aluminum radiator

[dennish6020]

i have a 1948 dodge d24 needs a radiator has anyone  installed a plymouth or universal alum. radiator  what problems

 

thanks dennis

1948 dodge 4 dr

1939 dodge half ton

you do not do your own work and the rust is at the acceptable limit for you and it drives out nicely..still your call as location and availability play greatly in price.  But if you thinking of grabbing it now and down the road considering body and paint, interior work..these cost must be factored at this time...doing your own paint and body will save mucho money..paint even by even a small body shop that is fast on the draw with a paint gun can run a chunk...weigh the total car against your end goal..price accordingly..fluid drive cars are still on the road after all these years and doing fine..

 

[mopar_earl]

I put in a Champion 3 row in my 52 Dodge. Got it on Amazon as they had the best price I could find. Works great. My OE radiator was shot and couldn't be repaired and a new core was extremely expensive. I also added a coolant recovery tank.

Earl

[dennish6020]

thanks earl did you need much modification

dennis

[Don Coatney]

Link to my thread.  

 

http://p15-d24.com/topic/36259-champion-aluminum-radiator/?hl=champion

[mopar_earl]

thanks earl did you need much modification

dennis

It was made for my car so it was direct bolt in.

Earl

[CoronetGuy]

I put in a Champion 3 row in my 52 Dodge. Got it on Amazon as they had the best price I could find. Works great. My OE radiator was shot and couldn't be repaired and a new core was extremely expensive. I also added a coolant recovery tank.

Earl

Same instal for me. I had to grind the mounting flange a little so that it would slide down all the way. Other than that it was pretty easy

[1952B3b23]

I installed an aluminum radiator that's meant for '48-'49 coupes (if i remember correctly) in my '39 Plymouth coupe. It was pretty easy, just involved a little trimming and making the mounting holes on the radiator match up with the ones on the radiator support. I'd say go for it. It sure beats the cost of re-coring the old one.

 

Good luck,

 

-Chris

[mrwrstory]

I installed a aluminum radiator built for mid 50's Chev truck w/350 V8, in my '48 Plymouth.  It's a quality piece that "is" repairable.  One word of advise is, "be very judicious about coolant and distilled water".  Other than the proper coolant can lead to corrosion of the aluminum by electrolysis. 

I mounted mine on the front of the core support (which may already be the case for your Dodge) and relieved the bottom edge to get the radiator lower.

 

-

[meadowbrook]

Hello folks!

 

Interesting discussion. I wonder if it might be prudent to replace my '50 Meadowbrook's fan with an electric one. I have the stock original radiator and it is leak free and cools the vehicle adequately. However, the 2 stories I heard here concerning blades flying off the stock fan got me spooked.

 

Plus I think an electric fan may help alleviate an issue I have with my car in that on very hot days, in dense traffic, I suffer from carburetor percolation. The engine will stall and I have to wait some 10 minutes before it will start again. Sometimes I can prevent this by revving the engine when stationary, which hints that the carb is just too hot, flooding the engine.

 

So maybe an electric fan would be running by then and help cool the carb as well as the engine itself, when the mechanical fan is at its least efficient.

 

And as mentioned before, I would reduce the risk of being impaled by the mechanical fan.

 

I also imagine the engine would be quieter.

 

So any recommendations? I still am running a 6 volt pos ground system with the original generator and regulator.

[Don Coatney]

I have been running an electric pusher fan only for a lot of years. With the new radiator it works much better. I have a thermostat controller set to start the fan at 180 degrees. At speed over 30 MPH on the hottest of summer days the fan never runs. I am at 12 volts and you may not be able to find a 6 volt thermostat controller.

 

 

 

[dennish6020]

 Thanks for the info  I guess no one has installed one of these made for 1948 plymouth radiators in a 1948 dodge.Champion and speed daddy both refer to the fitment chart that states the radiator does not fit a 48 dodge i am not convinced does anyone have a cross referance parts book and would check if a 1948 plymouth radiator would fit a 1948 dodge

thanks dennisf

[fordkustom]

make sure you ground the radiator real good or you might run into galvanic corrosion issues.

[Don Coatney]

 Thanks for the info  I guess no one has installed one of these made for 1948 plymouth radiators in a 1948 dodge.Champion and speed daddy both refer to the fitment chart that states the radiator does not fit a 48 dodge i am not convinced does anyone have a cross referance parts book and would check if a 1948 plymouth radiator would fit a 1948 dodge

thanks dennisf

I believe I would trust what Champion says. They have done there homework. If they say it will not fit I would believe them. But the choice is yours. Buy one, alter it to fit, then report your findings. 

[bones44]

On my 37 Dodge D5 project I have installed a CC4749 champion radiator and a Flex a Lite pusher fan. So with these old cars things can be made to fit. Just my opinion.

[Plymouthy Adams]

where there is a will there is a way..used to be the phrase..now it is where there is a will there is a dead guy and nothing gets done by dead people

[DLK]

After reading all the posts I bought one of these for my 1950 Wayfarer.  It was not exactly a fit.  I had to modify the steel panel in front of the radiator and drill new bottom holes in the radiator - the predrilled holes were about an inch and one half off.  With those alterations it works well and looks nice too..   

[DJ194950]

Bought a Champion Rad. for my 50 4 dr. several years back and had to re drill the mounting holes as they were off about 3/4" in the height location.

 

Other that that it fit very well, so look at their website for measurements. Outlet/inlet locations/type/shape/size-  to see what will work for  your application..

 

DJ

[VFFFrank]

The original 6V Pos earth system will run the fan OK at higher rpms, but you don't need it then. I'd recommend a 6V + alternator such as a Powermaster unit. Expensive, but they put out about 60 A at idle. That's when you'll need the electric fan to run without running down the battery. Think "hot day, traffic jam , goin' nowhere at idle". 

Pretty easy one-wire installation. You can leave the regulator in place just to serve as a junction block and to look stock, but it's not really necessary. 

F

Edited May 3, 2016 by VFFFrank

[chopt50wgn]

I was always told......if you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut............but in this case I must speak up.......I know there are car guys using the Champion rads with no problems but I say so far they have been lucky. They are cheap for a reason.......the cores are made in China and I have talked with a few customers who have had lots of problems with them. I'm just putting this out there and not telling anyone what to do. I have always found that when it comes to "cheap" aluminum radiators, you can bet they are "offshore made" . just my .02

[Don Coatney]

I googled Champion radiator reviews and found some interesting reading in the links below. Mostly good reviews but a couple not so good reviews. I am very happy with the one I installed in my car.

 

http://firstgenfirebird.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=276187

 

http://www.amazon.com/Champion-Cooling-Aluminum-Radiator-Wrangler/product-reviews/B0051GSDKC

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/champion-radiators-any-good.558686/

 

http://www.montecarloss.com/community/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=903400

 

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/718493/re-champion-radiators-any-good.html

[mopar_earl]

I'm extremely happy with the one in my car. It fit like a glove. Looks great. Cools the car much better than the original and I run a 180 thermostat. I bought the 3 row core model. I bought mine from Amazon. It was well packaged and had no shipping damage.

Good luck finding anything not made in China or made with China parts!!!

I also believe they are lifetime warranty as well. I run a 7 lb cap and recovery tank and have no troubles.

Earl