My 1948 Chevy ½ ton truck served as a county road department vehicle in the high desert of Nevada. The previous owner replaced the original 216 c.i. engine with a rebuilt 1955 235 c.i. truck engine. The original radiator is long gone. The current radiator in use is a Harrison, stamped R-11 with 49A (1949 January production) on the driver side. The passenger side is stamped 3118967. The radiator cap is an after-market that reads DO NOT OPEN HOT and OPEN SLOWLY. They all work well together–no complaints from me. I hope I am not jinxing myself with this post!
I am striving for originality. What radiator and cap would this truck have left the Oakland assembly line with April 1948? Would a work truck in the Nevada high desert been outfitted with a different radiator and cap? What radiator and cap would the 235 c.i. truck engine been paired with coming off the assembly line in 1955?
The current radiator in use is a Harrison, stamped R-11 with 49A (1949 January production) on the driver side. The passenger side is stamped 3118967.
Revisit your part number on the radiator tank and see if the last number isn't an '8'. If so you have a replacement radiator one year newer than your truck.
What's the build month on the truck (part of the cowl serial number)? The only difference in what you have 3118968 and what you're looking for is the date code. The radiator date code should be the same month or a month or two older than the truck assembly date code to be correct in high point judging.
Mike B
Mike Boteler
1956 Chevy 3100 Resto Rod 1952 Willys M38 Army Jeep 1983 Jeep CJ7 Laredo 1984 Jeep CJ7 +++++ Silver Spring, MD
The part number you list (3118967) is not found in any of my parts books, so I won't be any help in ID'ing what it came out of...the correct radiator part number for your truck is 3118968 if that helps.
Mike B
Mike Boteler
1956 Chevy 3100 Resto Rod 1952 Willys M38 Army Jeep 1983 Jeep CJ7 Laredo 1984 Jeep CJ7 +++++ Silver Spring, MD
How can you be striving for originality when you have a 1948 truck with a 1955 engine? At this point what difference does it make what the part number on the radiator is? The most important part under the hood (the engine) is already incorrect so worrying about what radiator is "correct" seems pointless.
Last edited by Otto Skorzeny; 04/11/20221:40 PM.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
1948 1/2 ton truck w/ 216 engine. Radiator had a 0 psi cap. Double ear. 1955 1/2 ton truck w/ 235 engine. Radiator had a 4 psi cap. Double ear. General wisdom is that old radiators can't take a lot of pressure and may rupture. If what you have is working well, general wisdom says, don't mess with it.
The 1950 Chevrolet MPL (Master Parts List) calls for a radiator 3118968 for 1947-50. Harrison could have made a radiator 3118967 that fit Chevrolet trucks and other applications. Harrison stamped the number in the upper radiator tank, not GM, so a Harrison radiator manual is needed.
Last edited by buoymaker; 04/12/20225:02 AM.
"Adding CFM to a truck will only help at engine speeds you don't want to use." "I found there was nothing to gain beyond 400 CFM."
