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The previous owner had a f--- radiator mounted in front of the radiator frame. We put a new 350 crate engine in and we measured from the frame to the water pump and got 4 and 1/4 inches. We want to put an aluminum radiator with an electric fan and shroud. Not much room to do this if the rad is mounted in the normal position. Any suggestions on how to do this, or anybody who encountered similar problem. Which radiators will fit with the 350 conversion.

sorry 53 halfton

I have a Chevy 350 in my 54 ... put a Walker Z-Cool rad in with a 16" electric fan last year and I'm REAL happy with the way it's operating.

I had some problems at first, with a circuit breaker -- the fan was drawing ridiculous power ... but when I wired it all up right, using a fusible link, the fan kicks in and my battery smiles.

Check out all my notes here:
Walker Z-Cool Radiator

[b]Wiring an Electric Fan with 2 Relays[/b]

Mount the radiator in the stock position and pu the fan in front of the radiator

Here in Germany we have companies that weld a modern net in your old radiator.

I have a special "tropic" net welded in the 41 Radiator. So it bolts right back without any modification.

The modern nets ar cooling much better and there is no need for electric fans or shrouds.

Frank

Went to the Good Guys show in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, saw a bunch of ways they solved the radiator, shroud, electric fan, not much room problem. Chevy trucks were well represented in the thousands of cars, rods ,and pickups there. Saw the radiator mounted in front , behind, ultered radiator frames, etc. Thanks to all who replied!!

Yes, I've seen some good solutions at the latest car show I went to. Most of the guys were having their low-pressure radiator recored with a high pressure, 4-core. Then if you use old-fashioned V-belts and a short water pump, you have room to use a mechanical fan with fan clutch. This is obviously the most trouble free method. Still, I would put an auxiliary pusher fan in the front to switch on manually if you're stuck in traffic and can't get the engine to rev high enough to trigger the mechanical fan.

What I'm going to do is slightly different. I like how trucks can idle forever and never overheat...the modern trucks. They do this with much larger, thicker radiators. I want to mount one of these right behind the truck's grill, where the sheetmetal flares out. Then the sheetmetal behind the grill acts as part of a great fan shroud, and that leaves you all kinds of room to put an auxiliary puller fan behind the radiator. Then all you need is some flat sheetmetal and cut it to the shape to complete the fan shroud, and you've got it. I thought the cavernous area above the shroud, where the old radiator used to rise up, could be used for both a cold air intake for the carb, and for access to the radiator cap. Although it'd be a little twisted getting to the cap, a funnel with an extension (like a hose or something) could be inserted in the radiator when you need to fill it.

Know what I mean, or is that confusing?
I've got electric fans on the IROC daily driver, with a 350 in it, 4400 cfm. They do the job, but I had to install a huge 140 amp alternator that cop cars use. If I had room, I'd much rather have a mechanical fan, because they're more trouble free. Thermostatic switches always fail, and I always end up having to use the "panic switch" I've got wired in parallel.