Here is what is going on with my tk. I am looking for a radiator (inexpensive) to put into my 54 effie. I have the stock rad support that I am tring to reuse. The motor is 383 sbc with a mustang II front suspension. I plan on having a.c. also. Can anyone give me any suggestions. I know I can buy a new radiator but saving money is the goal here. And for a the die hard blue ovals out there, I did have plan of keeping the truck all FOMOCO, BUT the 351M/400 block I had was shot.

 

ClassicF100,
Hey, welcome to FTE! No sweat about the Chev motor. That'll work quite nicely in your truck. There ARE some here that are die-hards, but IMO as long as it's American, it's alright by me. Plus, it's YOUR truck, so build it how YOU want it.

Anyway, regarding the radiator, I was in a similar predicament. I shopped all the usual places (Summit, Jegs, BeCool, and researched radiators online, etc). As it turned out, my best bet was to have my radiator rebuilt. It ran half the price of a BeCool or a new aluminum radiator, and I had it rebuilt to a 3-core instead of the 2-core it was. I have had ZERO cooling problems since then. If memory serves, it was in the $200 range to have it rebuilt. Far better than $400-$600 for a new-fangled fancy one that would accomplish the same thing.

So, you may want to check with a local radiator shop and get an estimate on having them rebuild yours.

Just my $.02, hope it helps!

Welcome once again, and build it how you want it or with what ya got to work with!

Daryl

PS- if you have the means, would love to see some pix in a gallery. Want to see that bad-boy 383 under the 54's hood

 

I do have pix of the motor (not in the tk at the moment, but working on the now). I don't have my old radiator that came with the tk. Any "Bone yard" donors that I can pick up and have redone??

 

where are you located?
Daryl

 

I have pix of my tk and motor at http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group...c=gr%26.view=l

 

ClassicF100

Go to blueovaltruckparts.com they carry the Walker, Boy what a good name, brand Heavy Duty F100 Radiator for about $230. I think this is the radiator that a lot of places like Mid 50's carry for a little bit more. Check them out or like DS59F100 said you could always have yours rebuilt with a 3 core and a Tranny cooler if you are running an automatic.

 

I've got a couple of pics in my gallery of a radiator out of a 2000 Explorer,4.0,DOHC that I fit in my 55 without too much problem.

 

I found this on another site: (55 V8 radiator, good shape with original shroud. $75. Located in Elma, WA. Jon Carver, 360-249-4391, partsworks@olynet.com ) It might be a good deal. Good Luck, John

 

I believe someone posted this before , drill out the rivets on the radiator supports that hold the radiator mounting brackets on.There are three on each side.Remove the brackets and get a radiator out of a '74 F-100.The top radiator mounting hole aligns up with the top rivet hole on each side and you only need to drill the lower holes.You can go the junkyard route or go to Autozone , I bought a 4core part#436002 for$229.34.This works for Fords but i,m not sure if you would have trouble with radiator hoses on other brand engines.I,m running 302 and using stock hoses,Part # L-222 upper and Part #M-078 lower hose.