V-8 swap radiator?
 

Lookin for opinions.
I'll be swappin an 89 TPI305/700r4 into my 98 Sonoma, (hopefully soon...) and was lookin for different options and experiences with radiators.

Lookin at a BeCool radator but it's close to 800 bucks! (2 row auto trans style)

Link;
http://www.naparts.com/ProductDetail.cfm?ProductId=1177

I used one made by Superior radiator for my 87 back in 95? when I did the swap. It was a good quality radiator and cooled good once I built a shroud for it. But it was a copper/brass "forward" mount style, (no AC truck), and this time I'm lookin more along the lines of keeping the AC and using an aluminum rad.

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

I have used both the stock 4.3L rad and the mid-late 80's vette rad. An electric two speed fan from a ford taurus helps alot too. They pull an unbelievable amount of air.

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

I've heard of the Taurus fan but forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder.

I just can't see a 4.3 rad working out very good. But since I have one of those I'll have to try it out first.
It might work better than I think for a 305.

Should be easy to mount!

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

Yup, mid-late 80s corvette radiator. I bought one to put in the core support, but may sell it, because I'm going to stick with the 4.3L in the orginal location and run a mechanical fan.

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

I'll probably slide the motor toward the rear and down as much as absolutely possible and put the radiator as close to stock location as possible.

That's the way I did the motor on my 87 but the radiator was positioned in the support. I ran a long waterpump and an 1-1/2 inch spacer for a 19in Flex-a-lite fan. Then I built a shroud out of two Toyota pickup shrouds and some extra sheet metal.

Is the vette rad you guys are referring to the one that's recomended in the JTR manual?

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

I probly shouldn't admit this but i have never looked at the jtr manual. But i believe it would be the same.
As for the 4.3 rad i used one in my 85 blazer with a 11:1 460hp 406 sbc. It worked awesome, better than the rad i originally had built for it.
Heres a pic of the vette rad in the forward position with the taurus fan as the truck was going together. This was using the trans dapt 4689 mounts and hedman longtubes.
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...dtaurusfan.jpg

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

The Vette rad is the one refered to in the JTR book. The last time I looked up the price it ran about $195.00. It is supposed to be a bolt in.

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

Its a little shorter height wise than a 4.3 rad. Makes it fit forward in the rad support alot easier.

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

Not reading the JTR manual isn't anything to be ashamed of. Believe me, they're not "all" they think they are. Don't get me wrong, they do have some good info in there, but some info is totally off the wall.

Your 11:1 406 was probably not a DD though right?
My 87 was my DD. 22mpg at its best with a 328!

Sittin at stoplights every block for what seems like miles in 100+ degree weather is when the temp on my 87 would raise to an uncomfortable level. It climbed as high as 240 a couple times. (Anything above 200 I don't like)
One other time it got "warm" was while cruising through Bear Country USA in SD. The wife, me, and an 80lb Rottweiler in the cab, (with the windows up), putting through a croud of black bears! Hahaha
I want AC next time! LOL

I won't be using kit motor mounts. Seems like all of them, (that I've seen anyway), wanna sit the motor way high and to far forward. And on top of that most of 'em wanna use 2.8 mounts!
I used normal ol clamshell small block mounts and redrilled the holes in the clamshells to lower the motor as much as possible. I still had room under the oil pan, used a HD starter, and 168 tooth flywheel. (Which, BTW, JTR says can't be done). The waterpump shaft was almost dead center in the radiator.

After driving it a few years, I tried a set of Hedman shorty headers. The ones that wrap around the steering shaft. My motor sat way to low and to far back for the Hedmans to even come close to workin.





This time I'm shootin for an AC truck so the radiator will have to be in the stock location. Or real close to it. I might be able to "fudge" it forward a little though.

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

How "thick" is that Taurus fan/shroud?

I just found this on Ebay;
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/S10-V...23100085QQrdZ1

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

'Vette radiator, mounted IN the core support, using dual fans from uh....I wanna say Fleetwood or Eldorado, which ever one had the Northstar. Wire them both to kick on around 170, cut the center section(you know, the part that holds the hood latch)out of the core support and notch it, get some angle iron and make some brackets to hold the AC condensor IN the new notched area, mount two of the biggest pushers on it you can find. And you can have AC and sit at stop lights.

Oh, and cermic coated headers are a godsend too.

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

Here are those fans I was talking about...

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/d..._mrt/fans2.jpg

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

Ya sayin 4 fans?

(using dual fans from uh....I wanna say Fleetwood or Eldorado, and mount two of the biggest pushers on it you can find)

Forward clearance probably won't be a problem. The motor will get "pushed" back as far as humanly possible. (No "kit" mounts)

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

Thats 1-2-3....4? Yep four fans I said.

Keep in mind this is for a daily...and I mean snow, rain, 110+ degree days, sitting at red lights with the AC on kind of daily. run that set up and you shouldnt have a problem running warm. And dont run a 160 'stat, run a 180. And if you use the tranny cooler in the radiator, put in inline cooler. The ones from Jegs/Summit for $30-60 that mount on a fram[e] rail work best. And metal lines, they're smaller, dont leak, and they will dissapate heat quicker than rubber.

Re: V-8 swap radiator?
 

Hahaha, well that should do it alright!

I ran a 160 stat during the summer on my last truck and would do it on this one too if it was gonna be built and carbed. This one will be a stone stock TPI 305 and I'll probably use a 170 stat.

It'll have a B&M trans cooler mounted in front of the radiator/ ac condensor somewhere probably. It'll be all hardline with maybe a little rubber at the cooler in/out.