Hi guys, have a question on radiators, I have been running through the posts and my head hurts there are so many.
I took my stock radiator to AAA Radiator here in Redmond, WA and he tells me the radiator is shot and needs recoring, get another for $300+.
My radiator is original but he didnt tell me a cost to repair, I dont care if its an original or not, just dont want my six to overheat like it did last summer.
I have looked at aluminum ones ebay and other places and prices run all over the place.
I have found one here locally at:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/pts/3637402665.html
and wonder if getting an aluminum off ebay is the better choice.
Can anyone offer their expertise to me.
Cheers.
John

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Psychics will soon lead dogs to your body!

1963 Dodge Dart 270 convertible

Well no expert here but I had mine recored for about 125 bucks.

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If only I had the time to do what I want to do instead of what I have to do!

I was faced with the same dilemma replace, or recore when the white stuff and leaks started show. My radiator guy advised to replace, even after a recore the tanks and spouts are now thinner then when that old part was made, and an aftermarket part will be cheaper. I got an all brass unit from here in less than a week shipped from California to Maine that bolted right up. The only difference from the original radiator was the angle of the lower hose attachment that required an aftermarket hose with a 90 degree elbow for a better fit.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

I was faced with the same dilemma replace, or recore when the white stuff and leaks started show. My radiator guy advised to replace, even after a recore the tanks and spouts are now thinner then when that old part was made, and an aftermarket part will be cheaper.

I got an all brass unit from here in less than a week shipped from California to Maine that bolted right up. The functional difference from the original radiator was the angle of the lower hose attachment that required an aftermarket hose with a 90 degree elbow for a better fit.

The only thing I would have done differently with hind sight is to have ordered the larger size that an air conditioned car would have come with. Where my slant is hopped-up, and putting out V8 power, on hot days, (for Maine that is) 85*+, she tends to run temperature gage on the far right side of normal out on the interstate at 3000+ rpm, and a larger radiator would cure that.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

Thanks for the input guys.
I am calling around to several online radiator stores and local here, Napa and Oreillys and they dont even list one for the 63.
I looked at the radiator listed above on craigslist and found it was for a 72 225. The radiator box itself was same size as mine but the mounting tabs on the right was much larger, some 4-5" out while mine is < 2".
The bottom inlet was also a bit shorter and at a more straight out line where mine is more curved up.
Anyone been able to adapt a later model radiator to the earlier year cars?
Thanks again.
John

_________________
Psychics will soon lead dogs to your body!

1963 Dodge Dart 270 convertible

That '72 radiator has a wide mounting flange because the radiator support would also take a 22" unit for the V-8 engine available for the '72s

I've been told that the sawzall is your friend! Just cut as much sheetmetal as you need to fit the radiator you get without damaging anything else that you want to keep.

I don't much like that approach, and am shopping for a replacement 19" radiator now. My new '64 Dart /6 has the narrow radiator, but the 273 engine was available that year. I'm not sure if my radiator support has the wider opening, or if Mopar opened up that hole that year. I should be able to find out over the weekend.

Any other input is welcome.

ATB

BC

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'64 Dart GT convertible, 64 Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust (the Az Dart) & a sixty THREE Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust. (future project)
Early Dart Disorder (EDD) is real, and I've got it!

Thanks 64ragtop. It looks like it will work if I cut some off. It looks like getting a new hose will be a challenge. Also the trans cooler connections are not as far apart so I would have to redo some transmission lines.
The 63 only had the /6 so Ill be looking forward to what you find out this weekend.

Cheers.

_________________
Psychics will soon lead dogs to your body!

1963 Dodge Dart 270 convertible

BTW anyone have any experiences with this radiator company:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Row-All-Alumi ... 152083046&

John

_________________
Psychics will soon lead dogs to your body!

1963 Dodge Dart 270 convertible

An aluminum radiator is the way to go if your not worried about being origanal, most replacement radiators are now aluminum,I have a radiator cataloge at my shop that has demensions & pictures I can look through it monday and let you know monday night if there is somthing that would work, what is your core demension & where is the upper radiator hose neck

Hey SCSL6. sorry I spaced the weekend and we had a super sunny day here today!
the dimensions for the radiator are 17" across, 21.5" talll, the mounting flange holes are 21.5" CL to CL. The top tank is 4" wide while the radiator itself is 1.5" wide.
The upper hose connects on the right side (passenger side) and the lower is also on the right side (passenger side). The lower pipe comes out and up to the passenger side. The bottom pipe is about 1.5" from the right side of the radiator (passerger side).
The transmission lines are on the bottom and are 10" apart.
Hope this provides some useful information.
Thanks for the help.
John

_________________
Psychics will soon lead dogs to your body!

1963 Dodge Dart 270 convertible

Ill look tomarrow, problem is finding one with the upper neck on the right side, I had to use a left side neck with a differant hose

I looked through my Spectra Premium catalog, nothing will be a direct fit, I used there #CU959 in my 81 cordoba the core size with out tanks is 18"Hx26"W so you would have to cut about 4.5" off each side of your rad. support opening, mounting points are about 30". I had to cut about 2" off each side of mine don't no if you will have enought room in your 63 dart but if you do it will never overheat. If you want to see a pic of it go to summit racing .com & put in part # it's $150. If that one is to wide look at #CU981 this fits a 90 Dakota its 17.5Hx21.5W you would only have to cut about 2" on each side and is $110 I was going to use the wide version of this rad in my car, then I found the CU959, you would have to make up some lower mounts for this one it has 2 posts that come straight off the bottom tank I was going to use 2 peices of 90 angle drill a hole in each one for the rubber bushing mount that I think comes with the rad and weld or bolt it to the rad support, the top uses to bolts through the support like you have now. Both of these you will need to replace the upper hose because it is towards the left side of the upper tank, I used a flexable hose with a 90 bend at the rad. Like I said if you don't mind that it's not original and you can do a little fab work I don't think you will be dissapointed installing one of them, mine looks pretty original in my car because the old copper brass one had skinny tanks like the aluminum one most people wouldn't no it was replaced, your's has the bigger tanks so one of these will look a little out place under your hood

I used a champion radiator for a 72 Charger in my 65 Barracuda. It fit really well but did require some work to get everything where it needed to be.

The outlet on the water pump is 1.5 inches and on the radiator 1.75 so I needed an adapter. Second the lower radiator port is on the drivers side versus the passenger side. So I need to use Silicon Rubber hose to guide it. I the used a 90 at the end to turn into the radiator.

The radiator works awesome and keeps everything very cool even with Air conditioning going.

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2006 Jeep Commander
2013 Chrysler 200

1964 Valiant 4 Door
1965 Plymouth Barracuda
1967 Chevy Camaro

Thanks for the input guys. What a pain. Figure right now that the weather here in Seattle area is still below 50 and I have body work to do and while the radiator is down I want to pull the engine and work on it and the tranny to fix leaks.
Keep yall posted.
Cheers.
John

_________________
Psychics will soon lead dogs to your body!

1963 Dodge Dart 270 convertible

Matt Cramer has a write-up on using an F-body radiator in a '63-66 A-body. I basically followed this when my original radiator developed cracks in the upper tank. A recore wouldn't have helped.

Unfortunately, the current cooling system (Aspen radiator, two electric fans, small chin spoiler, etc.) doesn't perform as well under load as I would like. I'm looking at a better radiator, probably aluminum with 2-3 rows of 1" tubes if I can make it fit with fans. Radiators for the early V8 Mustangs have the inlet and outlet in the right places and are of similar dimensions. They're also more readily available.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO