There are lots of aluminum radiators out there between $150- $250. Personally mine came from Virginia Mustang about 3 years ago.  IT is a 2 core and works great!  it also has the tranny cooler built in.  I have an aod in my 65 and I added an external cooler to help.  As far as the shroud and brackets I ordered mine from NPD i think!!  Virginia has those as well. 

http://www.virginiaclassicmustang.com/65-66-V8-ALUMINUM-RADIATOR-AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSION-NEW-LOWER-PRICE-P1169.aspx
 

So what are your thoughts about electric fan? Needed ? Not??

I used to have a fibre glass shroud that Dallas mustang had installed. But that was more pain in the butt than anything.

I am
Leaning towards getting away from the fan setup I have and have an electric Fan that has a shroud made of metal, that can do the job well.

What are your thoughts ..

If I had to do that, I have never installed a radiator shroud or fan by myself... How would I do it?

Gaba wrote:

So what are your thoughts about electric fan? Needed ? Not??

I used to have a fibre glass shroud that Dallas mustang had installed. But that was more pain in the butt than anything.

I am
Leaning towards getting away from the fan setup I have and have an electric Fan that has a shroud made of metal, that can do the job well.

What are your thoughts ..

If I had to do that, I have never installed a radiator shroud or fan by myself... How would I do it?

G, I have an aluminum rad on my 66 from Va. Classic and it works great. I run a 6 blade fan and no shroud and I've never had an over heating problem and it gets pretty hot here in SE Va.I have an electric pusher fan installed in front of the rad but I never use it. I only installed it 'cause I got it for nothin.

I agree with Bruce.  My 66 has a 530 HP 427 stroker in it.  The original 74 Maverick 17" flex fan does the job perfectly.  It has never quit on me, there is no extra wiring required and it looks period correct.

A well-planned out and properly installed OEM style electric fan will work nicely, but in my opinion they are a waste of effort.  Very few that I see are properly mounted where they won't tear the radiator up.  Some of the pics posted on this site show some right ways to install one, and there might be one or two that could have been better.

I wish I could have finished my F-100 project.  I was going to install an electric fan and yellow spark plug wires.

Before you do anything else, go buy a new 13 # radiator cap for a NON-RETURN type system.  Install it, add coolant to withing 1/2" below the bottom of the filler neck ( DO NOT OVERFILL) and drive the car on a warm day.  Report back with temperature it runs.

A $30 digital thermometer is a great tool for diagnosing radiator issues.  Take 9 or more readings.  Three across top of core (not tank), three across middle of core.  Three across bottom row of core.
Should be no cold spots and readings should get progressively warmer towards the top.  See if you have any cold spots or abnormal readings.  Cold represents blockage in the radiator which calls for replacement.  If you have no blockages and the gauge reads a little cooler, follow up with a new 180 degree thermostat.  The pointed end faces towards the radiator.  Install that and then check the gauge.  If improvement, you are probably home free.  If it runs hot still, you might have internal engine blockage of water passages.  A 302 should not overheat if the radiator and thermostat are working, even marginally, on a 80 degree day.  What I am saying here is do not assume a new radiator will fix an overheating engine!

Things as simple as a bad vacuum advance on the distributor, wrong timing, plugged exhaust or inacurate gauge can cause the thing to get hot.

If you are not practiced in working on the Mustang, and still need some experience before tackling a radiator retrofit to a larger one, I would suggest buy one that is a direct bolt-in for the caar.  That way, all you have to deal with are four bolts and two hose clamps.

But do the diagnostics described first to see if that is even the issue.

This one is direct bolt-in, two row core aluminum, same as the one I used to sell.  It is a good quality all-welded radiator (no epoxy joints)

http://www.virginiaclassicmustang.com/65-66-V8-ALUMINUM-RADIATOR-AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSION-NEW-LOWER-PRICE-P1169C1068.aspx

You can retrofit an original shroud to it, but they are not much good.  I know some of the guys here have purchased other aftermarket shrouds, or even made some themselves.  Maybe someone will chime in on that.  I have never bought an aftermarket shroud for a 17" radiator, so I do not have much experience with that.  I did buy a reproduction of an original.  It was not worth throwing in the trash can.  At least the original was made out of steel that did not bend if you touched it.

Thanks Steve and terry. The radiator you mentioned.. Thickness. .is that thichkness equal to a 3 row radiator or a 4 row radiator ? 

asking , as I will have to buy the right fan shroud mounting brackets..  

as far as the shroud goes.. Scott drake has one  here : 
http://www.cjponyparts.com/scott-drake-fan-shroud-plastic-3-1-2in-wide-260-289-1965-1966/p/FANS11/

or here is the one I used to have, but it didnt do a good job at fitting too well : 

(dallas mustang site seems to be down for now) I'll post a link


I actually have the original fan shroud in my garage. I dont think its a remanufactured.. but Its too shallow.. i think .. 


 

Last edited by Gaba (4/16/2014 5:07 PM)

Thanks, boom.  That is the exact same radiator! Good price, too.

there are a bunch of those aluminum radiators on the internet especially ebay! it pays to shop around

now that we are on the topic of radiators.. let me ask one more question : Spring loaded lower radiator hose. I understand why people say its needed. But with the hoses sold today at autozone, is there still  a need to look for a spring loaded lower hose ?

so the question repeat from above: thickness on these aluminum radiators: equals a stock 2rwo 3 row or 4 row radiator? 

I suspect the lower hose would be hard pressed to collapse with 7-13 lbs. pressure.
Howard

Last edited by hmartin025 (4/18/2014 8:59 AM)

MustangSteve wrote:

Thanks, boom.  That is the exact same radiator! Good price, too.

.
.Just put my money where my mouth is.  I just ordered one.  I've been watching those for quite a while now and the price (with free shipping) was almost too good to be true.  I figured that I better grab one while the gettin' was good.

I have been fighting marginally high temperatures for some time and all indications are that the aluminum one will make the difference.  I'll swap it out when I get around to installing my Autolite 4100 and 4 bbl camshaft.