Champion 3 Row Rad into a 64 Dart

-

Deleted Member

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 20, 2019
Messages
265
Reaction score
57
1964 Dart, 225 Slant, 904 pushbutton all stock , 4 blade engine fan no clutch, PS

My stock origial rad just could not keep up with the heat here in Las Vegas. On hot days (100+) with a clean cooling system and a fresh water pump the car would bleed coolant from the numerous patches on the rad and from who knows where else. It would stay the correct temp just not be happy about it.

I talked to champion and they said that the CC63DT was a direct swap and would drop in without issues with my configuration. Unfortunately it was not the case.

Upon receiving the rad I saw that welds holding the core brackets to the upper and lower tanks has been over grinded and had cracked. The Rad still felt very solid and when i called champion they said they had seen it before. I could return it or I could keep it and they would note my file if it ever failed. I opted to keep it and it installed just fine, no leaks.

Biggest issue is the thickness of the core, its about 1/2 thicker then the stock brass rad. this puts it much closer to the engine and puts the auto trans coolant lines closer. I had to fiddle around with a bunch of fan spacers to get it to fit so that the blades were close enough to the core that they would be effective but not so far that they touched the bottom tank or the PS pump pulley center. The final spacer was just over 3/4 of an inch thick.

The auto trans cooler line were now so close to the motor that they both needed to be tweaked and on the passenger side a 45 degree offset fitting installed.

Just took way more messing around than I figured. Good news? It cools VERY well and the engine temp doesn't rise of the bottom operating temp hash mark even in dead stop traffic when it was 105 last week. No shroud needed

I used Gates 20465 for the lower hose and a cut down 20065 for the upper. I dont like the way the upper looks (twisted like the one I had on there and im going to find a better replacement.)

PXL_20210823_182211292.jpg


PXL_20210823_182233577.jpg


PXL_20210823_182349811.jpg


PXL_20210823_182408778.jpg
 
Working on our older cars often means having to "tweak" things. Sounds like you have a winner there! Well done.
 
Yep. I had to do a bunch of similar work to get mine to fit.

I also had to slot their bolt holes to move the rad down 3/4 of an inch to allow the hood to close.

The good news is, when mine developed a leak about 2 years after install, they replaced it with no issues.
 
Good luck on that fan spacing. My Ford ate a rad that was 3/4 inch clearance with a rigid radiator mount. Im not sure what happened but something shifted or flex fan blades reached out and grabbed it. I heard a big "THUNK" and water everywhere.
 
Good luck on that fan spacing. My Ford ate a rad that was 3/4 inch clearance with a rigid radiator mount. Im not sure what happened but something shifted or flex fan blades reached out and grabbed it. I heard a big "THUNK" and water everywhere.
Ugh, that was ugly!
 
This is actually further than the "stock" setup. And yea that's definitely has me a bit worried. I don't want to go to electric and have to upgrade the charging system.
 
I used the 2 row radiator on my 64 dart. It sit too high up so i had to finesse the bolt holes to get the radiator low enough. I found this out the hard way when I took a long drive and coolant was leaking out the top of the cap. I took the cap off and noticed when i close the hood it bent the cap. I was able to make it home no problem and it was still running cool the whole way home.
 
I have that same basic radiator in my 64 Valiant. On mine, there's about 3/4" or a little more between the radiator and the core support. I may get a local radiator shop to move the brackets to take that room up and give a little more room between the fan and radiator. It is close.
 
I was originally looking at the two row from champion and was going to pay to have the outlet moved over but it turns out the two row is actually thicker than the three row!
 
I have a champion radiator in my 64 Valiant. It fit purfictly. Have to check the number.

Can't find the receipt, but pretty sure it was the CC63dt. Swaped out in about 1/2 hour.
 
Last edited:
Keep an eye on that radiator. They were a popular upgrade on Tacoma's and they seem to have varying quality issues. Many cracked prematurely.
 
I have a champion radiator in my 78 Fury
Fit perfectly, working great. Been in my car for 3-4 years now
 
1964 Dart, 225 Slant, 904 pushbutton all stock , 4 blade engine fan no clutch, PS

My stock origial rad just could not keep up with the heat here in Las Vegas. On hot days (100+) with a clean cooling system and a fresh water pump the car would bleed coolant from the numerous patches on the rad and from who knows where else. It would stay the correct temp just not be happy about it.

I talked to champion and they said that the CC63DT was a direct swap and would drop in without issues with my configuration. Unfortunately it was not the case.

Upon receiving the rad I saw that welds holding the core brackets to the upper and lower tanks has been over grinded and had cracked. The Rad still felt very solid and when i called champion they said they had seen it before. I could return it or I could keep it and they would note my file if it ever failed. I opted to keep it and it installed just fine, no leaks.

Biggest issue is the thickness of the core, its about 1/2 thicker then the stock brass rad. this puts it much closer to the engine and puts the auto trans coolant lines closer. I had to fiddle around with a bunch of fan spacers to get it to fit so that the blades were close enough to the core that they would be effective but not so far that they touched the bottom tank or the PS pump pulley center. The final spacer was just over 3/4 of an inch thick.

The auto trans cooler line were now so close to the motor that they both needed to be tweaked and on the passenger side a 45 degree offset fitting installed.

Just took way more messing around than I figured. Good news? It cools VERY well and the engine temp doesn't rise of the bottom operating temp hash mark even in dead stop traffic when it was 105 last week. No shroud needed

I used Gates 20465 for the lower hose and a cut down 20065 for the upper. I dont like the way the upper looks (twisted like the one I had on there and im going to find a better replacement.)

View attachment 1715787373

View attachment 1715787374

View attachment 1715787375

View attachment 1715787376
I had the same problem. I got rid of the fan blade and replaced it with a pusher 3000cfm electric fan 105390 is the part number on flex lits web page. I also got the temp control electric wirign and switch kit to go with it... you wont be disappointed! fan part numbe r is 105390 fan switch relay kit is 107185. Oh yea I placed the fam on the out side of my radiator toward the bumper not the inside it work great!
Flex-a-lite 16" Flex-Wave LoBoy Auxiliary Electric Fan - Pusher - 3,000 CFM
 
-
Back
Top