I'm about to put a 429 in my '79 F250. I junked the old radiator from the 300 which was shot and to small anyway. The 429 came out of a '72 LTD. Can I just order a radiator for the LTD from the parts store and mount it to my support or do I need to do something different? I'm trying to find something that will bolt right in and not have to Jerry rig hoses and stuff.

 

Look for the 79 f 150 with a 460.


Better yet, come down here and take this running supercab f150, 460, c6, and three fuel tanks from me for 500. You will have all the mounts, brackets, and radiator to do the swap as a bolt in.

 

Look for a 1979 F250 Radiator. If I remember correctly, there were two different types. A standard cooling, then the extra cooling.

If you have the auto trans, then you will need a radiator with the trans fluid lines at the bottom. Also need a front flange mount (I would assume so)

If the LTD Radiator is a cross flow design, I don't think it will work (where the tanks are on the side, not the top and bottom)

I'll get a couple pictures of the extra cooling I have in my '79 250 tomorrow for your reference


-Jameson

 

First today,That almost sounds tempting if it had a good long bed on it.
I forgot to mention mine has a 4 speed so that makes a difference too.

 

Yes it does. 8 foot with tailgate. Single fuel door and two aftermarket saddle tanks on either side. It is not a driver right now. would need to trailer. Radiator is out and needs good tires. Also have a good title. I am not sure of any bondo. The truck has been re painted before.

 

Well, the radiators are a jig saw puzzle in themselves. There were 2 different dimensions, like 19 or 20 tall or so and the extra cooling was like 25 or 29 tall, I don't remember. If you find the standard radiator, I would beware, especially if it gets hot there in the summer and if you tow. I would recommend the taller radiator, still a 3 core but taller and bigger tanks. There is a super cooling that is the taller design with 4 cores, That is the one you want, unmatched for cooling ability.

The 4 core is very expensive new, and I have found very few used. I have 2 3 cores in the taller configuration. I would sell one cheap if you want to pay shipping. I wouldn't suggest the smaller f250 radiator, but it would work if it needs to. I agree on the front flange mount. As far as the hoses, the upper fits nice, the lower is tight on the belts, It fits, but it is close. These radiators SHOULD bolt right in.

The next piece of the puzzle is the fan shroud. The shorter rad. shrouds are easy to come by, the taller ones are a little scarce used. You need a shroud to match which ever radiator you end up with. On the V8s, I think there were only 2 shrouds for the 77-79 trucks, A tall one and a short one. this has made me pull my hair out in the past, My advice is take your time, get parts you are confident in their working, and make sure you do it right the first time. PM me if I have anything that can help you. Good luck.

 

I didn't know they made fan shrouds for the 460... Isn't the engine and fan to close to the rad for one?

Sorry

 

You might check out Autozone. They offer a 4 core copper brass high capacity radiator. "Spectra" brand. Its standard height and about 2 1/2 inches thick. I just put one in a '78 F250 with 400M. Cost is 200 and change - pretty reasonable for a high capacity radiator. Fit was good including the stock shroud. I'm not sure how hoses would work on a 429, but if inlet and outlet are on the correct sides for your engine, they should be OK.

 

You might try this site, All aluminum radiator wt lifetime warranty.

1966-1979 Ford Pickup Truck New Aluminum Radiator 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

 

Yes I have one of those high efficiency 4 row rads from autozone. They are a better alternative to the factory 3 core, but they are marginal for the big block, I know from experience. I used one for a while. I could never find the tall radiator in anything but the extra thick tanks, which are 4" thick. My last stop at autozone for radiator shopping yielded a copper unit small tanks, 4 core, and the short core rather than the tall. I wasn't impressed with these "high efficiency" in a 460. Maybe they work, but I prefer the bigger, taller, and thicker one.

As for the shroud, I have always ran one. The fan is close to the radiator, but I run one anyway. When I am up in the mountains I don't need an overheating prob, so I run a shroud. I guess you could go without, the worst that would happen is it overheats at slow speeds and the fan comes off and the shroud goes in and problem solved. I strongly recommend the bigger radiator. I have found that the bigger engine needs a bigger radiator.