Cold Case Radiators

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el5dart

el5dart

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well i pulled the trigger on one of the cold case radiators. I bought it through summit racing. i thought i would do an unboxing of it here on the forum. i think cold case still has a sale on these up till march 31 2019. it looks pretty good coming out of the box. i will be installing it in my project car in the coming weeks. everything went smoothly with the purchase except summits website did not update with a tracking number so i had no idea when the raditor was going to be delivered. i called cold case and they did tell me the tracking number for my order though. it was a day late because i was not available for the delivery because i had no clue when it was supposed to be delivered. other than that i am pretty pleased with the quality of its appearance so far and the welds look great. They do give forum discounts too! but i just bought mine through summit racing.


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I have a direct fit cold case radiator in my 68 340 Dart GTS. The quality and fit of the radiator are second to none. My OEM shroud fit perfect, and I wanted the OEM look so I painted the radiator before I installed it. I painted the top tank,
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bottom and sides only I did not paint the fins
 
It's a lot of work but if done right they come out looking really nice. The main thing is you have to make sure the radiator is super clean before you paint other wise you will get fisheyes in the paint, ask me how I know. First thing I did was clean the radiator with Dupli-Color Grease and Wax remover then I washed the radiator down with hot soapy water, I used Dawn dish soap, rinsed and wiped dry. I used Dupli-Color High Temp engine Enamel. I used 3 coats two light coats to cover then the third to finish. Waited about 10 minutes and finished it off with a couple of coats of Dupli-Color Clear Coat. Note: If you use Dupli-Color make sure you follow their directions on the can as this whole painting process has to be done within an hour. Good Luck
 
68 Coronet RT said:
It's a lot of work but if done right they come out looking really nice. The main thing is you have to make sure the radiator is super clean before you paint other wise you will get fisheyes in the paint, ask me how I know. First thing I did was clean the radiator with Dupli-Color Grease and Wax remover then I washed the radiator down with hot soapy water, I used Dawn dish soap, rinsed and wiped dry. I used Dupli-Color High Temp engine Enamel. I used 3 coats two light coats to cover then the third to finish. Waited about 10 minutes and finished it off with a couple of coats of Dupli-Color Clear Coat. Note: If you use Dupli-Color make sure you follow their directions on the can as this whole painting process has to be done within an hour. Good Luck
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looks real nice , did you use a primer under the black ?
 
With my direct fit radiator the hose inlet and outlet were in the correct factory location ( both are on the driver side ) as were the tranny inlet and outlet lines so I was able to use my factory hoses and tranny lines.
 
Everyone here is talking about looks what about correcting overheating issues ???
Thanks
 
BadBee said:
Everyone here is talking about looks what about correcting overheating issues ???
Thanks
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Good point! Not sure how this topic got so focused on the look. Hopefully a couple Cold Case owners will contribute with some before and after stats.
 
We have had some extremely hot and humid days here and my Dart runs at 180 all day long. Far cry from last year when she ran 215 to 220 everyday even on cool days. The Cold Case direct fit radiator with shroud really works.
 
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68 Coronet RT said:
We have had some extremely hot and humid days here and my Dart runs at 180 all day long. Far cry from last year when she ran 215 to 220 everyday even on cool days. The Cold Case direct fit radiator with shroud really works.
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That’s great to hear. Did u get the electric fan kit with it? Are u just using ur factory shroud? Thanks. Kim
 
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No electric fan kit, I'm just running the factory shroud with a 7 blade fan with a clutch. The fan is a little over an inch away from the radiator. If it wasn't for the clutch on the fan I could get it closer to the radiator but so far it's working very well as it is.
 
68 Coronet RT said:
No electric fan kit, I'm just running the factory shroud with a 7 blade fan with a clutch. The fan is a little over an inch away from the radiator. If it wasn't for the clutch on the fan I could get it closer to the radiator but so far it's working very well as it is.
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Your fan is perfect right where it is.
The best air flow is with the fan blades partly outside the shroud.
 
68 Coronet RT said:
I have a direct fit cold case radiator in my 68 340 Dart GTS. The quality and fit of the radiator are second to none. My OEM shroud fit perfect, and I wanted the OEM look so I painted the radiator before I installed it. I painted the top tank,View attachment 1715299920 View attachment 1715299921 View attachment 1715299922 View attachment 1715299923 View attachment 1715299924 bottom and sides only I did not paint the fins
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Is your shroud a reproduction or just a very nice original? :)

I’m looking for an OE shroud but didn’t at one point the repops were melting from under hood temps? Is that issue now fixed?
 
Yes it's a reproduction shroud, my original shroud broke in two. I bought the one I have from Restoration Parts Source ( www.RPSPARTS.com) 510-786-2067. They had the best price. I haven't had any issue with my shroud at all, it is a perfect fit. Just a note even sitting in traffic in 90+ degree heat my Dart doesn't get above 190 and as soon as I start going again she will drop down to 175. This Cold Case Radiator is the best thing I could have done to keep my car running cool.
 
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