Early abody slant six aluminum radiator install modifications

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Slantsix64

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Hey guys so pretty sure your guys know aftermarket aluminum radiators in a early a with a slant six is a pain in the ***. Reason being that champion does not have the correct core spacing.

1.What I did is had to cut off the radiator mounting brackets and welded them back 3/4 of an inch so I can have clearance with the mechanical fan

2. The wholes where the bolts fit are off the hood will not close because the radiator sits too high, so you have to drill holes above the radiator about the inch higher to allow the radiator to set lower.

3. The fan I used is solid 16inch universal fan I bought on online, to add more space I removed the fan spacer and mounted the fan directly on the pulley.

car runs great and cools very well it never gets above 170 idling or cruising hope this helps you guys.
 
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Nicely done. Looks a lot cleaner than my combination of a circle track radiator and electric fans mounted to a "shroud" that obviously started off as a cookie sheet.
 
The one I had bolted right in. I still like how the stock type radiator fit better, so I switched back. But the aluminum radiator fit fine, it was just a tighter fit.
 
yeah this thing would of fit with the stock 4 blade fan but it was way too close for my liking, my buddy ran that set up and his fan ate his radiator core. and also that stock 4 blade doesnt pull enough air at idle for my liking. Dude i love the stock radiator wish i could find a good one nothing beats that OEM
The one I had bolted right in. I still like how the stock type radiator fit better, so I switched back. But the aluminum radiator fit fine, it was just a tighter fit.
 
yeah this thing would of fit with the stock 4 blade fan but it was way too close for my liking, my buddy ran that set up and his fan ate his radiator core. and also that stock 4 blade doesnt pull enough air at idle for my liking. Dude i love the stock radiator wish i could find a good one nothing beats that OEM
My 4 blade fan pulls plenty enough air. It never gets over that first mark about 1/8 the way up.
 
Hey guys so pretty sure your guys know aftermarket aluminum radiators in a early a with a slant six is a pain in the ***

I noticed no such problem; mine went right in without hacking either the car or the radiator.

it never gets above 170 idling or cruising

This would mean it's never reaching full operating temperature; that's not good. You might need a more appropriate thermostat; see here.
 
Last year I put a Champion radiator in my 64 Valiant with a 170 slant. The biggest problem I had was getting the hoses off the stock radiator. New Champ radiator fit perfect. Champion CC63DT
 
Charlie do you have a picture of how close the fan is to the radiator? Also the champion radiators mounting holes matched up with the factory ones on you 64 valiant? a picture of that would be good too
Last year I put a Champion radiator in my 64 Valiant with a 170 slant. The biggest problem I had was getting the hoses off the stock radiator. New Champ radiator fit perfect. Champion CC63D
 
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I noticed no such problem; mine went right in without hacking either the car or the radiator.



This would mean it's never reaching full operating temperature; that's not good. You might need a more appropriate thermostat; see here.
Mine did too, but it did not fit "as good" as a factory one. That said, it was a cheap one. lol
 
I noticed no such problem; mine went right in without hacking either the car or the radiator.



This would mean it's never reaching full operating temperature; that's not good. You might need a more appropriate thermostat; see here.
Wow $400 for a custom made to fit aluminum radiator that's not too bad but thats in 2008 in 2023 that might be a lot more expensive now im guessing.


yeah i am thinking i have a defective thermostat im going to look into the one your posted in the link thanks
 
Charlie do you have a picture of how close the fan is to the radiator? Also the champion radiators mounting holes matched up with the factory ones on you 64 valiant? a picture of that would be good too
I'm tech challenged and have trouble doing pictures. I'll see if I can get a friend to help me. The holes lined up with the radiator support perfectly. Once I got the hoses off the old radiator, the whole job took less than a half hour.
 
I'm tech challenged and have trouble doing pictures. I'll see if I can get a friend to help me. The holes lined up with the radiator support perfectly. Once I got the hoses off the old radiator, the whole job took less than a half hour.
if you could that would be great how much space do you think you have between the fan and radiator are you running the stock fan with a spacer?

Ive have seen and installed three of these champion radiators one in a 64 dart (cc63dt) 66 dart (CC6566 pretty much same radiator just different wider mounting brackets do too the bigger opening in the core support) and a 64 Valiant (CC63dt).

With the stock mounting hole the radiator sat way too high and the hood would hit the radiator cap we had to drill a higher hole to lower the radiator, im wondering how yours fit with out any mods?
 
if you could that would be great how much space do you think you have between the fan and radiator are you running the stock fan with a spacer?

Ive have seen and installed three of these champion radiators one in a 64 dart (cc63dt) 66 dart (CC6566 pretty much same radiator just different wider mounting brackets do too the bigger opening in the core support) and a 64 Valiant (CC63dt).

With the stock mounting hole the radiator sat way too high and the hood would hit the radiator cap we had to drill a higher hole to lower the radiator, im wondering how yours fit with out any mods?
How long ago did you buy the radiators? Mine was, I think, about a year ago. It could be possible they made corrections based on feedback. I'll see if I can get info from the car, today.
Damm, are you up early, or late?
 
No pictures, yet. Here are some measurements.
Top of cap to top of tank 1 1/8 inch
top of tank to center of top pass side mounting bolt hole 4 1/4 inches
Stock 4 blade fan blade to core 3/8 inch
fan spacer 7/8 inch
There is room at the bottom tank to the bottom of the radiator support to allow the radiator to be set lower.
 
How long ago did you buy the radiators? Mine was, I think, about a year ago. It could be possible they made corrections based on feedback. I'll see if I can get info from the car, today.
Damm, are you up early, or late?
hmmm i think on the 66 dart was about 5 years ago, the 64 valiant was about 3 years ago, and for my 64 dart it was 3 weeks ago. haha no up early off today trying to get a head start on my to do list.
 
No pictures, yet. Here are some measurements.
Top of cap to top of tank 1 1/8 inch
top of tank to center of top pass side mounting bolt hole 4 1/4 inches
Stock 4 blade fan blade to core 3/8 inch
fan spacer 7/8 inch
There is room at the bottom tank to the bottom of the radiator support to allow the radiator to be set lower.
yeah that 3/8 of an inch is very close, thats how my buddy stopped suddenly in traffic and his fan kissed his radiator core, probably due to his worn out mounts i suspect. He probably would of got more room with out a spacer. thanks for the measurements Charlie!!
 
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