Hey guys, typical intro here, I have a 1983 Ford F-100 with a 300 inline 6 and a C6 Automatic trans. Factory AC truck with the 21" x 28" core radiator.

I am trying to find a replacement radiator.

LMC doesn't have one I can even order, and if they did, it's probably expensive as h***.

AutoZone has a plastic replacement I can get for $193.

1-800-Radiators has one for $251 with the shop account.

Champion has one that's $214 that I would LOVE to have, as it's a nice aluminum 3-core, BUT it's made for the 5.0/5.8l engines. The inlet and outlets are on opposite sides of what I need, as is the trans cooler. It looks like a mirror image of what I need. Champion suggested one from the same year model Chevy, as it is similar in size, but it has a different hose size on one side.I would also be worried about shroud fitment since I will be sticking with a stock style fan clutch and fan.

Anyone know of any good options?

Will a 2-core from an 87-96 I6 truck fit in mine?

 

Unless you pay big bucks for an all brass one all you will find cheap are plastic & aluminum ones.
I would get one that fits the truck with AC by the time you mess with something to make it fit you would have been better off with stock.
I had to replace the brass, think from Rock Auto and got the plastic aluminum one. It bolted right in with no fuss and it is for AC with a 300 motor.
Dave ----

 

Buy a radiator from the parts store. It should have a lifetime warranty. I installed an O'Reilly's radiator in my Bullnose and it cools fine. Either that or find a shop that will restore your OE radiator.

 

Went ahead and ordered an O'Reilly's replacement. Should have it tomorrow. Thanks guys!

 

Do you have a shroud being the truck has AC?
Dave ----

 

My 1981 which came with a 302 and factory air has a shroud that is still on it.

 

Yes sir, I do. The stock one is still there. I wanted to try to upgrade the radiator a little since I will towing my Mustang with it, sometimes very long distance. Arkansas has some mountains that I think may make it hard to keep up, especially if the AC is running, but we shall see. I'm also putting a transmission cooler on in front of the radiator. It's a Hayden with pretty wide fins, but still will create some degree of blockage.

I'll be running water, a lower mix of anti-freeze (it doesn't get very cold here), and some water wetter.

 

I'd go with the 50/50 coolant mix. If you mix your own be sure to use distilled water. The 50/50 mix will reduce corrosion and make your cooling system more efficient.

 

I have not pulled my car trailer yet and I also have a stick trans but do have AC and have been running it in mid 90* temps and my temp gauge hardly moves.

I have also pulled a 2 car heavy trailer behind a E350 van 460 / C6, no AC but had 2 trany coolers out front.
At the time I pulled thru out New England that has so pretty good size hills where you would need to pull it down to 2nd gear.
Yes the temp would climb a little but never worried about over heating.

Or could run 100% water and add anti rust / pump lube to the water. I did this during the race season as you could not run anti freeze when on the track.
When I drained it to add anti freeze for winter storage I had no rust.
Dave ----

 

Yeah, theoretically, the gauge shouldn't move, since that's the setup it came with from the factory, but I try to account for increased speeds, more load on the cooling system than the factory intended for my 1/2 ton F-100, etc and have a little extra room. I really don't want to do any of this again lol.

Hearing that you've done it with heavier loads on mountain roads is more comforting.

I have a bottle of water pump lube I forgot to mention in my post. This stuff:



I'm just going to add a lower mix of the coolant and the additives and run it.

 

Is all brass better than aluminum?

 

Longevity-wise, my opinion based purely on anecdotal experience is that the aluminum radiators' problem isn't the aluminum part, it's the plastic tanks on the sides. I prefer having a nice all-aluminum radiator. I've broken several of the plastic tank ones in Mustangs. My main problem (4 radiators replaced in 2-1/2 years, thankfully under warranty) was in a 2001 convertible with a lot of chassis flex. I think that flex transmitted to the O'Reilly's radiator I had in there when I was driving hard (often) and caused the cracking. That's just a theory though. I also replaced two in my 1994 convertible Mustang prior to having the 2001 (and I only owned that car for 6 months, so that should tell you something).

The Steeda-labeled all-aluminum radiator in the my hardtop Mustang has had no problems after being in the car for 10+ years with a supercharged 347, then a 306 dirt track engine, now a 400whp 351w. It's been run hard on AutoCross and road courses.

That said, Aluminum, depending greatly on the specific alloy, can have nearly twice the thermal conductivity of brass, making it a much better/more efficient heat exchanger in something like a radiator.

That's why I was hoping someone knew of an all-aluminum radiator that would be a drop-in fit. But in this application, chassis flex is a non-issue, so I bet it'll be alright from that point of view.

Copper has even better thermal conductivity properties than aluminum, but it's more than 3 times as dense as aluminum (not to mention, significantly more expensive). Because of the density, it is also less effective at radiating the heat into the air. In terms of removing heat, the ideal radiator would have copper tubes and aluminum fins. But then you get into other problems.

 

I know the alum / plastic radiators had a bad rap when they first came out as the rubber seals between the body & tanks would leak I think they have come a long way ....... I HOPE!
I don't remember if mine, alum / plastic, was listed that way or not but it was in a price range I wanted to pay.
I also would not think twice to hooking up to my trailer on the hottest day and pull it at speed here and it is in the low 90's right now.
If you have a brass radiator you might find a shop that can re-core it but shops that do that are getting hard to come by.

As for flex taking out the radiator are you able to run a Monte Carlo bar or braces from the shock towers to the firewall and the first gen Mustangs had from the factory?
Anything like frame connectors you can run? I know rules may not allow either but might be worth a try if you can.

So you know the trailer it is not a little thing

Dave -----

 

Water is better for cooling than antifreeze but antifreeze increases the boiling temperature in mixtures of 50/50 and above. For racing they don't allow antifreeze because it is slippery if it ends up on the track.

I guess you could go lower on antifreeze and use the anti corrosive additive if you want. I've had such good performance with 50/50 for hauling and corrosion protection that I still recommend it. You won't need the corrosion additive either.

 

*Yes it does up the boiling point BUT lowers the way it can pull heat from the motor and get rid of it in the radiator and why water is the best.
If you can get away with not running anti freeze then water & the anti rust addative is the way to go.

BTW I am running a pre-mix 50/50 of anti freeze in my 300 six, new alum / plastic radiator & cap and new 195* stat.
The needle just gets above the line on the cold side and I also replaced the sender.
Dave ----