Revert to Factory Engine Cooling

-
DSC04885.JPG
 
Talk to the tech guys at Cold Case. There is somebody on here (FABO) that works for them who can help you with the specifics of your application and might get you a bit of a discount. They really know these cars.
 
Cold case makes a great product, however, as of a few years ago when I bought mine, the factory shroud didn’t fit and the radiator was positioned farther towards the engine. That caused me to have to go to the Hayden 2947 thin fan clutch. You might be alright with the shorter water pump, but it was a lot of effort learning everything the hard way.
 
I think that Cold Case actually asked me for measurements between the holes in the factory shroud when I ordered.
 
junkyardhero said:
lots of great suggestions above and i'll share the sentiment of keeping it factory. the factory "bubble top" radiator and shroud with a clutch fan is a tough combo to beat.

i understand if you don't wanna splash the cash for a new waterpump, but the flow cooler unit is a very nice piece and well worth the loot.

get a *good* t-stat, not some parts store junk or something labeled "race" or some such nonsense.

i've run that set up for the past 25+ years and it'll pound the pavement at 100mph thru texas in august and not break a sweat; and sit idling in LA traffic on a 110* day just cool as a cucumber.

ETA: you're going to need to lose that adapter you have on the bypass coming out of the pump. it's way too tall and you won't make the turn going into the manifold without kinking it.
Click to expand...
Re. ETA note...Here is the old hose that came off of it.
20250121_083617.jpg
 
Since the timing cover, water pump and radiator are all the same dimensions as what was on the car, I don't think I'm going to have a problem with spacing relative to the clutch. That said, I found the Hayden 2747 on their website and a link to their retailers. O'Reilly supposedly sells it. When I searched it on O'Reilly's website, it pulls up a "Murray" with all the same description and a part number of ...Surprise!...2747. I don' suppose that its the same thing with a different name. What's more is that the applications listed for this part includes a my '68 Dart 340, but it also includes a bunch of GM stuff. Anybody had this experience with "Murray" fan clutch?

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...otive-car-1968-dodge-dart?q=Hayden+2747&pos=6
 
I am not familiar with the #2747, I have the #2947. Murray should be fine.
 
junkyardhero said:
lots of great suggestions above and i'll share the sentiment of keeping it factory. the factory "bubble top" radiator and shroud with a clutch fan is a tough combo to beat.

i understand if you don't wanna splash the cash for a new waterpump, but the flow cooler unit is a very nice piece and well worth the loot.

get a *good* t-stat, not some parts store junk or something labeled "race" or some such nonsense.

i've run that set up for the past 25+ years and it'll pound the pavement at 100mph thru texas in august and not break a sweat; and sit idling in LA traffic on a 110* day just cool as a cucumber.

ETA: you're going to need to lose that adapter you have on the bypass coming out of the pump. it's way too tall and you won't make the turn going into the manifold without kinking it.
Click to expand...
Good catch on that bypass hose barb. I have no idea why the PO did that. I'll fix it. Thanks.
2018-02-20 16.02.20.jpg
 
I ended up having the original radiator recored. Don Hart Radiator in Waller, Texas, did a great job. They knocked out the dents in the top and bottom tanks, recored and painted.

20250216_183626.jpg
20250216_183603.jpg
 
I've gathered up most of the other components I'll need also. I still haven't located the correct fan. 2863215 is the 18", 7-blade fan with 2.25" pitch. I've posted an ad here, but no sellers yet.
 
Ricks70Duster340 said:
The Stewart Components stats are high flow & perfect for what the engines need. I've seen other "high flow" stats that were anything but.
Click to expand...
I know this was posted back in January, but I have to ask if this one is the one I need for the 1974 360 in my 67 Barracuda? I'm about to pull stuff off the front of the motor to put in a better cam and that would be a good time to replace the thermostat. I've looked at several vendors and cannot confirm it will fit an early LA motor.

EMP/Stewart Components 301 EMP Stewart High Performance Thermostats | Summit Racing
 
The 2863 216 fan is basically the same fan, I have one of each on 2 cars. Summit racing carries the Flowkooler Robert Shaw 370 thermostat (large ) that you want. Pick your temp. The fans seem to come up in the mechanical for sale here quite often. Will probably see several at the Indy swap meet in about 2 weeks, but that won't help you.
 
