66' Radiator replacement

[Emas9420]

So today i noticed a small amount of coolant under my car. I can not see where its coming from, but its definitely coming from the front of the car.. and the only thing there are the 2 hoses and the radiator.

The hoses are dry, that leaves the radiator. I figured i'd start checking for radiators in the mean time and this weekend i can figure out where the leak is coming from.. Well, i can not find a radiator... not an OEM one anyways.

I do see a newer aluminum radiator, i am not opposed to it, BUT im curious about how i would go about mounting it to the car? From the pictures, it looks completely different to the stock one, the stock one has a bracket that attaches it to the front of the car, and the bottom has bolt holes, these seem to be mounted vertically and not horizontally.

Has anyone had any luck fitting one of these in their car? or is there anywhere i can get an OEM radiator or aftermarket that is a direct bolt on?

https://www.championradiators.com/Linco ... _1966-1967

[Lee]

Perhaps a third option: have the radiator repaired. It has been a few years, and I don’t know where you live, but a good radiator shop can do anything necessary, up to, and including re-coring. They are not as common as they once were, but I think you can still find one.

[Emas9420]

Perhaps a third option: have the radiator repaired. It has been a few years, and I don’t know where you live, but a good radiator shop can do anything necessary, up to, and including re-coring. They are not as common as they once were, but I think you can still find one.

I've been thinking about that, but they would probably charge me more to fix it than to buy a new one. I am looking at some options though but considering i have not even seen what the issue is, i can't even call to find out price. It seems to only drip when i turn the car off.. so must be a tiny hole somewhere.

[LithiumCobalt]

The easiest route and the one most esthetically pleasing/correct would be to have the original one re-cored. Might not be the cheapest but that will avoid all of the potential fitment and compatibility issues and it will look like it belongs in the engine bay. I had a recore done on my Mark III this past winter. Was $500 for the job and they included stripping, and fixing some cracks in the tanks as well.

[TonyC]

Thing with repair is, on average it costs more than a new radiator from Champion goes for. That said, I do advocate repairing the radiator you have, as well as getting a replacement.

Last spring Frankenstein's radiator sprang a leak in the middle core, near the upper-left corner, which is one of the worst spots to spring a leak. I was able to seal it after a couple weeks, but I decided it prudent to get a replacement. During the summer I put in an order for one of Champion's radiators. My order was placed on backorder because their stock was depleted. But, at the beginning of August, they did notify me when they got a new stock, and I was able to get one. Naturally, the old radiator has been behaving itself since , so I have not yet tried installing the new one, though I carried it with me on long trips, just in case.

I say, contact Champion with your interest in a new rad. If they have another stock depletion, they will notify you when they can fill orders. Also, shop around locally, see how much re-coring the old rad will cost. Save up for both options, as I feel that the radiator is among those components you want to have a good spare for. Others on the Forum have used Champion for their radiator needs, and I do not recall seeing any complaints about the fitting of the product, nor its performance.

To patch what you have in the meantime, you need to isolate exactly where the leak is. To do that, you need fill the system (preferably with straight water, no need at this point to waste antifreeze), run the engine to the point you see the radiator leaking, then examine carefully where the leak is. Hopefully it will be at the forward or rearward core and not the middle one; the middle is the most frustrating, as I said. What I did with the last leak was apply a liberal amount of JB Weld as best I could into the spot where I saw the leak (after drying the area, of course), wait the full recommended day for it to cure, then add a bottle of leak stopper to the system when I refilled it. Surprisingly, that held up through the ordeal of the 2023 summer and even today is still sealed. But I do have the new Champion rad on hand for the next breach. In fact, regardless of whether the old one blows again or not, I intend to do the swap anyway when the time comes to assemble all the A/C components.

---Tony

[frasern]

Check the bottom of the rad tubes for green deposits, corrosion. If you have none, the rad can probably be fixed, but if the fins are all disintegrating, it may not be worth it. Anyway, an old, greasy rad shop is your best bet, old school rad guys are amazing.

[bd94s10]

There is a champion radiator on eBay right now for $242 I think… I used one on my 64 and I absolutely love it.

