither one of these is even vaguely correct for my car. But when you whack off the excess length, it leaves a perfect fit for the new radiator. Here are a couple of photos of the finished product. Is it show quality? Not hardly. But it's a decent bit of work for this hacker.
Photos of the install, and the finished product.
Clearance for the stock fan blade is really tight, but it works if you have small hands to get the bolts installed.
My Valiant was a dead stock slant six/three on the tree when I bought it. When I brought it home, the first thing I did was change all the fluids and work on fixing leaks. Of which there were many.
I had my shop work on all the items that needed a lift to get underneath the car. They said they couldn't back flush the radiator because it had a split seam, so I replaced it with an aluminum model. I'm including the info here, in case anyone else would like to do this upgrade without the hassle of figuring out which parts will work.
Here's a photo of the original configuration.
The new radiator is a model CC2374B from Champion Radiators. I got this one because their standard model for the /6 has the lower hose fitting on the driver's side. My original was on the passenger side, so the tech at Champion suggested this model instead. This was a good call.
The new radiator fit OK, but I did have to drill my own mounting holes in the flanges, as the stock ones must be set for whatever this is supposed to fit. After about 50 test fits, I had it bolted down properly.
The biggest challenge was finding new hoses to hook it all up. The original setup had 1-1/2" hoses at all points. The new radiator had a 1-1/2" upper hose fitting, but a 1/3-4 lower hose fitting. I was looking at having to use a universal flex hose setup with an adapter for the 1-3/4" fitting. Hardly my first choice, as I prefer formed hoses when possible.
So, first of all let's give a shout-out to Frank at the local NAPA store, who let me cruise through the rack of about 500 hoses in the back room, looking for anything that would fit. And, like the blind pig that finds an acorn once in a while, I found two hoses that fit. The upper is a NAPA part# 8631, and the lower is a NAPA part# 8943. The lower hose is particularly impressive, because it's the right shape to clear the fan belt and it's also 1- 3/4" on the lower end, and 1-1/2 on the upper end. Neither one of these is even vaguely correct for my car. But when you whack off the excess length, it leaves a perfect fit for the new radiator. Here are a couple of photos of the finished product. Is it show quality? Not hardly. But it's a decent bit of work for this hacker.
Photos of the install, and the finished product.
Clearance for the stock fan blade is really tight, but it works if you have small hands to get the bolts installed.
