Aluminum Radiator in Roundbody?

[jamyers]

I'm seriously thinking of reworking my pulleys, fan and radiator on the '62 Ranchero. Tired of marginal cooling on 100-degree days with the a/c on, not to mention the a/c compressor loads on the water pump.

My plan is to go to a double-groove crank pulley, and run the a/c compressor straight off the crank instead of through the water pump. I think I can put the alternator back like Ford intended, driven off the water pump belt. Plus, I'm wanting more cooling capacity than the original-type radiator provides, so I'm looking into aluminum radiators, and I don't mind moving it forward if needed. I can go electric or engine driven on the fan.

Anybody got any good sources or references? I've seen posts where people used something like an S-10 rad in a Mustang, but not much for Roundbodies.

 

[page62]

I tried to put one of the '64-'65 Ranchero/Falcon/Mustang radiators in my '62. It didn't fit. The cores were too far back -- it was just touching the fan, and there were big gaps around the radiator at the core support. So that idea was out for me. But if you want to modify the core support, it's a viable alternative. Fortunately the ebay seller was a really good person who refunded my money...including shipping costs!

Some thoughts: Have you fully sealed the gaps between radiator and core support. Do you have a seal between the hood and core support? How about a fan shroud? You'd have to fabricate one of those, but it might be worth it...

 

[addo]

James - look at RickWrench's "How-To". It's a little involved, but got a good result.

 

[jamyers]

Yup, my radiator is in good shape, just had it cleaned out awhile back and it's sealed around the edges, with a good 6-blade fan. Just doesn't *quite* keep up in these Texas summers.

Addo - Thanks for the pointer to Rickwrench, that's what I was thinking of. Wonder if there's an after market radiator like his with a filler cap. Hmm...

 

[powerband]

.... Tired of marginal cooling on 100-degree days with the a/c on, ...My plan is to go to a double-groove crank pulley..., I'm wanting more cooling capacity than the original-type radiator provides, so I'm looking into aluminum radiators, and I don't mind moving it forward if needed. I can go electric or engine driven on the fan.

Anybody got any good sources or references? I've seen posts where people used something like an S-10 rad in a Mustang, but not much for Roundbodies.

OEM '61 radiator and '71 MAverick radiators couldn't keep the "HOT" 250 six cool enough. THere wasn't room for a WP fan anyway.

I got the Summit "Universal Racing Radiator " for Ford app= 26X19Ford for @ $ 160 and a mounting kit for $17 more.

For the fan, I'm using a $110 Perma Cool 2950 CFM fan and variable thermo set to @ 160F. I'm using an the Permacool 15" in the more efficient "Puller" position - in front of the radiator with some trimming of the hood latch support.: I can get stuck in traffic going into a car show wih no worries. Of course in this car it is OK that I had to cut a lot of Rad support and the hood brace to fit the filler.

Here's a pic of the notched hood brace on the '61 Comet to clear the rad filler. (The other big hole is for the "Tbolt bubble".)

Powerband

 

[rickwrench]

The radiator I used was 16x28 universal.
Do an ebay search for an ebay store/seller called "Universal Parts". They still sell them, and they all have filler caps now. Reasonably priced, too.
I did some serious hacking when I rebuilt the crash-damaged radiator support, and made room for the big radiator. Keep that in mind. It wasn't an afternoon swap.
In the end, I had moved the radiator forward two inches. Later, when I installed the A/C condenser, I trimmed the stone guard to make room. And I modified the hood latch bracket for clearance.
It all fits nicely behind the stock 62 grille, and made room for a big six blade fan (but I'm just running a five blade flex now). I had my brother turn a custom double H2O pulley for a short pump when I was in the middle of working everything out. But, after moving the radiator, it turned out that a late long H2O pump and common stock late triple groove H2O pulley would have worked just fine.
Addo called the page on my site a "how to", but it's more of a "this is what I did, it works for me, your results may vary..."
Rick(wrench)