I have a 1973 Plymouth Satellite with a slight overheating issue.

The car has a 22" radiator for small blocks and a 17" fan blade. Are there easy conversion kits for mounting larger radiators? I saw a couple articles say that aluminum don't necessarily cool better than copper/brass.

More info please. hot how? confirmed with good/accurate gauge? around town or interstate? recent issue? any changes/adjustments immediately preceding the issue cropping up? shroud or no schroud? fan distance from rad. stat opening all the way? timing/mixture in the ballpark

(AZ)...

The overheating is not a new problem. The gauge will hit 220 in slow traffic, does fine (195) when I'm moving. I shut it down when I get to 220. The fan shroud is currently damaged (missing bottom 1/4) but it overheated even when it was complete. I run advanced timing with a lean mixture for high altitude driving.

Overheating on a roll - eg 50-70 MPH - is most often caused by a plugged or inadequate radiator. Overheating at a stop or low speed is most often caused by inadequate air flow... and there are lots of other variables.

Age condition and type of your current radiator matters a lot... also a few specifics on the engine, fan and shroud to get a good suggestion.

As far as material, it is proven quite feasible to make a high capacity radiator from both brass/copper and aluminum. It comes down to design and specs... core thickness, number of cores, fin type ect. I run a high capacity AL radiator on a 496 with AC, for example, and it cools great including runs through your area.

If you can post a few more specifics on what you are starting with that will help.

The OEM cooling systems worked in the millions of cars that Chrysler produced back in the day...


Will a 22" non-A/C system work in AZ???


Hard to say...


I've been running an OEM 'A/C' system for many years...

In EXTREME conditions...


Absolutely no issues...

And no aluminum...

I had that same radiator in my 73 charger. I had it recored to a 3 row. No more issues after that.

As you know at lower speeds the air and coolant flow is less especially the airflow. is the fan the correct distance into the schroud? (1/2-3/4 into the rear of it iirc). If a clutch fan is it still locking up (engageing) when hot? More radiator may be the answer

My first response missed your added background. Since it is cool while rolling, your radiator sounds OK. A bigger and better radiator could help but not the main issue. It sounds like more air flow and maybe water flow at low speed is needed. How to get more air flow 1) make sure fan clutch, if equipped, is in good shape. 2) Change to "with AC" specs if not already equipped. This means an over-driven fan, maybe more fan blades and maybe a heavier duty fan clutch. What are you starting with (engine size?, AC?, pic showing fan and shroud?) 3) Fix/replace the shroud. I understand this is not the main problem but will help.

I have a 440 in my 74 satellite. I was originally cooling it with a stock 318 rad, and in summer heat the temp would creep up in traffic. Upgraded it to an aftermarket aluminum rad. I forget the size, but the core is as tall/wide as the rap opening in my SB core support. The old 318 rad was smaller size than the core support opening. Cooling problem went away. No shroud, fixed stock fan.