The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop What radiator to use for my new LT1

I'm in the middle of my 51 AD to S-10 frame swap. I'm installing a 93 Vette LT1 in the engine bay. I need to determine what radiator to use and was wondering if anyone here can help me out. Of coarse it needs to be able to cool the 350 but be able to fit in between the fenders. What have others used when they have done the 350 swap?

Thanks
Rick

This is what I have: http://www.walkerradiatorworks.com/

There's several vendors that sell a "Desert Cooler" radiator that's a direct replacement for the original that can handle modern engines and automatics.
Scott

When I did my lt1 swap, I found a fella on ebay that built mine.
I had him move the top rad inlet to the left so it would line up with the motor inlet, then he installed an heater inlet in the right side upper tank. ( I think their are pics down below) along with a trans cooler in the bottom. It's made out of aluminum, so far so good.

His ebay user name is radman1953

I have my local radiator guy building mine. He is starting with an aluminum racing core turned sideways and modifying the tanks.

Scott

I used the "Desert Cooler" Radiator on my 51 and like 48Bigtrucks said it's a direct replacement for the original and it can handle modern engines and automatics.

Todd

The desert cooler looks like the easy way to go. Can I get it in chrome? Also I'm running a 700R tranny so I will need a built in trans cooler, do they make one with a cooler? I will try to search for them tonight on the interent.

Thanks
Rick

Rick: I am in the planning stages of my 51 AD. How is the s-10 swap to do? I have read many different opinions. Some say don't and others say it's the way to go. I am looking to go to SB chev and 700r trans. Please let me know of the pitfalls that you have encountered along they way. I have enough money to do the job "right" the first time BUT NOT enough to do it over again.

Your help is appreciated

Kyle

I dont know if it comes in chrome but I also have a 700R4 in my 51 and the trans cooler is built in the Radiator "it can handle modern engines and automatics".

I am using my stock 55 radiator in mine with a 350 and 700R4. The trans. is cooled thru an aftermarket cooler mounted in front of the radiator.And oh yeah.I installed a shroud behind the radiator which really helps with the cooling.And I use a 165 degree thrmostat.Works out just fine.

Thanks for the input on the radiator ideas.

Kyle

Sorry about the delay. I have been out of town for work and it has caused me to get behind on the important things like working on my truck. So far the AD engineering kit seams to be working for me. The manual (instructions) could be better. It states to reinstall the front components, i.e. radiator support, front fenders, hood..... But now I'm trying to determine where on the S-10 chassis to mount the radiator support brackets. And since everything aligns up with this point, it is critical to get it right. The instructions do not tell you where the support should be mounted.

The quality of the components in the kit is great. Since I had a lot of unforeseen sheet metal work to do, I have gotten behind on my project. I have transferred the cab over to the S-10 Chassis and it went fairly smooth. It looks like the cab sits a little high on the frame , but once I mount the running boards and add all of the heavy items to the truck it will cause it to lower the overall stance of the truck .


Does anyone have any ideas of how I need to determine where my radiator supports need to be placed?

Thanks
Rick

Looks like you need to mount the front sheetmetal to determine the mount placement.




http://www.ad-engineering.com/KitComponents.html

I have not bought one, but for my diesel project I was going to get an Aluminum one from Griffin Radiator, here is a listing for the AD truck one:
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=GRI%2D4%2D548AR%2DAAX&N=700+309431+115&autoview=sku

The aluminum radiators from Griffin have a very factory appearing tank shape, unlike all the other after market aluminum radiators I have seen. Griffin also has a reputation for providing first class products.

I need the inlet and outlet sizes to be slightly larger than stock, but same location, Griffin said no problem if I order from them directly.
I will more than likely have Griffin make my intercooler to fit the space available in front of the radiator. And possibly make the AC condenser too if I can't get a generic one to fit right.

Grigg

Rick, got pictures?
I have heard both positives and negatives on the tranny cooler built in the radiator. I haven't heard any negatives on mounting coolers separate from the radiator. I mounted mine on the frame.

I'll tell you what I did. If you look behind the grill of an AD truck, it has the perfect funnel to direct airflow. I bought a brand new truck radiator, conventional, modern, crossflow 3-core copper/brass, and mounted it directly behind the grill of my truck. I used Coolflex hoses as the upper and lower radiator hoses. Then in the original radiator support, I built a fan shroud out of sheetmetal. I also used the same galvanized sheetmetal to seal up all openings around the radiator, to make the fan shroud more effective. Although I used a spacer and fan clutch with a mechanical 6-bladed Hayden fan, I don't see why you couldn't adapt a good electric fan instead.

It works very well and because the radiator is painted black, you really can't tell it's right behind the grill of the truck. Believe it or not, this was probably half the price of having a modern top-flow radiator made to go into the stock radiator support. I spent a little over $200 bucks, rather than over $500 bucks. So not a bad deal, and I've got a lot more room in front of the engine. Plenty of room for oil coolers, A/C condensers, etc., if I needed them.

I believe that the AC condenser, intercooler, pretty much any other heat exchanger you may have should be in front of your radiator for best results.
I have not noticed any factory instillations with the AC condenser behind the radiator?

Oil and trans cooler could probably be behind the radiator if you had to, as it's best if they stay warm, around 212 or just over, boiling point for water, then the condensation will boil out and go out the vent or breather, but oil should be kept under 250, as that's when oil starts to break down.

Grigg

Grigg,

Excellent choice on the aluminum radiator from Griffin griffin. I have used both those and the walker units with equal success but I favor the Griffin.

Dave

I've had an aluminum radiator before, a Griffin, and had cooling problems on my IROC. The copper/brass radiator did a much better job of cooling...at least in my comparison test.

But aluminum has a strong following and it's probably a matter of opinion.

A/C condensers should go in front of a radiator, but I didn't have one, so that wasn't applicable to me. Plenty of room for that too though.