I was planning on getting a new radiator and was just using this one as a mock up. The tank was replaced at some point in its life with one twice the size, which kinda makes it looks huge. Ill see what the dimensions of this one are and compare it to a new radiator though and see if there's a difference.

 

I'm surprised you are having clearance problems with an SBC engine. I helped another member here set up mounts for a Ford 302 in his F1 recently which is significantly longer. His truck came to him with a SBC 305 in it, and the PO had moved the radiator about 4" rearwards of the V8 mounting position! Moving his horseshoe to the 6 cyl position gave him lots of room for his electric fan with the heads about 2" from the firewall. Am I correct in assuming you are using the 6 cyl mounting position for the radiator?

You are correct about pusher fans not being as efficient as a puller. They block a significant amount of air from going thru the radiator, plus they make it about impossible to install AC. If you can get some clearance they do make low profile electric fans with the motor offset from center for tight situations.
They also make a short waterpump.

 

The motor im using is a little bigger than a SBC. Its a 429 big block ford. Yes im using the forward most mounting location for the radiator.

 

Hate to say it, Nick, but I'm thinking you are at least 3 - 4" too far forward. Better to recognize that now and move it back, than to mickey-mouse a band-aid fix. JMO....

 

Looking at at all the things that are going to be in the way to move the engine back, i don't think it will be worth it to move it back 2-3 inches and then still have to move the radiator anyway. Ill take another look at everything again, but i have maybe 3 inches before the heads are into the firewall, maybe 4 inched until the brake pedal touches the bell housing and maybe maybe 3 inches until the passenger side header is into the toe board. Moving the engine back from where it is now would entail modifying the firewall around the bell housing, modifying the trans tunnel that's welded to the floor, converting to the mid shift location on the t-56, not to mention cutting out the engine mounts and moving the trans mount. I don't think moving the radiator forward will really be a huge undertaking. Even if i did mount the motor back further to begin with, i think moving the radiator forward would be easier than the firewall mods that would be necessary for it to fit and a whole lot easier than the transmission surgery needed to convert to the mid shift location.

 

Like I said earlier, I would remove the radiator, install the pullys and fan, and see what you have for clearance with the hood installed. Remove the horizontal bar on the radiator support and make up a box 4" thick by as large as can fit in the space left and find something to fit. Or better yet put a SB chevy in it
I just pulled this quick off ebay for dimensions, there are many sizes and outlet configurations.

New 3 Row 4 Pass Model A Radiator Ford Engine Ford Grill Shells 1928 31 30 29 28 | eBay

 

I don't currently have any pullies or a fan, so it might be a little while until I get this sorted out.

Hey if I wanted a boat anchor, I would have gone with the chevy.

 

When I read your post this morning, I looked at my rad mount. It looks like you could move it forward 3-4" without interfering with the grill (one thing I didn't look at was any interference between with the hood).


You would need to drill some new holes in the inner fenders to allow the horseshoe mount to support the sides, and make a plate to link the bottom of the horseshoe to the crossmember, but it looks doable. The easiest would be to grab another rad mount (horseshoe), cut the cross brace from the original, weld the new one in front of the old one, then mount the rad to the front horseshoe while using the original (rear) one to keep everything supported in the original mounting positions.


Just random thoughts at 1am.

 

There's a good thought. i do have an extra radiator saddle from the f4 that i parted out. I was planning on leaving he radiator saddle in the stock location and just building a bracket to hold the radiator forward, but using another saddle as the bracket would be a lot easier.

 

Nick if you just rotate the core support as I previously posted, that will give you an additional 1 1/2" by my measurement. If you need more, then you just add spacers as I previously indicated.
As an aside, my stoked sbc "boat anchor" built as a torque motor (dyno'ed at 350hp and 440 torque) which has an engine driven cooling fan has the core support in the rear (V8) location and no changes to the firewall, cab floor or transmission cover.


See pic

 

Im gonna try your idea first. If it doesn't work for some reason, ill try what dmack said.

I know chevys are a lot easier to install. Im just a ford in a ford kind of guy, and wanted something different than a small block ford. I was just joking around.

 

So i tried what Bill said and i think ill be ok. With the radiator saddle flipped around i have about an inch of clearance. With the top spaced out about another inch and the radiator brought back to vertical from the forward lean caused by the backwards radiator saddle, i have about 3 inches of clearance. I think ill be ok there with a low profile fan if the center of the fan is not inline with the water pump pulley. If i take a little bit off of the safety latch for the hood, i could also get about another half an inch or so. Im probably gonna make a frame of some sort to mount the radiator to rather than a bunch of spacers to improve strength. No clearance problem with the hood either. The air deflector will most likely even mount in the original location but seal on the back side of the radiator instead of the front.

 

Nick,
If you decide to use engine driven fan you will want a rearward lean such that the radiator face is at 90 degrees to the crankshaft centerline and therefore the fan tips are equidistant, top and bottom, from the face of the radiator.
I would base my decision on electric vs mechanical driven cooling on how well centered, top to bottom, the fan will be to the radiator. obviously top is better than bottom. I can't tell where the centerline of the fan would come in the radiator from your photos.

 

Im not sure that there is enough room for a mechanical fan unless i can find a low profile fan clutch. all the ones i can find with measurements listed say that they are 3.33 inches tall, and i only have 3 inches clearance right now.

 

There's not a enough advantage to having a thermal clutch, enough that I'd go electric. You can easily get a plain old fan in there. I bought an aftermarket 6-blade fan, 18" diameter, and the fan blades are pretty much centered on the mounting flange. If you want I can measure but I think the forward edge of the blades is only an inch forward of the mounting flange face.