The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 37 chevy radiator

Hi, I posted awhile back looking for a split bench seat for my '37 Chevy 1/2 ton. A pretty nice guy from Columbia, Mo. had a good
set so I made an 1100 mile round trip one day to pick that up.
Now my problem is a small leak in the radiator. Looking through the forums here it seems the recommended procedure is to remove
the whole front clip. The shop manual claims you can simply tilt the radiator back and it will lift out. Not a chance.
I also have a small drip in the water pump to block gasket so I pulled the water pump and fan and then there was plenty of room to
remove the radiator. So anyone removing a radiator may find it easier to remove the water pump than the whole front clip.
Like everything involving an 83 year old truck, a gasket replacement evolves into replacing the water pump and re-coring the radiator.
I should name this thing "The Money Pit" but I'm sure I'm not alone.
John

Burchmanor, just finished my 37 a couple months ago. Installed a new radiator core and new water pump. Had pump nose shaved down to get enough clearance for fan as I installed a 57 235. Good luck with your work ahead of you.

I'm too lazy to walk out to the shop to get my shop manual, but I'm pretty sure it mentions you can remove the radiator by removing the water pump and thermostat housing first, then lifting the radiator out. I think if you remove the support rods from the cab and top of the radiator shell, it'll come out. My '37 has a pretty fair leak in it that's keeping me from driving it anywhere. I'm trying to decide if it's enough of an "emergency" to justify taking to it a radiator shop in these covid-19 lockdown times. I wouldn't remove the front clip, although it doesn't look too hard to do.

Now mine has a 250 engine that sets a little lower, but I can my radiator out by removing the V-support rod, the water pump, and thermostat housing. I have done with the hood on and off. Cap the inlet and outlet with rubber bands and sandwich bags so you don't pour coolant on the engine or yourself. Have a helper because its quite a lean over the fenders and the radiator is fairly heavy when you are in that position. I have heard it comes out the same way with original engines. The hardest part is getting the fan blades off. Use heavy cardboard taped over the core so you don't damage the fins.
I would avoid pulling the front clip unless you have other work, it involves wiring to the lights, fender braces, and fender to running board. Any one of these can really slow you down if they haven't been apart before. But if you decide to pull the clip, replace the core support bushing while its apart. You also have to readjust the V-rod so the hood gaps look right, so you may want to mark where the nuts are on the engine side.

Actually, I removed the pump with the fan attached. Two of the fan bolts are almost impossible to get at.