Use The Factory Parts and reap the benefits! 14+ years of excellence in cooling for me! JMO!
 
The 2947 is very short. There is barely room to get your fingers in there to bolt it to the water pump. I couldn’t use bolts. I locktited studs in the water pump and used nuts to install the fan clutch. I couldn’t get lock washers on.

If you want to learn some new swear words, just buy one…..
 
There is a trick to installing the #2947, I have no problem installing with bolts and lock washers, have it on 3 cars now. I use a pencil telescopic magnet. As soon as one starts, stop and get the second one , third and fourth. You have to keep working them all down at the same time.
 
charliec said:
I ended up having the original radiator recored. Don Hart Radiator in Waller, Texas, did a great job. They knocked out the dents in the top and bottom tanks, recored and painted.

View attachment 1716367138View attachment 1716367137
Click to expand...

Its that a high density core. rows look a little closer than stock.

You should be good. will fit shroud without area for air to pass by.

Why much did it cost?
 
That's what they said, but they could have fooled me. :realcrazy:

$659.95. I was hoping for something a little less, but it is essentially a new radiator. They evaluated the old one and said it had numerous leaks. He gave me the price to recore. I told him I found one online for $658.88, and asked if he could beat that. He said, "I'll save you the freight." They were honest and straightforward
 
That's not bad, don't laugh, I had $400. in a quality heater core.
 
CRUZE 418 said:
That's not bad, don't laugh, I had $400. in a quality heater core.
Click to expand...
My experience with heater cores is that they are very inconsistent in dimension and configuration. I ended up buying one from Layson's that turned out to work pretty well. I had a little trouble with the orientation of the copper inlet/outlet nipples. To be honest, Rick warned me that I might have to manipulate the nipples a little to make everything fit. How true that was. I ended up putting a small kink in one of them by the time I got everything stuffed back into the heater box. I'm glad to have that episode behind me.
 
I'm having to resurect this issue. Now that I'm getting around to installing the rebuilt radiator, i'm having a devil of a time getting the right fit into the core support and making the mounting holes line up. It seems like the radiator is sitting about 1/2" too high. The bolt holes don't line up vertically, and there's a slight misalignment horizontally on the top holes.
1000010630.jpg
1000010632.jpg


1000010634.jpg
1000010631.jpg


In these photos, the radiator is sitting down on the lower core support. Since then, I've installed the brace that goes from the k-member to the core support, so there a bolt head underneath the bottom tank that exacerbates the problem.
Since I don't know what the part number is on this radiator, I can't say for sure if it is the correct one for the '68 Dart 340 w/4 spd and AC. It was in the car when I bought it many moons ago; I just don't remember how well it fit before I disassembled it. The photos that I took during disassembly look like it fit OK. I'm scratching my head wondering if there were some slight dimensional changes made when they re-cored, but I can't imaging how that could happen.
I've considered just re-drilling some mounting holes in the radiator frame and mounting it as-is. However, I don't have fenders or hood on the car yet, so I can't measure hood clearance.

Where to do from here???

In an earlier reply, Mattax had a custom radiator made with a '68 bubble top (like the one I have) and a '70 square bottom tank to get more vertical clearance.
 

2 suggestions ;
1 - the radiator should not sit on the radiator support. In fitting other radiators I put a spacer in that could be pulled out later to be sure there is appropriate space.
2 - I'm not sure you have a problem in height - your hood has a seal that goes between the radiator support and the hood. right behind that the frame of the hood has significantly more room for the radiator top, put something on the fender rails to space the hood right on each side and set the hood in place and then climb under neath and see where you are particularly with the radiator cap.

PS I would for sure make the radiator top flat (not tilted).
 
also then there is the question if the position of the radiator puts your fan shroud in the right place so there is no interference with the fan...
 
Thanks. I'm going to give that temporary hood placement a try. If I can get proper clearance, I'll just drill the radiator frame to mount it in the right place. I think I have enough slop in the shroud position to accommodate.

I could also just move on to something else, and do the radiator at a later date when the fenders and hood are in place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-
Back
Top Bottom