Tommy Posted June 17, 2015 Report Posted June 17, 2015 The first of many noob questions....My 1941 P12 has a 251 BB installed, with the radiator moved forward for clearance.The radiator is not original, but from a late 60's A-body (best I can figure, anyway) equipped with a 318 and no A/C.The radiator currently has 16 lb. pressure cap! That cannot be good.Car runs a bit warm here after a while in our 90 degree (105 adjusted) heat here in the Keys.Suggestions? Quote
Don Coatney Posted June 17, 2015 Report Posted June 17, 2015 Can you post photos of your radiator and such? Quote
Tommy Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Posted June 17, 2015 Can you post photos of your radiator and such? I'll go downstairs and snap a few. The other thing I noticed is the radiator is too far away from the fan- 4.5". The fan is 1.5 inches from the radiator in my old F-150. There isn't a lot of room to mount the radiator, but i'm pretty sure it is too far away to cool it as well as it should. Quote
Don Coatney Posted June 17, 2015 Report Posted June 17, 2015 First off 16 pounds of pressure is not required for your engine. Maximum 6 pounds is my recommendation. I have a 1948 P-15 and I have installed a 251CI Desoto engine. I also moved my original Radiator 2" towards the front. Pictured is my water pump to original radiator clearance. I am not using a belt driven fan. I use an electric pusher mounted in front of the radiator. Pictured is the clearance of my new Champion radiator and it is about the same. Why is your radiator mounted so far forward? Can you move it back? Quote
Tommy Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Posted June 17, 2015 A PO did the installation.The bottom radiator outlet has some type of gooseneck riser on it. Why? I have no idea.I thought he mounted the radiator that far foward to clear the gooseneck, but the pictures show otherwise.I should be able to move it closer to the fan, it is just a matter of the mounting bracket. Adding a pusher fan isn't an option as I plan to add A/C to the car down the road. Quote
JerseyHarold Posted June 17, 2015 Report Posted June 17, 2015 Maybe you can get creative and fabricate a fan shroud to help direct the airflow. Quote
martybose Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 Maybe you can get creative and fabricate a fan shroud to help direct the airflow. +1. With that much of a gap between the fan and the radiator, the fan is probably just moving air around in the engine compartment instead of pulling it through the radiator. You need a fan shroud badly. Marty Quote
Tommy Posted June 18, 2015 Author Report Posted June 18, 2015 I plan to do some measuring today. Hoping I can just flip the bracket on the radiator to move it closer to the fan.The bad news is the closest radiator shop is on the mainland, a good 70+ mile round trip. But they might have a better handle on a radiator shroud, which would save an even longer ride to the scrap yard, which may or may not have what I need. Quote
Andydodge Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 That crossbrace shown in pic # 2 can be removed and mounted against the radiator with a couple of sheetmetal pieces or other brackets to attach it then get a fan extension piece to go between the fan and pulley and extend it closer to the radiator, ideally about 1" from the rear face of the radiator, also why not try a 5/6 bladed fan when you move it forward?.......whilst it is a mopar radiator its obviously not the original and is from a much later car.........whether you would be able to get a lower pressure rated cap is debatable as the higher rated caps also generally have a different depth that may not be easily found.........foR me.....I'd try moving relocating that bracket and move the fan forward or mount an electric fan behind the radiator.............andyd 1 Quote
Tommy Posted June 18, 2015 Author Report Posted June 18, 2015 H-m-m-m.... Summit sells a 2" spacer. Not ideal but worth a shot. That and a shroud might be the ticket.Thanks, Andy. Quote
Tommy Posted June 18, 2015 Author Report Posted June 18, 2015 Grumble... Nothing is ever simple.I can't just use a spacer behind the fan- the fan would strike the cross brace in picture #2. The radiator is 26" deep.I can't move the radiator back as the bottom tank will strike the front cross member- pics # 4 & 5.A 23-24" OAL radiator would fit over the front crossmember but I lose cooling capacity.I may have to toss my pretty chrome fan and mount an electric fan behind the radiator. I don't really want to do that. Quote
Andydodge Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 Tommy.thats why I suggested doing something about that crossbrace.........when I hot-rodded my 1940 Dodge I removed that brace completely but I still used the original radiator surround so there was still strength left.........as your car has a later radiator and it appears that there is no upper original radiator support then you may have to keep that crossbrace but remounted higher or in a different way but without in being where it is you'd be able to move the fan much further forward..........have attached a pic of my cars engine bay showing no brace.....its been like it for 40 yrs.........lol..............andyd Quote
Andydodge Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 Had another look at your pics and as I mention I'd be redoing that crossbrace somehow, looks like you don't have any of the original radiator support/surround so that complicates things but there must be some way to redo that crossbrace........only thing is that the wiring living in it would also have to be rerouted......even replacing the crossbrace with a piece of , say 1/4" x 1" strip close against the rear of the radiator would still give adequate support with minimal size............and allow the fan to be moved forward................andyd Quote
Ulu Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 My P15 ran a zero lb cap when I got it. I replaced it with a 15 lb cap and mounted a 1 gal Prestone bottle in the nose to act as a coolant recovery tank. A rubber hose from the P15 overflow tube into the bottom of the Prestone jug completed the siphon. I did this because my dad always did this to his cars & it worked. In the end, I don't think the engine ran any cooler. Though mine was not over heating before, by any means, we live in the desert & a cooler engine is usually a happy engine here. Anyhow, I quit spitting Prestone on the ground after a hot run, and I drove the car like that about 60,000 miles without any leaks seeps or cracks. However, my radiator was professionally rebuilt, my engine was completely re-built and so it had clean passages and new modern gaskets, and (really important) new freeze plugs. So if you all try this and blow your coolant out through a pinhole in a rusty freeze plug, this was your heads-up. Quote
JerseyHarold Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 Another thing to check.....is the fan mounted properly so it draws air through the radiator into the engine compartment? If mounted backwards it will try to push air toward the front of the car. Quote
DonaldSmith Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 The fan will suck the air toward the engine, even if it is flipped. Flipping the fan will only locate the blades more to the front or to the back. Quote
Dave72dt Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 Since the blades ar curved, the correct way will draw the air more efficiently. Quote
Young Ed Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 You could also consider a proper new radiator from Champion as shown in Don's photo. Quote
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