A Tale of Two Radiators - The Conclusion

Let's face it....the automotive gods, such as they are, are generally not kind and benevolent - they are more like "Old Testament" gods in that they can be real sons of bitches. When faced with a situation where there are multiple avenues that lead to a successful repair, it's generally the most difficult and time consuming option with the highest likelihood of success. Simple solutions? That's the stuff of the Devil!

Well call me a heathen and pepper me with rotten vegetables on my walk of shame...the cooling boss has been vanquished!

When we last left our fabled wrench turner, he was sitting under the shade tree, pondering the options available to solve the radiator clearance dilemma. if you are just tuning in to the story, you can read part one here and part two here. To review, the options were:

• 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.

In order of Level of Effort (LOE) the first bullet was definitely lowest of the bunch, so I had every confidence that it wouldn't work. Ok, I lied, the last bullet was. Unfortunately giving up is against every fiber of my being, so I first tried option one.

I generally shy away from these kinds of generic parts. For one, they aren't period correct. There are a handful of non-period correct parts on the truck and I've been slowly trying to replace them, but I'm also trying to be pragmatic about it. For example, Dad re-did the exhaust. He had someone weld up a split manifold set-up and dual exhaust. This is not stock. There are old "cherry bombs" for the mufflers. Most certainly not period correct, but this was Dad's vision for the truck so they stay. Similarly, the radiator itself is an all aluminum Amazon special. I went with this because a period correct looking one was north of $500 and it still came off of some assembly line in the PRC. Dad's truck is a survivor, and I'm resigned to the fact that some parts are going to be modern. I've made my peace with it...pragmatism wins the day.

Period correctness is the goal; it's not the end-all-be-all.

So down at the Truck Shop they had this (discontinued) flex fan. I brought the old factory fan with me to do some eyeball comparisons and you can imagine my surprise when I laid them down side-by-side and the flex fan was at least 25% thinner than the factory fan. This looks promising. Had Ryan (this kid that works down at the Truck Shop) been on my side of the counter, I would have given him a big sloppy hug! I couldn't wait to get this home to bolt it up for a sizing. Also...being discontinued, Ryan gave me a break on the price.....these are generally between $50 and $70, even on sites like Summit Racing. Thirty five bucks out the door! Score!

The fan came with bolts, but they weren't the right thread pitch. Nothing a trip down to Lowe's couldn't fix. Of course, nothing is ever easy...and the automotive gods will will not be denied.....simple solution of the Devil be DAMMED! It's still hitting the balancer, but way less than before. 🤬

The good news and saving grace here is that the new flex fan is completely flat on the side facing the radiator, unlike the factory fan. So after much eyeball examination, and a little bit of constransaetion, I decided to try a spacer. With the flat leading edge I've got a little clearance to burn here. I think a half inch will do it.

I couldn't find any fan spacers at my local auto parts stores under one inch (and believe me, I checked them all). Amazon to the rescue...and it's available overnight!

I was VERY nervous fitting the radiator the first time after installing the spacer. Surly the automotive gods would punish me for flirting with this simple solution of the Devil! But alas, the spacer worked! There is enough on the back side to clear the harmonic balancer and still a good 5/8 to 3/4 of an inch between the fan bolts and the radiator. Phew!

The last step here was finding suitable replacement radiator hoses. The low profile water pump had a larger opening (1-3/4) for the lower hose than the factory pump had (1-1/2), so the lower hose I got from the truck shop won't work. Back out on the hunt I go.

The good folks at Advanced Auto Parts were kind enough to let me go in the back and paw through their inventory of replacement radiator hoses. I found a perfect match for the top hose, but for the lower I ended up going with a flex hose. C'est la vie...

Last step is to fill her up with coolant and give 'er a go!

On to the next Boss! Or back to, I should say. Brakes!