The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop New Radiator too wide to fit frame on my 64

Help! Please? I got a radiator last Wed and today found that this thing is way too wide to fit down into the frame of my 64. I got to thinking I just got the wrong one and got out my catalog looking to see if I made a mistake ordering or what.

Well I see that pretty much all the radiators list for a 63-66 are pretty much 25 ¼ wide. Well my frame only had like 23 ½ worth of space. The only radiator I see that might be anything close is one for a 60-62 that would be 21 ¾ wide, of course that one is too tall. I have looked at four diff places and see the same sizes and nothing that that would fit down into my chassis and not been too tall.

The only thing I know to do is to notch the frame of my truck maybe 7/8 to 1 inch to make the hole large enough to get the radiator to go on down into the frame and fit. I am putting a 327 back into this thing so a large radiator is going to help but I am totally lost as to what to try.

Am I just looking in the wrong place for a radiator or should I notch my frame? I would not think about an inch out on each side would weaken it any to cause me any worries but what do I know… Have any of you guys with a 64 to 66 ran into this sort of thing and have any suggestions for me?

Any help would be greatly appreciated..

I have a 63 and my frame rails are like yours. I needed more rad, but I went junk yard huntin for my new one. The one I found that worked had 68 Torino wrote in yellow across it. I bet I know who you ordered it from, somebody else was cursin a particular aftermarket company out tonight. Did you happen to order your rad from them? Man I better "L"eave the"M" alone.

I dont see how the notching will hurt (other than to a purist). The only thing out there is the bumper and it also holds your cap up. I would say it "would" make a hit in the side which catches your bumper, possibly bend the frame sideways easier at that point. (but if that happens you will have much worse troubles than straightening the frame)
I would see if I could get a refund before I cut.
If you aren't worried about it being stock consider an aluminum. It will definitely make the 327 happy.

the six radiator sits in the frame & the v8 rad is on top of the frame, you may be trying to put a v8 rad in the six spot

Thanks guys..

SuperDuke, I would love to have a custom aluminum, but I would have to borrow some money to do that. Or y'all would have to take pity on me and take up a collection.

Brian, Do you know how tall a 6cy radiator is as opposed to a 8cy? Any chance you would have a photo of how that 8cy sitting on the frame looks so I could see how to make one fit? I am kind of wondering if I could still notch the frame to make it go on down in there. I would think the fan would line up better in the middle of the rad if the thing went on down?

The two different radiators require different mounts. The v-8 lower mounts sit on the upper part of the cross member and has an off set upper hold down that's different than the one that would mount the six cylinder's. You may have to go junk yarding to get that upper hold down, unless it's available in the reproduction world,
Scott

If you look at the frame crossmember that holds the rad, you can see it has two sets of square holes fo rthe rad mounts. Both rads are similar in height due to the upper bracket being diff-the six rad mounts lower, so the upper bracket is straight, the V8 upper bracket is offset.

you could make the upper bracket for the v8 radiator, i did it was pretty easy and looks good. i used i think it was 3" wide flat stock. heated it for the bends and was able to use the original rubber inside it. the original ones are a little pricy on ebay. you can also just move the lower brackets into the proper location for that rad. hr