[The Hammer]

Thought this might help someone save some bucks.

If anybody has had the radiator blow in their tri-5 poncho. You probably know how much it costs to have one re-cored. Mine popped and I took it several places for a repair estimate and it was going to be well over $500 because the core was going to have to be specially made. Even then they said that it would only be one row and most likely wouldn't be able to handle a much bigger motor. At that point in time I knew I wasn't going for a restoration and I did not know if I was going to do a motor swap down the road to a bigger mill. I also knew that I wanted the car functional until I crossed that road, and it had to look clean.






Here is what I did...

Bought a tri-5 chevy V8 aluminum 3 row radiator off ebay for $250.

Then I welded a couple cross braces to the radiator support on the old radiator. This helps keep it square for working with it because unless it is mounted to something it's very flimsy:


Then I used a blow torch to heat up the solder and bent back the tabs that were folded over the top tank. Afterwards you can pull directly up and the core and tanks will come out. I then, cut the top tabs off:


I then inserted the tri-5 chevy radiator into the support. The width happens to be nearly exactly the same as as the inside width of the radiator support. I made sure that the top was even and in the same location as the old radiator in relation to the support and then drilled holes in the support to attach the radiator.


I then removed the radiator again for more fab work. Since the height of the radiator isn't the same as the original, I took about a 4" wide strip of sheet metal and welded it to the bottom of the support so that air would not pass underneath the radiator, forcing the air through the radiator. I also took the opportunity to paint the support.

(see bottom of above picture)

I then put the radiator back into the support and it was then able to be dropped back into the car. Perfect fit.





The "Pros" of this conversion:
-cheaper
-better cooling
-hot rod looks
-ability to retain the stock fan shroud location and mounting
-The copper and brass from the old radiator will get you about $10-20 at the local recycler

The cons:
-had to disconnect the heater hoses. (this could be fixed if you had another bung welded or brazed into the bottom tank)

I have been driving this thing around a lot and it cools extremely well.

[Bill Eveland]

Nice work Hammer, I need a new radiator for my 55 as well, I guess I never thought about using the original mounting frame and swapping in a new radiator there. That extra 4" at the bottom would be a nice place for me to mount a nice trans cooler.

[buds56]

thats pretty cool. thanks

[Bill Eveland]

Did you buy that from an ebay store or did you have a link to the seller if they had any more at that price? I didn't see any that cheap listed. Thanks again for the info.

[The Hammer]

basically, I got lucky. I watched them for a few weeks and when I saw a cheap one I jumped on it. It was a "buy it now" kind of thing. Those radiator shops are always competing for ebay space. You might be suprised at what could happen if you just throw them an offer. You might also consider checking a tri-5 chevy forum. I'm sure that those fellas have some used ones laying around.

I don't have the seller's name off hand, but I can check at home in my records if I have it. I saw one on there for $290... that's still a pretty good deal. Beats paying $500+ and waiting 2 weeks for a junky 1-row recore.

[padacter67]

i have an brand new alfco radiator i picked up at a swap meet that is supposed to fit 55-57 chevys 200. if anyone is interested, i can get all the dimensions later.
padacter

[The Hammer]

There ya go!