Put a Champion 526 radiator in a 71 swinger?

[WA71swinger]

OK, I got gealous looking at the pics of all your cool rides. Mines not as clean up close but I had to go to the garage and pay her a visit anyway. I was measuring to try to see if I can go with the cc374 26" radiator.

 

[WA71swinger]

 

[WA71swinger]

OK so Im very slow at posting, navigating the site, etc.
I keep getting the message that my post has expired. I must be taking too long. So Im posting this in intervals.
I am not sure if my 71 swinger measures out the same as a Duster or a pre 70's dart but I definitely would like to go with the 26" radiator if possible.
See pictures above:
1) I have 28 1/4 inches between the inner finder skirts.
2) Or I need the bracket to start at least 6 3/4" above the bottom of the radiator. To clear the fender skirts.
Could someone measure theirs for me? I would be grateful. I messed around with fans and pulleys I had in the garage. My slant 6 radiator is actually 4" thick at the bracket and nearly flush at the fan side. I have 1 1/4 inches between the fan and the radiator now. Champion lists the 3 row as 2 1/2" at the core and 2 3/4" at the tank. They look thicker in the pictures, but if even close I should have no problem there. They look nice in your cars. your cars are nice enough that if they were not good looking radiators they would stand out like a sore thumb, LOL. The nicer your car gets the more everything else stands out on it.

 

[WA71swinger]

pay no attention to the chevy alternators LOL. small block Alt went out coming back from the track. Fabbed a chevy one wire in with a combo of brackets and scrap metal pieces on a farm, welded in in there on the car. Been there over two years and many thousands of miles, not to mention a stack of 1/4 mile slips that fill the glove box and now the ashtray. Worked so well I put one in the 440 dart. Don't tell anyone.

 

[goldduster318]

Somehow your pictures aren't showing.

Your car has an identical radiator support to ours. All 67-76 A-bodies can handle this radiator width wise.

I went out and quick eyeballed mine. The width of the tank section is 27". The width of the edge of the brackets which are all above the inner fenders is 29 1/4"

If I measured at the center of the radiator support on the engine side to where the edge of the tank is on the engine side is 4". The actual fins on the radiator are 1/2" farther set in. They are correct with the actual thickness being 2 3/4" at the tank.

Sounds like it will fit well to me.

I have a "Chevy" Alternator too. 78a 12SI Delco.

This is kind of a fuzzy picture when I had my old engine (hadn't been pulled yet) and I was mocking it up. Maybe this paints a better picture? The contour fans are 3.3" thick from the core to the back of the fan motors.

 

[WA71swinger]

Somehow your pictures aren't showing.

Your car has an identical radiator support to ours. All 67-76 A-bodies can handle this radiator width wise.

I went out and quick eyeballed mine. The width of the tank section is 27". The width of the edge of the brackets which are all above the inner fenders is 29 1/4"

If I measured at the center of the radiator support on the engine side to where the edge of the tank is on the engine side is 4". The actual fins on the radiator are 1/2" farther set in. They are correct with the actual thickness being 2 3/4" at the tank.

Sounds like it will fit well to me.

Awesome. Thanks again for all the help. Will order a radiator. If It doesn't cool like I want it to or the clutch fan doesn't fit you have given me the next solution with the contour fan set up. You ROCK dude!!!!! Maybe I need to shrink the pics or something. Literally worked all night trying to post those, damn.

 

[1970Duster]

Would've never thought of a contour fan

 

[WA71swinger]

Gary, PM sent, got error message that I could not send twice w/in 60 seconds. Assuming that means I sent it the first time. If not Let me know.

 

[GEO]

This is the size it called for my dart except I got a thicker 4 core.

Which ended up being so thick I couldn't use the clutch fan setup anymore.

Which was ok with me and I installed two fans in front of the radiator for a cleaner look.

As far as sticking a b-body radiator in your a body a tape measure or test fit will tell

The new radiator actually sat a little lower than the original so it had extra hood clearance

The radiator I used was a champion MC2374 22in 4 core rated at 650hp.





I couldn't see getting the 26in one and having to make modifications , 650 hp is plenty enough cooling for me.


I use two of these fans from summit mounted in front of the radiator to get a cleaner look and not have the fans kicking on near me when doing tuning to the car

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pro-67011/overview/

 

[WA71swinger]

thanks for the info. Going with the 26" b-body radiator. I'm frequently driving this car at 95-110 degrees out here in the desert. I better take all the cooling I can get.

 

[1970Duster]

Use Evans coolant and cooling won't be an issue anymore.

 

[WA71swinger]

Somehow your pictures aren't showing.

trying again to upload picture. There is probably a help page on this site somewhere but I am too stubborn to look, or read instructions.

 

[WA71swinger]

ops:

Somehow your pictures aren't

Ok from phone

 

[WA71swinger]

Thank you challengergary!!! Fast delivery, great price, great service, good looking radiator. Thank you to everyone who helped me find and purchase the radiator I needed. David.

 

[MobileCustoms]

OK - finally spoke with someone at the warehouse and they gave me the secret decoder ring for the inventory - They do actually have the AE2374 in stock. I can sell them for the same price as Monster Cooling if you want to go that route.

Sounds like the radiator I need for my 67 cuda/340 combo, correct? If so, I would like to order one from you at that price.

