Tom,
Good looking California truck! Mine, Willard came from San Jose.
I would decide on a radiator first and then go after the air dams. I am set up with the Dodge truck radiator (sbc) with the mounts in the V-8 positon and I used the upper V-8 air dam and fabricated a new lower air dam. If you look in my gallery in the AC installation pix you will see the surface rusty (at that time) lower air dam, easy piece to make. The upper is a bit more challanging to fab. If you look at the underside of your hood, you will see the unused, in your case, set of holes where the V-8 upper dam is fastened. Being that it is located further back in the nose of the hood, it is a slightly longer piece than the 6 cylinder piece.
If I remember correctly I stayed at an Inn in Yountville on a visit to Napa Valley many years ago when I lived out there for several years.

 

my1 1/2 cent is i got a 4 row with trans cooler from sac vintage a few years ago, my 302 runs at 160,im happy with it. personoly ive found better quality at sac than .( some) other places. just my opinion and expereince, yours may be different. have fun and keep on truckin JIMMY PS at the time i think i paid about $350

 

The six cylinder air deflector below the radiator can be trimmed easily enough but in your case you are going the other way. I moved the radiator in my 48 from the V8 holes to the six so I just trimmed off about two inches of it. Depending on which radiator you use the upper one in the hood can be trimmed to fit over the Dodge radiator but if you have a stock type radiator I'm not sure. If you decide to sell your six cylinder below the radiator air deflector I'd be interested since my 49 did not come with one...

 

Sure Vern if I don't use the 6cylinder deflector-I'll let ya know.

Tom

 

Thanks Bill I looked at your gallery photos of the lower V8 air dam and for sure you're correct I can make one. I'm OK with sheet metal work-I've got lots of stock, and something flat with some bent ends etc is certainly doable for a "work truck" type build etc. Maybe someday I'll take it apart and make something really nice, but right now I'm just replacing missing parts etc and doing mechanical plus wiring and getting it solid for road use etc. Sometimes I don't start with a "frame off" really nice build--but I've done that before and sometimes I like to "work my way up to it" and maybe that's what I'm doing. I never know for sure. I may get this running good and then "tear it apart" and do the cosmetics lol. Depends how long I live and how much money I have. Probably not too much of either--old and retired .

Thanks
Tom

 

Hey Guys,
This is shawn from Cool Craft. I stumbled upon this. Just wanted to let you know that our copper/brass and aluminum radiators are made by U.S. Radiator. We even have the shroud/electric fan combos that we will mount for you. And if you sign up for our newsletter, you'll get a 5% off coupon for your first order. Sorry if sounds like a sales pitch, but since both U.S. Radiator and Cool Craft were suggested, I thought I'd share how to save some cash.

Anyways, if you have any question, feel free to ask. I'm glad I found this forum since I got a '40 ford truck sitting outside my office that needs a ton of work :-)

shawn

 

I got that radiator support et al moved to the V8 position. I haven't got the replacement radiator+ yet, but I replaced all to see how it should fit and with the existing fan and existing spacer it seems to fit just great. Once i get the actual replacement radiator I may need to make some sort of adjustment, but it all looks so much more doable now. Before, when it was located in the 6 cylinder position, it was a great distance to the fan.

 

What is the core size of your original radiator ?

Do the aftermarket ones measure the same dimensions or smaller ?

Nice looking truck.

Tom

 

Thanks. Glad you like the truck. The radiator is OEM I guess and the core measures w21" h21.5". And some of the available replacements look to be the same core size--NPD--catalog comes to mind. And they along with all the others have quite a few variations. Sacramento Vintage Ford has some nice looking pricey units that appear somewhat OEM looking but move the inlet/outlets etc to your needs. Nice. And also have auto tranny coolers built in etc. But they cost a lot of course. I'm kinda leaning towards the NPD unit that is the cheapest --Not sure of their current price but my catalog old? maybe says something like $330 for a OEM type replacement thats "bolts in" etc. as needed but I guess is more modern tank etc.--whatever, but not vintage looking. The OEM unit cooled the 312Y block just fine, but now its starting to come apart.