[Dan Szwarc]

The 66 radiator must be repaired or recored as the top and bottom brackets are not reproduced and must be transferred to the new core or radiator.
The tanks and tubes are copper. Have a local shop recore/repair it. Repaint it yourself.

[Emas9420]

Thing with repair is, on average it costs more than a new radiator from Champion goes for. That said, I do advocate repairing the radiator you have, as well as getting a replacement.

Last spring Frankenstein's radiator sprang a leak in the middle core, near the upper-left corner, which is one of the worst spots to spring a leak. I was able to seal it after a couple weeks, but I decided it prudent to get a replacement. During the summer I put in an order for one of Champion's radiators. My order was placed on backorder because their stock was depleted. But, at the beginning of August, they did notify me when they got a new stock, and I was able to get one. Naturally, the old radiator has been behaving itself since , so I have not yet tried installing the new one, though I carried it with me on long trips, just in case.

I say, contact Champion with your interest in a new rad. If they have another stock depletion, they will notify you when they can fill orders. Also, shop around locally, see how much re-coring the old rad will cost. Save up for both options, as I feel that the radiator is among those components you want to have a good spare for. Others on the Forum have used Champion for their radiator needs, and I do not recall seeing any complaints about the fitting of the product, nor its performance.

To patch what you have in the meantime, you need to isolate exactly where the leak is. To do that, you need fill the system (preferably with straight water, no need at this point to waste antifreeze), run the engine to the point you see the radiator leaking, then examine carefully where the leak is. Hopefully it will be at the forward or rearward core and not the middle one; the middle is the most frustrating, as I said. What I did with the last leak was apply a liberal amount of JB Weld as best I could into the spot where I saw the leak (after drying the area, of course), wait the full recommended day for it to cure, then add a bottle of leak stopper to the system when I refilled it. Surprisingly, that held up through the ordeal of the 2023 summer and even today is still sealed. But I do have the new Champion rad on hand for the next breach. In fact, regardless of whether the old one blows again or not, I intend to do the swap anyway when the time comes to assemble all the A/C components.

---Tony

Tony do you happen to have a picture top and bottom of your champion rad? i saw a few on sale, but none have a picture of the bottom. so im curious if it is a straight swap or not. A pic would help greatly.

[Emas9420]

I saw the champion on eBay for $250 and thought it was good and cheap.. Also, i can buy and use while the other gets fixed. Weirdly enough, yesterday night as i was changing the V-belts i tried to check for the leak and there was none.. must be really really small.. and only happens when the car shuts off.

[TonyC]

Emanuel,

I don't, but it will be easy to snap a couple; I have it stashed in my storage closet. I'll pull it out and snap some stills of it, so others can verify whether it will be a straight swap. From what I remembered seeing last August when I got it, it looked like the brackets it has will not cause any fit issues; but in case I'm wrong I'll have others weigh in on the pictures.

Edit: Below are shots of the new one, just taken, at all odd angles to show the mounting points. Keep in mind that I have not yet tried installing it, with my old one behaving for the time being; but from what I see it does not look like there will be any complications with installing it as-is. The side tanks are not shaped like the originals, but I don't see that being a fit issue.

Additional note: When I was shopping Champion for the new rad, they also had a listing for the '61–5 rad. Although similar, they did note that there was a dimensional difference between the two. To avoid issues I went specifically with their part number for the '66/7 rad, which is also below. For anyone who looks at sources outside Champion for a '66/7 rad, make sure the part number on the item matches this number.

---Tony

[Dan Szwarc]

Here’s the top bracket on the OEM radiator.

[TonyC]

Well...I can see where attaching the retaining bracket for the fuel lines can be a complication. But if that's the only issue, maybe I can concoct a fix, like I did with the replacement evaporator core sold for our sub-series.

In fact, my brain is spinning on a possible idea now...

---Tony

[Dan Szwarc]

This should be doable with a decent torch, some solder and flux. The top of the OEM core is probably the same as this one. Adapt the bracket and radiator to make them fit. I can’t remember if I have a second radiatior with the bracket attached, top and bottom. If I do, I’m selling them.