Help Are there any radiators that fit a-bodys!!

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Hey guys I going to the local you-pull-it on saturday looking for a radiator for my valiant. has anyone tried or used ones from any other makes and models even non mopars ???? any tips would be appreciated!!

Jeff
 
jcuda67 said:
Hey guys I going to the local you-pull-it on saturday looking for a radiator for my valiant. has anyone tried or used ones from any other makes and models even non mopars ???? any tips would be appreciated!!

Jeff
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measure how much space you have in your car and note where you want the inlets and outlets then bring a measuring tape to the junkyard and go from there.

i did about 8years ago,brought home a (dont laugh now) radiator from a 90´s 4cylinder ford escort with automatic transmission.. ok stop laughing im honest about this, just had to cut of a couple plastic mounts form its tanks and invent a way to mount it,worked great with a pretty tall filled 340 on the street.
 
1Fast340 said:
measure how much space you have in your car and note where you want the inlets and outlets then bring a measuring tape to the junkyard and go from there.

i did about 8years ago,brought home a (dont laugh now) radiator from a 90´s 4cylinder ford escort with automatic transmission.. ok stop laughing im honest about this, just had to cut of a couple plastic mounts form its tanks and invent a way to mount it,worked great with a pretty tall filled 340 on the street.
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The reason this post never got any decent answer is because a serious lack of information. If people want help then they need to post basic information such as what kind of a body, engine size and if automatic or standard transmission.
 
None of my three 60's Mopars has a factory radiator any more. As 1Fast340 says, if the upper and lower tubes are in the right place and you can mount it so it doesn't hit the fan and you can close the hood, it will work. Maybe not climbing out of the L.A. Basin when 110 F, going uphill at 65 mph for 30 min, with a big block, but then many factory designs can't handle that as evidenced by the boiled-over car every 1/4 mile. At least your heads won't warp. Kudos if you can fit a shroud (I did on 2 of mine).

I use a dedicated tranny cooler in all 3 cars, which makes the radiator simpler. Some advise against that. I had to use a shorter nylon fan to fit my Dart, because of the thicker aluminum water pump. My slant currently has only an electric fan (as found).

Most radiators have a 1.5"D top tube, as do all A-bodies, so that is easier. If you have a slant or small block w/ cast-iron water pump, you have a 1.5"D lower hose. All others are 1.75"D. You can fit a 1.75"D hose on a 1.5" radiator tube w/ a rubber sleeve (or cut a 1.5" hose) but not vice-versa. You have to thumb thru various hoses on ebay to find one that might fit. Sometimes you must use 2 sections of hose to make it work. Many hot rodders buy a new Ford V-8 truck upper 1.5" hose since it is long with many turns and cheap, so they can make a 2-part hose work. You can find aluminum hose splices on e-bay, some w/ pretty colors and ports for temp sensors and such.
 
Oklacarcollecto said:
The reason this post never got any decent answer is because a serious lack of information. If people want help then they need to post basic information such as what kind of a body, engine size and if automatic or standard transmission.
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Mabey this should be a sticky. A lot of the people asking questions and not giving "enough" info are new to the site. Personally I think they should be givin
A little slack until they catch on
 
I have one in my 67 dart that came from a 84 dodge diplomat.Fits good and keep 360 cool and one from 80 dodge trucks will works good to.hope this helps.
 
Good thread. I have been researching this for my 74 Duster alot since my new autozone radiator I had laying in the back 40 storage area is full of acorns now from mice living in it.

Late 70s Volare / Aspen works and will fit w/o mods (they are 3 inches wider from what I remember) according to my measurements for my Duster.
As mentioned 80s diplomat and I believe early 80s new yorkers.
Possibly 1970 Monaco although the bottom coolant port is on the driver's side I believe so a transfer hose or pipe may be in order if needed.

Pull the old rad out. Measure the space you have usable. Measure the max width that the radiator itself can be and then the side mount tabs separately as you can trim the tabs. Measure your opening in the core support as well for the hck of it.

My 74 Duster can handle max actual rad width (not including tabs on the side) of:
28" Wide
22.75 Tall or so (maybe more, I based this off the height of the factory rad) including top radiator cap.
There is room so that the radiator being 28"W and then including side mount tabs (like the factory Mopar design) can be 30"W. So I can trim the side tabs to 1" each side and slip er in.

Some may say with a rad that wide a bit of the rad is blocked by the factory opening in the core support which is: 22.75Wx17Tall on my car.

Considering the design where there is an air plenum in front of the rad and a plenum in the fan shroud this matters minimal to nil and having all that much bigger of a radiator has more capacity for cooling from a wider surface area and larger volume of coolant.

.
 
Don't rule out Dodge truck radiator. I found one for my Duster that fit great and filled the opening completely. It was cheap and only had to drill 2 new holes.
 
I must add that all the above posts would be more useful if people (including the O.P.) stated the year/model of their car and the engine they have. Taking that lead: my 3 60's Mopars are 64 Valiant slant 225, 65 Dart small block 273 w/ alum w.p. (lower hose on passenger side), 65 Newport 383 (forgot where lower hose is).
 
Seems to me that ? wildncrazy was posting some time ago about some Beamer rads fit?
 
I installed one from a 1980 Dodge Aspen (/6) in a 63 Valiant.Had to trim a little from the rads flange on the lower driver side,made 4 small mounting tabs bolted to the 63 rad support original mount location,drilled and tapped the mounting tabs and bolted her up. Took about a hours worth of work. Cool thing is it has a threaded bung on the top tank if anyone wants to run a electric fan for the temp senser.If you have a V8 just order one for that and hoses mount right up. Cost new was about $170 retail.
 
I think a radiator shop can move the inlet outlet to the other side, at least they did that on my 51 plymouth rad when I went from the flathead 6 to the 318.
 
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