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I need to replace my radiator of my '61 F100. I'm noticing that a lot of the aftermarket offerings have the mounting brackets on the engine side. The one in my truck has the mounting brackets toward the grill side. The radiator I have is a reproduction, heavy duty, I think, that I got about 20 years ago. The truck is a Uni, which does have some unique features compared to the others and it came with an I6 but has had a Y-Block since I've owned it.
So, are the aftermarket radiators made incorrectly, is the one in my truck incorrect or is it maybe one of the quarks of a Uni or maybe I6 used a different core support than V8? Product images or descriptions indicate the the same bracket orientation for I6 and V8 so I don't think that is the reason.
The best I can tell from your photos…..
the 65-79 V8 radiators mount with the front flange to the core support just like the mounting you show in your photos. The radiator hose connections are also correct as to side, but I couldn’t say for sure if the dimensions from a center line offset are a perfect match nor that hose connector diameters would be correct - though I think these are minor issues. Some aftermarket suppliers list a lot of details like the dimensions between the four mounting bolts. There are also higher end outfits that will build you a radiator based on the dimensions you provide (going be N of $600 though). I tried to find the paperwork from one I had built that worked perfectly, however my search ended in frustration. Good luck.
I found the original receipt from 2001. Part number 91430ANH (just 91430 in their catalog from the same time) from Melvin's Classic Ford, as a replacement '61-64 Truck V8 radiator. To the best of my recollection, it was identical to the one it replaced. From that, I'm fairly certain that what I have is correct as far as how it fits.
I had the one I got from Christmas re-cored, and put it in my truck, then had the original from my truck re-cored for a spare. I’ll bet I never get around to needing it, though. It is probably wise to up the cooling capacity if your truck had an I-6 , Charlie, and now has a y-block, and you are using the smaller radiator from the six.
Christmas, it will have 20 years of crap since I bought it brand new 20 years ago. It' cools the current engine just fine.
Ibuzzard, I6 and V8 radiators do not interchange because of inlet and outlet positioning. It has had a V8 radiator since I've owned it.
Let's keep it on topic. The question is are the aftermarket radiators made incorrectly, is the one in my truck incorrect or is it maybe one of the quarks of a Uni or maybe I6 used a different core support than V8?
I understand your concern of the mounting flange and I would check that carefully. I can't comment on the 61 type but I bought a Champion radiator for my 60 that the mounting flange was totally wrong. They didn't list one for an Ford 6 but had one for a Chevy conversion which has the same outlets/inlets orientation as a Ford 6. They claimed it fit Chevy V8 or 6 but didn't say what 6. There was no way it would work with the Ford 6 and their flange mounting and I had to do lots of fabricating to make it work. The flange was located to the grill side rather the engine side.
The question is are the aftermarket radiators made incorrectly, is the one in my truck incorrect or is it maybe one of the quarks of a Uni or maybe I6 used a different core support than V8?
I bought an aluminum replacement from RockAuto in the last year for my 1966 F100 w/ an I-6. It's a nice radiator, just right in almost every way. The one exception is the support flange is on the engine side vs the radiator support side. Just like the ones in the pics in this thread. Rather than send it back, I cut a couple pieces of C-Channel steel to fill the gap between radiator flange and the radiator support. Of course, I have to use really long bolts. It was a pain, but it works fine. I don't understand why they all have it backwards.
I think that most of these radiators are to some degree, universal.
I need to order one, and my primary concern is having the outlets in the correct loaction. Secondary to that is finding one that fits the opening.
Making it fit would my the least of my concerns.
They are advertised as direct replacements. Making it fit is not a problem to me, if it is advertised as requires fabrication and ingenuity to be installed and priced accordingly. Nothing I'm considering is advertised like that. They're all direct fit, drop in, supposedly. I dealt with this in May for my Firebird where a "Direct fit, bolt in replacement" was neither direct fit nor bolt in and overpriced considering that. That was too bad because it was a nice looking US made (not cheap) radiator.
vze2c2gb, how wide is the tank on your radiator? Knowing that can help me "figure" things.
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