cooling system advice needed

current setup-65 satellite-383/.030 over-9.25 comp-3.73 gears.Problem is factory 22 in. radiator is taking a crap & running hot on 90deg. days. Has worked fine until recently(leaking & probly clogged) with flex fan & no shroud. Plan is to use 22in. alum. radiator ( 2 or 3 row ? ) with same fan & probably add shroud. Don't really want to cut core support for 26 in. Can this work?

If it were my car, I would take your existing radiator, that you know fits, and have it Re-Cored to 3 or 4 Row High-Efficiency replacements. That is what I did for the 26-inch radiator in my '71 440 Charger 13-years ago and I have never had any cooling issues since.

If you have a problem in the future, most any radiator shop can fix a Brass/Steel Radiator. Also, it will work and still look "Original" without needing to make modifications.

Here is a Hotrod Magazine article on "How to Select a Radiator":

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/1304cct-how-to-select-a-radiator/

Since it happened all of a sudden (if I'm reading that correct) you might check the stat (toss it for a day/wont hurt anything). is it now running hot in stop & go or on the highway or both? I'd get a 3 row & there just was an informative thread on different alum rads having different tube sizes (see if you can retrieve it or scroll back several days/1 week). nothing else changed all of a sudden (timing/vac leak) that might be affecting this so k.i.s.s. a new rad sounds reasonable

I don't know how original you care yours looks.
65 coronet and I switched to an aluminum dual pass rad from 4 seconds flat.

the tanks are on the sides instead of top to bottom. got the 26 inch rad dimensions, so it bolted up where I put the 26 inch in my car. but because the tanks are side to side, less of it is wasted on the smaller opening for the 22 inch.

had to move the horns though to the outside of the rad support, but don't remember if that was the reason why.

there is no trans cooler though, and both entry and exit are on the same side.
they make a 3 pass so you can get them on opposite sides if you need it.

thanks for the response guys. Didn't mention that car was originally 318 eng. Don't know if that matters. Not concerned about original. just want best system. Rad has leak all along bottom tank, & ran hot after 30 min. freeway driving at 2800rpm. Puked coolant at overflow. Looking at options. Thanks

if you're trying to maintain a stock appearance their is only 1 place to go IMO. http://www.restorationradiators.com/about.htm

We had a problem child 22" radiator equipped factory 440 car that refused to run cool. After many lost hours and $$ Glen ray built a unit, we dropped it in and the problem went away.

mine was too. I just wanted the most cooling I could get.

First I would make sure your not lean on the fuel mixture.

Then I would replace the flex fan, it does not move enough air.

Then I would see it there's an improvement, I betting there will be.
Then I would fabricate or buy some kind shroud for the radiator.

I bet you there's nothing wrong with the radiator except for it's leaking. If any thing like said, have it re cored, don't replace it.

Good luck.

I would recore it also. Go with a 3 core. I did it on my 73 charger and never had another issue with cooling. I didn`t even have a shroud.

Agree re-core is a good option with a high efficiency core if the tanks are OK... though if its the original '65 radiator, they may not be.

If going new a couple more options. Mancini sells top tank aluminum 2 cores with thick cores. I run a 26" version on a 496 with AC and cools great. It does need their custom shroud. A bit spendy.

Champion is another option if they make one to fit your car. Lower cost. You would probably want a 3 core. Cores are thinner vs the Mancini radiator. I run a Champion on a brand F PU and works well.

Either one, painted with radiator black paint, looks decent in the car IMO. Not stock but not too different.

With either suggest a shroud.

Make sure you have the spring inside the lower radiator hose too.

I"ll be putting a 3 core champion 26" in my T/A this week. I'm running warm so to rule out the radiator I bout one. $200 shipped. It doesn't look remotely original, but I need one for the race car so it will be my guinea pig to see if I have a radiator problem. If that cures it, then I'll get the original recored. I just don't know who recores around here.

Thanks guys. Probably gonna use a champion. Don't need original as the entire car is modified from original & to recore mine is $$$$.

I put my champion in today . It is shiny and pretty. Then came the die grinder to enlarge the holes because they were off by about a quarter inch everywhere. Then came the drill to drill holes in the bracket to put the shroud on because those holes didn't line up, only to find that when all was said and done, the shroud doesn't fit flush with the radiator because the brackets for the shroud stick way out. But she sure is shiny. But when all was said and done, I am ok with the crappy fit for only $200 for the 3 core. ..... And.... I took it out in the 90 degree air and beat the snot out of it. The best I could get was 210 degrees creeping around and beating it. So I guess it works. Good luck.

Im having the same problem. I have the 1972 dart swinger with the 440 in it. I am using the original stock 318 radiator and shroud with flex fan. Its ok when its cold out but during the summer months here in TN. it wants to run 210-220 degrees. Im not sure what to do with it..

Pull a couple degrees out of the timing? That's my next step. See if I can lose some temperature there.

a problem you may run across on a recore is the bottom tank. a 4 row will need a 2 5/8" wide bottom tank and 2" wide bottom tank won't take more than 3 rows. also, keep track of tube spacing; stay somewhere around 3/8"-7/16".

this is stop & go I am assuming? I'd try a rigid fan blade properly spaced into the schroud if you have one laying around & other than that as said you might just need more radiator. I got a 2 core Champion off of evilbay for $189 to my door which ain't bad & I only had to redrill one hole in the dr side flat flange & it cooled OK but a DD 318 sure ain't gonna test its cooling capabilities

Why not put a MP viscous fan and shroud on it? I don't like flex fans, period.

How about a 6 vane vs 8 vane pump? Does one cool better than the other?

If you use your car only in summer like mine the first (and the cheapest)thing I did when my engine overheat was to run my engine fill with distilled water and Waterwetter, try this and you will be surprise with the temp. drop...
Antifreeze have not the best heat transfer properties.

Mopar viscous fan and shroud must be add to have the best cooling, check timing If you can use direct port vacuum on your distributor it will be better.

I have a 451 c.i.with 11.25 c.r. and a small 22 in. rad. never had problem even in big traffic jam at 90F.

No, it gets warmer if sitting still for a long period..

& that is even worse than stop and go cuz the pump (water flow) and fan (air flow) speeds are the slowest they can possibly be plus not even a hint of air being forced in cuz of no forward vehicle movement

being in the radiator business for 35 yrs i can tell you that its possible to expand a bottom tank from 2inch to 2 3/4 inch,any good rad shop should know how to do it

That's one of the main reasons I went with the Monster fan. Controller picks up the fan speed as needed without adding more fuel to the fire.