Restoring 46 1/2T truck. My engine mechanic convinced me that I would be better off with a '55 235 in place of my '46 216. I went with a short shaft water pump for clearance. When all was fitted, I fired up the engine and found I had an overheat problem. Because it was the radiator, had leaks plugged with "stop leak", I decided it would be best to start by working the radiator rather than the engine. A re-core was $500. A new copper radiator was $500. A new aluminum was $250. I have heard that there can be problems with aluminum, but if ity solves my temperature problem, I may later re-core my old radiator. Yes, my logic for costs may be a bit strange, but it works for me.
Here is my problem. The lower port on the AL radiator is 1/2" closer to the core than the port on the copper radiator - the fan blade hits it, stalling the water pump and burning the belt. Engine ran only about 5 seconds before I spotted it. I would like to run a solution past you guys and see what you think. I could put some 1/2" spacers between the radiator mounting flange and the radiator mount frame. This would give me back the original clearance between the port and the ends of the fan blade and still leave about 1" clearance between the fan blade tips and the core. The blades seem pretty ridged - don't look like they will flex forward much when turning at speed. All other clearances seem to work well.
Any thoughts about this?
Bob
