Aftermarket radiator options ('51 B3B)

[ktb]

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

 

 

 

[ktb]

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

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

Wonder why you would need mounting bracket mods?

 

My aftermarket radiator had slotted mounting holes in the middle of the radiator .... I removed brackets from the original and bolted to the aftermarket .... works fine.

My used $50 radiator is 3" thick all the way from top to bottom .... I believe it is a larger 3 core radiator.

 

The one you show is a bargain price, is advertised to fit your application .... I have never heard a bad word against Champion. I would think it would fit?

 

Because of West Texas and multiple months of +100F weather .... I might check the pricing on a thicker radiator just for more capacity.

I would bet the one you show will work fine.

 

I painted mine black, looks like it might be original ... unless you know it should be honeycomb.

On a side note, My old one is in the scrap pile, it does have a good tank if you want to spend $1k to get yours re-cored.

[Los_Control]

When you buy radiator hoses, the store always lets me go in the back and select a random hose that is correct size and has the correct bends to make it work .... just cut out the piece you need. .... 2nd one may be easier, 1rst one is no problem either.

[ktb]

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/

 

 

 

Edited November 20 by ktb

[JBNeal]

US Radiator has a few Dodge Truck options to consider.

[Los_Control]

What I did, removed brackets from original and mounted to the radiator .... My concern was I needed to raise the radiator up to clear the bottom radiator hose and this puts the fan cooling the lower 1/2 of the radiator, not the middle .... it works fine.

 

 

 

[ktb]

39 minutes ago, JBNeal said:

US Radiator has a few Dodge Truck options to consider.

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

 

24 minutes ago, Los_Control said:

What I did, removed brackets from original and mounted to the radiator .... My concern was I needed to raise the radiator up to clear the bottom radiator hose and this puts the fan cooling the lower 1/2 of the radiator, not the middle .... it works fine.

Thank you L_C, looking good!

[Lingle]

I've been very happy with the quality of radiator from DCM I got.  it was a aluminum aftermarket one, that I had them make changes to make it custom.  they also often have used parts they may be willing to sell so might be worth calling them.  their website has the radiator as configured for stock listed but being aluminum, cheaper than a copper core, but likely still spendy.

[Merle Coggins]

That first radiator that you reference shows the fill neck closer to the center. I'd be concerned that it would end up under the center hood section making it difficult to check/fill. I also feel that the straight upper hose connection would be much better than the 90 degree one. If anything it should be a 45 rather than a 90. 

[ktb]

37 minutes ago, Merle Coggins said:

That first radiator that you reference shows the fill neck closer to the center. I'd be concerned that it would end up under the center hood section making it difficult to check/fill. I also feel that the straight upper hose connection would be much better than the 90 degree one. If anything it should be a 45 rather than a 90. 

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.  

[ktb]

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.

[JBNeal]

I've had this discussion with quite a few gearheads about being thrifty...there are some things where the premium price is paid for peace of mind; otherwise, every time that machine is operated is a roll of the dice as to when failure will occur...choose wisely

[The Oil Soup]

I used the Champion cc4749 with the side brackets from my stock radiator and cut that downward part off the upper tube, the fan is just slightly under the overhang of the top tank and the radiator works fine in the Arizona heat. I may have numbers for replacement hoses.

[ktb]

14 hours ago, The Oil Soup said:

I used the Champion cc4749 with the side brackets from my stock radiator and cut that downward part off the upper tube, the fan is just slightly under the overhang of the top tank and the radiator works fine in the Arizona heat. I may have numbers for replacement hoses.

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. 

[The Oil Soup]

Here are photos of the CC4749 in my B4B.

[The Oil Soup]

[The Oil Soup]

[The Oil Soup]

 

The upper hose is Gates 20573 and the lower hose Dayco 70480, iirc I trimmed the length on both hoses to fit correctly and I cut off the angled portion on the upper tank inlet. The fan has about 3/4’’ clearance from the radiator core and from the underside of the top tank.

Edited December 3 by The Oil Soup
Additional information

[ktb]

25 minutes ago, The Oil Soup said:

Here are photos of the CC4749 in my B4B.

 

Thank you very much - it looks great!  It looks like you trimmed off the top and bottom of the original bracket and bent the rear edge 90 degrees to bolt to the mounting tabs?

[Old CWO]

37 minutes ago, The Oil Soup said:

Here are photos of the CC4749 in my B4B.

 

Wow, for a non-OEM radiator that looks really good.  I like how you handled the upper hose and outlet.  Normally I would advocate for painting aluminum replacement radiators satin black to hide them.  Yours would look good with a full polish!  Nice work.

[The Oil Soup]

I did use the mounting brackets (4 pieces) from the original radiator and after positioning the new radiator in relation to the fan, I welded those together and bolted the Champion to them (6 bolts). The front of the radiator is painted black so it looks stock through the grill. You can also still access the hand crank if need be.

[ktb]

On 12/2/2024 at 8:41 PM, The Oil Soup said:

Here are photos of the CC4749 in my B4B.

 

The Oil Soup,

 

Digging into the details of your factory radiator bracket modifications...

 

It sounds like you separated the spot welded sections of the bracket on each side, giving you 4 long pieces.  You trimmed the outer pieces (with 3 bolts holes) so the new radiator tank will fit.  And it looks like maybe you trimmed and welded the inner pieces back to the outer pieces, keeping only a flat section from the inners?

 

I'm not a welder and am wondering if I can leave the spot welded part of the bracket intact, but bend the inner piece back 90-degrees to bolt to the new aluminum radiator.  It's pretty thick sheet metal, so I'm not confident it will bend easily, but can hopefully avoid breaking welds and rewelding.  In the picture below, the yellow line is what to trim off and blue line is where to put the long 90-degree bend.

 

 

 

 

[The Oil Soup]

You could position the pieces together with a few sheet metal screws and take it to someone that would weld it, got to be easier than bending the brackets. I’m not much of a welder either but my grinding skills are improving. Good luck!

[ggdad1951]

If you can't weld, you better know how to grind!