Thread: Radiator

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What radiator have you used in what street rod with what modifications, if necessary. I am currently putting a 305 sbc in a '31 Chevy and can't see spending $450+ for an after market, custon radiator if there is something off the shelf or out of the salvage yard if it will just as well. Please?

Some of the guys on here have suggested that a '65 Mustang radiator will work in a '32 ford grille shell, so it might also work on your Chevy.

I also have seen that the early Mustang radiator was used on some rods, but for the sbc the inlet and outlet are on the wrong sides and the hose connections are too small. I am just amazed that there has not been a lot more discussion and research on what will work in what. There have been a kajillion radiators built in the past 74 years !

Sorry guy, but this is one of the places where you gotta bite the bullet. There really is nothing that fits a 31 Chevy except a 31 Chevy rad or an aftermarket radiator. I have been building hotrods forever, and I know. I refuse to pay the horrendous price charged by the aftermarket in Canada (there is no aftermarket producers in Canada, only stuff imported from USA.), and it ends up costing twice as much as you pay in the states. Generally I take my grill shell down to the radiator shop, and hunt around through all of their "left over" top and bottom tanks untill I find something the correct width and thickness, with a cooling loop for the automatic tranny in the bottom tank, and then get them to put in a new core and move the inlets/outlets around to suit. This still ends up costing me about $400, but if I buy an aftermarket rad it costs me between $500 and $800