A-body radiator

I have the original 318 radiator in my 1972 dart with 440 automatic. It doesnt quite cool enough in the summer months here in the south. I see that 1972-76 A-body radiators from a 360 car are bigger. Wondering if that will bolt right in on my 1972 without hacking up the radiator support? I got to do something to cool her down a little..

I would hazard a guess that the later A body radiators fit the same. More info on what you have: current rad cores/thickness/schroud/rigid fan with many blades/MP thermal clutch fan/blades halfway into schroud/small WP pulley/pump impeller # of blades/anticav plate. it pretty much comes down to (1) air flow (2) water flow (3) rad capacity or likely a combo of all (3) & timing and AF ratio needs to be at least in the ballpark. Yes it might be as simple as needing more radiator. EDIT I missed the most important part, WHEN is it running hot? idleing, stoplight to stoplight, cruising speed, accellerating. MORE EDIT & you want a 180 or better stat, which that ain't the overheating cause but it is not a solution to go to a 160 (just sayin).

Its the original to the car 318 radiator. They only offered 2 for the 1968-72. They had a smaller one for the slant 6, then this one for the 318-340 cars. Its a 2 row. It has a flex fan and it sits right at the shroud. when its hot and humid here, the temp creeps up when idling at a stop light. It will cool some after getting moving but still warm. I didnt figure it would be enough for the 440..

Here is mine for the 1968-72 v-8 A body
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail...#itemDetailTab_

Here is the bigger one thats on the 1973-76 360 A-body
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail...5&ppt=C0331

I would hazard a guess that yes you need more rad & a rigid fan properly spaced. EDIT definitely more radiator for the upcoming 440 & more airflow right now.

I just got a 26" radiator for my dart from here....
http://www.speedcooling.com/26-Small-Block-Mopar-Radiator.html

I was very surprised at the quality for the price. It will be a while before I actually run it but from the looks it should work quite nicely.
I swapped in some 26" radiator supports on my car. I believe you can use a 26" with the smaller opening but some of the core will be covered. Not sure if you would really benefit from the larger radiator without changing the supports.

Do you have a 7 blade fan, and a fan clutch, and a shroud? Really need them.

Yes the larger 3 row rad will to some extent be schrouded on the ends but the main centered area will effect more cooling from the increased cores/thickness so you you will greatly benefit but yes I would do it right/be proactive & change the support at the same time

what do you mean by change the support? I thought the radiator support was welded to the inner fenders?

The support is different.

yes but isnt the support made onto the inner fenders?

Yes, welded in. You need a 22" core radiator with 3 or 4 rows, or a sawzall...

Man, i really dont want to swap the support then. will the bigger radiator bolt right in to my original support without hacking it up?

It's spot welded in. I bought a generic 22" aluminum radiator from a local roundy round shop for my Dart when I was having overheating issues with the 340. My issue was fixed with a viscous fan and a shroud.

Define hacking it up.

Will it bolt in with ZERO mods, no.

Will you likely have to drill some new mounting holes, yes.

Will it cool more than the one you have, probably not since the airflow is limited by the core support.

So, you can sawzall a bigger opening in the core support, weld in a new core support, or go with a high efficiency radiator for you application.

I run a Champion 22 in my 65 B ody.My 440 is radical.Flex fan no shroud.For 150 from Ebay the rad is great.Car ran cool with my 65 OE rad with shroud now even cooler.No hacking or cutting.Only thing i had to do was new upper hose amd 1 1/2 to 1/3/4 adapter for lower hose.Rocky

a high efficiency radiator for my application sounds good, but is THAT a direct bolt in to my stock mounting points and which one is the high efficiency one your speaking of?
Thanks

I don't know. I never had a 72 Dart with a 440.

I had one with a 360 swapped in place of the 225 and I used the OEM V8 radiator for that swap. Worked fine and I was in Tucson and ran the factory air as well.

I would get a Champion 3 row and a wide of one that will fit in between the frame rails. there is (or was) a guy on here who sells em & guarantees good fitment). I had a 2 row Champion in my 65 dart 318 DD (189 to my door-EBay) tho that app sure ain't gonna test its cooling capabilities. reportedly some ain't flat (check that right off the bat) and the radiator itself side panels may need a new hole or two redrilled on the "direct fit ones" but yours ain't gonna be a DF & something I never thought of till it was mentioned is that the cooling tubes can be somewhat smaller than other performance radiators but I think for the money you highly likely will not go wrong with a champion. get the lower outlet on the opposite side of your timing marks & as you know just need the right pump manifold to accomplish that (easily done). Be sure & paint it. that bare alum looks like Hell! Maybe even a 4 row & with that you'd want a schroud & a killer fixed multiple blade fan properly spaced (good idea either way). I would add the anticav plate, cut a round plate in half & weld em behind the vanes.