I bought a new rad that "fits" my truck from eBay. Here's a pix showing my new rad and my old one. The new one is taller, so I need a new upper hose. The new one has larger inlet and outlets. The new one does not have the sloped bottom corners. The flanges on each side have the correct holes and they are properly spaced.
Since the inlet and outlets are smaller than what they should be, I'm wondering if my original rad was not really original...
BTW, I don't have an automatic. so I'm just ignoring the ports at the bottom. Should they be plugged?
Plug them, unless you want a good nesting spot for dirt dauber.
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
Looks similar to the Champion rad I tried ordering that was supposed to fit our ‘53 but definitely did not. The rad support that goes over the top would have had to be chopped up and the side pieces were welded on out of place. I ended up ordering from elsewhere and it fit and works great. The newer year rads had slightly larger openings so most replacements seem to follow that. The lower stock hose worked fine but I had to shop around a little for a section of hose that worked for the top. A local FLAPS took the old upper hose and compared it to a bunch of hoses they had in stock and found one that worked.
I found a Gates #20573 worked for the upper hose. Cut the widened end off and cut the long end to fit. Used the band saw to cut the hose; easier than using a knife and made a nice square cut.
Filled the mud dauber holes with earplugs.
Our closest FLAPS didn't have 5/16" rubber hose for the overflow tank - don't know why - seems like a common item to stock. I can get some from Rock Auto if the other FLAPS don't have it.
Too late for you now, but I have bought 2 aluminum radiators from eBay which had top tanks which are very similar to the original brass ones. They fit just like the originals and if you paint them black, it is hard to tell that they are not original. I don't know about the hose fitment for the inline six since I had V8s. I don't know who sells them. I just searched '47-'54 radiators and scrolled until I saw the one with the stock looking top tank and the $199.00 price tag.
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
Looks similar to the Champion rad I tried ordering that was supposed to fit our ‘53 but definitely did not. The rad support that goes over the top would have had to be chopped up and the side pieces were welded on out of place. I ended up ordering from elsewhere and it fit and works great. The newer year rads had slightly larger openings so most replacements seem to follow that. The lower stock hose worked fine but I had to shop around a little for a section of hose that worked for the top. A local FLAPS took the old upper hose and compared it to a bunch of hoses they had in stock and found one that worked.
