If anyone happens to have a stock 48-52 radiator laying around, I need to know how wide and how tall it is including the brackets that hold it. I am trying to find a radiator of similar proportions or one that will fit my 48 core support in the same space with as little fabrication as possible. It looks like a mid 60s Mustang or mid 70s Dodge truck may fit. I can't get to my truck right now as the garage is snowed in and it's 13 below zero outside. Thanks.

 

the side to side with the bracket is 28 1/2 inches. The top to bottom with the bracket is 30 1/2 inches, this does not include the radiatior cap. if you find one that works could you post it on here what vehicle you got it out of cause i think i am going to need to get one for my 302.
Matt

 

Matt,

Thanks. Can you give the the same measurements without the brackets? What I'm finding is that some of the radiator dimensions given are for the core only excluding the brackets. Is your 302 a left or right side water pump outlet?

 

I came up with different dimensions than Matt on the stock V8 rad. I got 28" high not counting the neck/cap, 22 1/2" wide incl the wrap around bracket support. Core is 21" wide. Mounting ears on the bracket extend about 1" =/- and run from 4" to 17" measured from the rad bottom.

Does this make it worse?

 

Tim,

Okay, so you get 28 inches wide and 21 inches tall...and that's for the core only...right? The height isn't any problem, but finding a width close to 28 is the tough part. Most of the Mustang radiators seem to be 16 to 18 inches wide...quite narrower than the original. The Dodge truck radiators from the 70s are a bit larger. The closest one I've found so far is for a 79 Dodge D-100 pickup with 318 V8 at 18" wide and 26" tall. The outlets are on the top left and lower right which would work fine for my engine, but I'm going to do a little more research and see if I can find one a bit wider and with more Ford friendly outlet placements. I'd like to find one somewhere around 25 inches wide.

 

I took my measurements off of my stock straight 6 but than i compared them to my stock v-8 and they were the same and without the brackets i get the same that tim got and I dont have my motor yet one of my dads friends has an 87 grand marquis that i can have with the running 302 so i have yet to look at it to see what side the outlet is on.
Matt

 

Tim,

CORRECTION! I just found out the reason I can't find any radiators wide enough is I've been reading the charts wrong. That means the Mustang radiators are 16 to 18 inches tall...not wide and and the 23 inches would be very close on the width. The Dodge truck radiator I mentioned before would be 26 inches wide and 18 inches tall so 28 x 21 for the original is close. Sorry for the confusion on the sizes. I'll keep searching...

 

This post reminds me of Gwilkers. He was trying to find a radiator to fit his 48-52. I wonder if he ever found one......

 

Whatever happened to Gwilly? I haven't seen any posts from him in awhile...

 

Vern,

Mine measures 20 9/16 wide without the brackets. When I bought the truck the radiator had a Dodge emblem on it but I have no idea wht year it was from. Therefore a Dodge will fit. The original F1 brackets were soldered on and it was a perfect fit.
Hope this helps

 

I've come up with two likely candidates for a 48-52 radiator replacement...

One is originally for a 75 Dodge D-100 pickup. It's a four row radiator used with a 5.9 liter V8 and the core measurements are 26 1/4 wide by 18 tall. Compare that to 28 wide by 21 tall for the original and it's close. The hose connections are top left (1 1/2 inch hose) and bottom right (1 3/4 inch hose). This hose arrangement should work well for Ford engines with a passenger side mounted lower hose (like 289 and some 302s), Chebby engines, and possibly others.

The second one is originally for a 1970 Ford F-100...if you like to keep it all Ford. It's also a four row radiator used with 5.9 liter V8 and the core measures 26 1/4 wide and 19 1/4 tall. The hose connections are top right (1 3/4 inch hose) and bottom left (2 inch hose) which should work well for Ford engines with a driver's side mounted lower hose. Both of these being 4 row truck radiators should cool most any engine and since the core dimensions are slightly smaller than the original 48-52, bridging the gap between the radiator and the original core support should be easy with a little bracketry work.

I hope this has been of some help. My eyes are a little weary from looking at radiator charts..