-Doug

 

[CudaChris67]

Thank you challengergary!!! Fast delivery, great price, great service, good looking radiator. Thank you to everyone who helped me find and purchase the radiator I needed. David.

let us know if the 2 row infact gives you the room needed to run a mechanical fan...also does the 2 row have the same lip on the back(engine) side that the electric fans tuck into?

 

[challengergary]

Sounds like the radiator I need for my 67 cuda/340 combo, correct? If so, I would like to order one from you at that price.

-Doug

Does your 340 have the newer style water pump?

 

[MobileCustoms]

Does your 340 have the newer style water pump?

Water pump is on the passenger side

 

[WA71swinger]

let us know if the 2 row infact gives you the room needed to run a mechanical fan...also does the 2 row have the same lip on the back(engine) side that the electric fans tuck into?

Went with the cc374 26" 3 row core. measures out a tad thinner than the stock /6 radiator (1/4"). On another project at the moment. Won't be installing until motor is back from machinist, tranny done, etc. The 3 row has the lip. The American Eagle 2 row, ?, sorry can't help.
I would consider measuring to see if you could get the 26" to fit if you plan on running the mechanical fan. Look at the location of the top hose on the 22" core radiator. Guys have had problems clearing the hose with the fan. Search this forum to find pics of the actual radiator and you will see that the top hose is not much off set of the center of the radiator (in relation to the cap). I'm almost sure that would have interfered with the fan on my car. Some guys simply have drilled new holes to mount the radiator higher, clearing the fan. Pretty tight fit for height when I measured mine out.

 

[Cal_gecko]

I've got a Champion 2-row 26" in my 71 Dart with a 360 and mechanical fan.. had to drill a couple new mounting holes on the radiator mounting surface to get it to bolt up, but it fits fine. I would like to end up going with electric fans instead of mechanical, because summers here in Sacramento get pretty brutal, and I don't think it would cool well enough with no shroud right now.. but the whole electric fan thing looks like a major PITA with some of the wiring diagrams you guys are posting

 

[72bluNblu]

I've got a Champion 2-row 26" in my 71 Dart with a 360 and mechanical fan.. had to drill a couple new mounting holes on the radiator mounting surface to get it to bolt up, but it fits fine. I would like to end up going with electric fans instead of mechanical, because summers here in Sacramento get pretty brutal, and I don't think it would cool well enough with no shroud right now.. but the whole electric fan thing looks like a major PITA with some of the wiring diagrams you guys are posting

I didn't have any issues cooling my 420+ hp 340 with my 3 row 26" champion and a plain old flex fan. In fact, it ran too cold, and was really hard to warm up first thing in the morning. Which is one of the reasons I went to the electrics, only get the fan when I need it instead of all the time. Shortened my warm up times by a ton, and still plenty of cooling.

The wiring isn't all that bad, and I HATE wiring. With the relays, all you really need to do is find a couple of constant 12v sources, and a switched 12v source, to run to the relays. The constant 12v source for the fans is best pulled off the starter relay B terminal, because of the load it pulls. That actually makes that one really simple. The constant 12v source for the controller can be pulled off the fuse block. Switched can be pulled off the fuse block.

I also pulled my fan harness off of a Contour at the wrecking yard, so that made the fan harness a piece of cake. I deleted a couple of unnecessary wires out of it, but that was it.

 

[goldduster318]

If you decide that you want to use most of the original ford wiring like 72bluNblu did, it makes it pretty easy. The 60A maxi fuse holder takes ring terminals anyway. You'd likely need to do 6-8 solder joints. Just take your time with the diagram...its worth it. I think both of us that are using this are very happy with the setup.

I also actually found a good picture of the clearance.

 

[roylerumble]

wow, goldduster318, you know your stuff. I'm putting a new rad into my valiant, waiting to hear from cudagary on that one, and want to run electric fans. Looks like I'll do the bone yard route with your list. I'll prob bug you one day for some tips and advice.

 

[Todlich]

Amen, Thanks to Goldduster318 I'am looking at getting the CC374 for my Duster in the next month from Challengergary!

Only question I had was if there were any modification done or needed to get it in with the stock battery tray,or if just barely squeeks into position.

I read some people needed to clearance the lower rad support/cross bar tho?

I'll be grabbing a Mercury Mistake, or Ferd Contour Fan set from the yard soon as soon as I get the chance,

 

[72bluNblu]

Amen, Thanks to Goldduster318 I'am looking at getting the CC374 for my Duster in the next month from Challengergary!

Only question I had was if there were any modification done or needed to get it in with the stock battery tray,or if just barely squeeks into position.

I read some people needed to clearance the lower rad support/cross bar tho?

I'll be grabbing a Mercury Mistake, or Ferd Contour Fan set from the yard soon as soon as I get the chance,

You should be able to just use a 1/8" spacer to space the radiator off the lower support brace, then drill new holes in the mounting ears for the radiator. That's really the only modification you need to make, the stock holes in the radiator mounts aren't in the right place for an A body.

Well, if your car wasn't originally a 26" radiator car and that's what you bought you'll also have to drill some holes for the mounts in the radiator support as well. If you already had a 26" radiator, you just need to drill the additional holes in the radiator mounting ears.