[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

I was just looking at the radiator situation last night and what to do with it. I have a 94 donor truck and contemplated using the radiator and intercooler out of it. It would just not look as clean as a direct replacement as it is about 40+ inches long and thats at the bottom where it indents in for the intercooler ducts coming through the core support and I would also have to modify the core support bracing. I would like to use the intercooler from the 94 but it is going to be really close height wise. It is 16 inches tall and I have about 18 inches between the hood latch and the frame rails but this is with the 2 inch body lift threw in that was with the truck(I think I am set on running a 1 inch body lift, although I do not want to, to help with clearances like you mentioned) so I will end up with 17 inches between the hood latch and the frame rails. If it will work out i think my best bet is to run an aluminum replacement radiator and the 94 intercooler.

I think it would be worth alot of "noodle time" to figure out how to make the stock radiator and intercooler work. Benefits are: you already own it (you will be dumping plenty of money elsewhere in this thing before you are done), it has the correct size hose nipples on it, if you place it correctly you can use stock radiator hoses (do NOT underestimate how nice this little fact is--seriously), but what might be the biggest advantage is you can use the fan shroud that is offset for your fan mount and already the correct diameter for the fan you already have (another biggie in my opinion). Another board member, 72 tigger did it and I think it looks very clean (I really like how he solved the problem of the radiator cap being under the core support upper rail--very cool idea--[hint, steal this idea]). If you look closely you can see that he modified the hood latch for some extra clearance: (study this pic for a while, then let me know how you are going to do this with your parts)

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

I threw the core support and radiator in the truck last night to get a feel where the drive train needs to end up, front to back anyway. It looks like where I have it currently front to back is about right as my fan clutch is about 2-2.5 inches from the radiator and the rear of the head is about 1-1.5 inches from the recess in the cab.

I would set the motor further back. I have less than an inch of clearance to the firewall. Every little bit you can keep up front will help when you figure out how to put the cool pack from the Dodge in your truck.

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

I can't do much about side to side as I am using the 2nd gen Dodge mounts and it gives me about 3/16 of an inch between the mount and the boxed frame on each side. Now I think that I am just stuck on the top to bottom location. Last night was one of those nights where I just stood around and stared at everything and I felt stuck or maybe overwhelmed trying to get everything to work in such a tight space.

Ha, ha, man!! You're just getting started. Come talk to me when you get to the end and you only have big stuff left and only small places to put it!! My windshield washer reservoir has to be filled with a transmission funnel because I ran out of space before I ran out of things to install. Seriously, if I had a dime for every minute I stared at mine without doing anything other than thinking, I would have made money on the project long before it was done. You at least have a guide to direct you.

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

How did your bracket for the a/c work for you? I will go this route as well if I can figure out what to do with the water inlet as it seems to run into the frame and the belt routing.

It worked out well for me, but I recommend that you do not use it. When you adapt the cool pack from the Dodge to your truck (notice I said "when", not "if") you will use the hoses from the Dodge. The water inlet I used will create more headaches for you than it is worth. The biggest one is going to have to do with alternator mounting and belt routing. What you have works, keep it simple. Don't reinvent something that can be made to work.

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

Since I am boxing the entire frame I might just take out a recess in the rail and box it all up so that it looks clean and smooth.

Ding, ding, ding!!! This is what is going to make your life much easier than mine was at this point in the project.

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

Then comes that extra idler pulley. Any advice or work around for not having to custom make some bushings and brackets for it? I've already made many custom brackets and plan to make many more but I'm not sure this is one I want to tango with.

My advice is keep what you have and make it work in its new home. There are several benefits to keeping what you have. The BIGGEST and most important is you can go into any parts house and telll them you have a '94 Dodge and you need an alternator or an a/c compressor or a belt tensioner. Think I can do that?? My alternator is Freightliner, my a/c compressor is Peterbilt, my tensioner is Kenworth. There is some crossover from brand to brand, but do you think I am going to be able to find this stuff in a parts store?? I will have to carry spares (which I do of some of the parts) or find a heavy truck parts house to get the goods. Not an ideal situation, but it is made better slightly because these parts are built to last compared to the light truck stuff, but still.

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

Did you use the mounting point on the side of the 205 to help support it? If its in your thread I must have missed it after reading it the past 10 times!!

No, you didn't miss it. I did not use it.

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

Thanks for the help! You're saving me a lot of money and stress with your thread and your help.

I'm glad, seriously. I know what you are going through and I'll admit there were many times I wished that I could ask someone how to do this or that or at least see a pic of how someone else did it. This is no small project.

Originally Posted by dfairchild19

I might try to make my own build thread if I can find the time to give all of the info of my work to this point.

Do it now. You will thank me when you are done. I think this thread reset me at least a half-dozen times. When you get further in and you have to choose what to work on today and you are trying to pick from, well, everything, sometimes someones post or question is all it takes to re-center yourself in the project and press on. Sometimes just going back through and looking at what you have done so far is helpful in maintaining forward progress.