[6t5gto]

Did a 1965 radiator come with the lower tank having the threaded holes for an automatic even if it was a manual car? I pulled my radiator out of my car today and there are threaded plugs for transmission lines. I thought I heard a long time ago that it came that way whether it was an auto or manual.

[rare4k]

Yes from what I've seen they had screw plugs in them

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[6t5gto]

My car is a tripower car and the upper and lower hose is on the passenger side as it should be. The radiator cap is more towards the passenger side as it should be, but the petcock is on the driver side. Not sure if that is correct. I did search pictures of radiators and manual 65 GTOs and did not see the threaded plugs. My car is a 12 of 64 build so is that something was an early build thing?

[6t5gto]

Also the dimension is 15 1/2 w x 24 5/8 h x 2 1/2 thick and it is a 4 core so not sure if that's correct either.

[rare4k]

Top and bottom codes on my tri-power radiator

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[6t5gto]

Does your radiator have the plugs for the transmission lines and what side is the petcock?

[John V.]

Tom, you might want to check my long post, your '64 got a Tall Rad.

And if it got a "no plugs" Man Trans specific Rad that was luck of the draw at KC in April '64. Check your Shipping Order doc for the Trans Code against the '64 codes I listed in my post. Presumably your Rad will match to the Code 159 (Code 59 on your doc) for the 2-5/8" thick Tall Rad without Oil Cooler.

Back then, the Car Divs controlled the Final plants and Fisher Body controlled the Body Plants, before the subsequent creation of the integrated GMAD to take on that role as the Car Divs became less autonomous car manufacturers and devolved to sales and marketing companies. So Tom, you are correct, the Kansas City A body Plant along with the Baltimore A body Plant were controlled by Chevy. Fremont was a BOP Plant and PMD alone controlled the Pontiac Plant. Rad codes are only shown on the '64 PHS docs for the KC and Balt Plants.

But other April or later KC builds like yours will show Code 58, the 2-5/8" thick tall Rad with Oil Cooler even with the Man Trans. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for it other than Rad availability.

'65 usage was very different as I outlined.

No A body Final Assembly Plant in Ohio for '64/'65. None in Kansas either. There was a big car Final Plant in Kansas City, Kansas but the A body was built at Kansas City, Missouri. Just wanted to avoid any confusion about radiator usage based on where the cars were built.

[Tom Vaught]

My 64 M/T GTO did not have Auto Trans fittings in the lower tank. KC built car.
Tom V.

[Keith Seymore]

Mine has plugs.

Sept of 1964 built in Pontiac.

Eric white's book indicates the same radiator is used for both manual and auto trans.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 6t5gto

Did a 1965 radiator come with the lower tank having the threaded holes for an automatic even if it was a manual car? I pulled my radiator out of my car today and there are threaded plugs for transmission lines. I thought I heard a long time ago that it came that way whether it was an auto or manual.

What rear axle ratio?

K

[6t5gto]

3:55

[Tom Vaught]

Thanks for the info that GM used the radiators with the plugs in both trans configurations in 1965. Learn something about 1965 vehicles occasionally.

Sorry for the 1964 info.

Tom V.

[gtopont]

got my 65 new baltimore car built 3rd week of jan. 4 speed had the plugs

[6t5gto]

Mine - December 1964 Pontiac plant

[John V.]

Specific Man Trans Radiators (no oil cooler, no plugs) were released for the '64 A body but IIRC, they were not released until well into the year. The KC and Baltimore built PHS records will identify the specific Rad Code installed. Even after the release of the specific Man Trans Rads, some Man Trans builds show the Auto Trans Rad code on the PHS record, others the Man Trans code and it appears random once the Man Trans Rads existed.

For Service, Pontiac only listed the Auto Trans Rads for the A body in the Master Parts Catalog so my assumption is, you could not get a Service Replacement Man Trans Rad.

I have not studied the '65 Rads very closely. I know the codes are listed in the MPC. Would be pretty easy to check if there were any Man Trans specific Rad codes.

Point is, there would be absolutely no surprise if a Man Trans build got the Auto Trans Rad. But Man Trans specific Rads may have existed and perhaps found on some '65 builds, They definitely were done that way for '64.

Possible that the same happened in '65. Check the MPC and see if there were specific Man Trans Rad codes (and related p/ns) for evidence.

I always imagined that the Man Trans Rads were released in '64 because they could save a few pennies building Rads without the oil cooler. Seems at least plausible that the same logic would have been used in '65.

[Keith Seymore]

Here's why I asked about axle ratio.

These are the charts from Eric's book detailing the radiator releases for 1964 and 1965, respectively.





For '64 it looks to me like a pretty clear split between manual and auto applications.

For '65 you can see the "smaller" radiators did distinguish between auto and manual, but the heaviest duty radiator was used for both.

It's typically based on the business case comprehending the anticipated volume and trade offs relative to piece cost and tooling and added logistics of creating and maintaining another part number. The program team would make the call. It's analogous to the decision as to whether to proliferate a wire harness based on content, or give away content (extra wires and connectors) to avoid proliferating parts.

As you might expect the radiator is called out specifically on the build sheet and, in my case, the code is stenciled on the radiator and everything matches up.











K

[rare4k]

What are your tank codes upper and lower?

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[Keith Seymore]

For Kansas City built '65's the code is stenciled in a different location:

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by rare4k

What are your tank codes upper and lower?

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Who are you asking (me or OP)?

K

[6t5gto]

Keith, The location of everything on my radiator is exactly as yours is. I was told that it was the original radiator and have heard that the transmission plugs were correct but became a little suspicious. Thank you for the confirmation.