A Tale of Two Radiators - Part Deux

When we last left our hero, he was struggling to find a solution to his radiator issue...if you are getting caught up....a write up about this issue is here.

I picked up the short shaft water pump from the Truck Shop earlier in the week and got it bolted up the other night. One step at a time. Tonight, I went to finish reassembly. The clearance is really tight but it sure looked like it was going to work...there is about a half an inch of extra clearance, which may just be enough!

The only problem is....while test fitting everything prior to putting the radiator back in, I bolted up the fan - and lo and behold - it is hitting the harmonic balancer, ever so slightly. Well, Hell.

I found a few forum threads about this on stovebolt.com. Seems I'm not the only one with this issue. I consulted with my 1950's expert (who also happens to be my step-dad 🤪) but unfortunately he only had one idea:

I don't think I'll be going with the "start it up and let it wear in" option. 😔 So far the options seem to be:

• Find a fan with lower blade pitch
• Put the hacked up radiator frame back in and look for a replacement slant six radiator
• Adapter plate solution (requires drilling and tapping holes in the block)
• Roll the truck out front and turn it into a planter.

I'm going to try these in reverse order of difficulty. I'll see if I can find a lower pitch/profile fan first. The adapter plate solution requires I go with a 47-55 style water pump (from the 216) and drill and tap holes in the block. What ends up happening here is the water pump is higher on the engine, similar to where it is on the original 216 engines that came in these trucks. I may just end up doing this, but it's a higher cost solution and I'm not sure I'll be able to return the short shaft pump I have from the truck shop...plus they don't carry the short shaft 216 pump...I'll have to wait for it to come from another supplier.

Putting the hack solution back in is against every fiber of my being, but I'm not absolutely dead set against it if it comes to that.

Stay tuned...the saga continues.....

UPDATE: The Conclusion