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Thanks all, I filled the spark plug holes with about a gallon of 50/50 ATF/diesel on Saturday, so I’ll give the crank another try in a couple days before resorting to disassembly. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thank you very much - this is great news! As long as it’s possible to clear the fan, I’m sure I can find hoses to make it work.

Thanks again Merle, yes, I should probably count my blessings!

I’m still struggling to get the engine to turn over by hand. Trying to turn the FD coupler ring gear with a prybar bent the prybar. Turning the hand crank starting nut with a 1-3/4” socket, 1/2” ratchet and extensions, and a 5-ft cheater pipe turned the crank nut slightly but finally broke one of the extensions. I have poured 1-qt of Marvel’s Mystery Oil into the spark plug holes over a couple weeks. Now I’m thinking I’ll get some better penetrating oil (maybe Kroil; I’m open to suggestions), a beefier 1/2” extension, and a true breaker bar to use the cheater pipe on. It may be that I need to open the valve covers to see what’s going on there. As far as I know, the engine wasn’t seized before it sat for 26 years, but this has been discouraging.

I'm also concerned about the difference in core height, and if that will cause upper and/or lower hoses to interfere with the factory fan. The Champion radiators have a 4-4.5" shorter core height than factory. Champion core width is about 1-1.5" narrower. If the bolt-on radiators weren't $650-$750, this would be a much easier decision.

Thank you Merle, that's an excellent observation. I will have to talk to them about making a CC4749 with a straight upper hose connection.

Thank you Brian, those look really nice, but probably out of my price range. Thank you L_C, looking good!

Thank you Los_Control! I found the previous forum topic about having issues with fan clearance, and it looks like CC4749 was the one that interfered. So I am leaning toward EC52PLY or CC52PLY with the horizontal outlet upper neck. As for mounting bracket modifications, I just meant attaching the original radiator brackets to the aftermarket aluminum mounting tabs. https://p15-d24.com/topic/32233-after-market-radiator/

OK, just found another topic here suggesting this one (CC4749 for Plymouth Coupe 1947-1949). It has a downward angled upper neck that may or may not work better than the horizontal one above. https://www.championradiators.com/product/CC4749

I'm afraid my original radiator (part number 1272446 D) is beyond reasonably-priced repair - upper tank thin and cracked; leaking at upper core seams; lots of debris inside. I will look around a bit for an original in good shape, but probably leaning toward a cheaper aftermarket radiator. I've seen Champion Radiators mentioned a few places on this forum. Has anyone tried this particular radiator (EC52PLY) with mounting bracket modifications? I'm concerned with fan clearance as mentioned by another member who had to go with an electric fan. Any other concerns? Thanks! https://www.championradiators.com/dodge-coronet-radiator-1949-1952

Thanks Lingle, I think you are right. Looking at my removed hood again, I see hairline vertical tears starting on both sides where the stationary center section meets the pivoting part of the two outer hood lids in front above the radiator. This does seem like a flimsy/weak/stressed part of the center section. I guess for now I’ll try to shore up that area with a piece of wood or something, but I think eventually it will need some added metal supports or braces across the underside of the front center section. Did your radiator overflow tube rub through as well?

Has anyone else had this problem? I was wondering if it was a too-tall replacement radiator, but the part number I see on the rear of the tank is 1272446 D, which should be original (upon reviewing JBNeal's excellent radiator ID topic): https://p15-d24.com/topic/51765-radiator-identification-for-non-pressurized-systems/ So I'm wondering what caused the rubbing... Center hood section squashing/sagging? Any ideas on re-routing the overflow tube? Bending/notching the center hood structure? Mounting the rad lower?

Here’s what’s left of my heater control valve. 😭

Can anyone confirm that the threaded hole in the right rear top corner of the head (heater coolant source) is 5/8"?

I also spent some time getting familiar with wheels with oval valve stem holes. I took the original wheels to Discount Tire to replace the old tube tires with tubeless, and they used standard round rubber valve stems. One of the tires would only hold air for half a day, so I took it back, and they concluded that the valve stem hole in the wheel had "wallered" or rusted into an oval shape, and that the wheel would no longer work. I looked at the wheel when I got it back, and the valve hole definitely looked purposefully oval, so I took it to a mom & pop tire shop, and fortunately he knew about these types of wheels and had an oval valve adapter that could be used to seal a tubeless valve. The other three tires are holding air with the round base valve stems, but I ordered some of these to have on hand and am tempted to have them swapped in preemptively: https://ts-warehouse.com/products/tr501ov-1-1-2-brass-clamp-in-oval-tubeless-tire-truck-valve-stem-pack-of-4 Also available on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/383164156541 You learn something new every day with these amazing machines... 😊