What radiator to buy? '71 Pontiac 455 wagon

I got a realy nice rad from a company on ebay. Cross flow and double pass. My fan fight with the thermostat and the car runs ice cold. Its a very nice unit all tig welded and only cost me 160 very happy with it.

 

YES!!! The aluminum is the best way to go. You get the best bang for the buck. Plus at this point you now have a 467, not a 455.

What was the temperature running at when the radiator failed?

Do you have the water pump divider plate clearanced? I can help you with that if you don't know.

Which water pump? Cast impeller?

Mechanical fan?

I will look to see if the Grand Safari is special or is it the same as the Catalina. Can you take some measurements?

Dave

 

So I posted this on another forum and got a few hits. I added the link below. This might help.

Dave


http://forums.performanceyears.com/forums/showthread.php?t=714076

 

Thanks for the responses. To follow up, I tried to install the new radiator I got from Napa today and it is too thick. The new radiator is 2.5" in depth. The old radiator apparently wasn't this thick because my fan shroud won't fit over the radiator enough to mount to the core support and my upper, rubber radiator supports aren't long enough to fit over the top of the radiator (and go between it and the top of the fan shroud).

What's strange is all the parts houses show the same radiator for my application (had to look up a grandville with a 455, but it is the same). They are all 2.5" for a car with air. My father's car, a 1971 Pontiac that he sold brand new as a dealer and we know is all original, is sitting right next to my car right now, his with factory air, and the radiator in it is thinner, yet as I mentioned, no parts houses show a radiator of his thickness, like my original one was, for sale for a car that had air.


Brandon

 

The reason that it doesn't fit, is that the replacement is a generic that the manufacturer "thinks" is the same as the original, however, the manufacturer doesn't know this as a fact, but only assumes it will, because in some other brand applications it does. Common mistake today, because they don't actually fit the replacement onto a car to make sure that it will work. This is the reason that I prefer to have a radiator rebuilt than to buy a replacement. The only thing that is used are the two tanks and a new core is installed onto the tanks. In the end, I believe that this is going to be the only sensible solution to your radiator problems.

 

Your absolutely right i explaind a bit what he actually needed in another thread

 

I used to have a '66 Caprice wagon with a factory 327, three on the tree, yada. Needed a resto but drove the hell out of it for 7 years. When the radiator went I had it re-cored. High quality job done by Performance Radiator, Tacoma, WA. I retained the original caps which had a name stamped on it (Henderson I think) and real Chevy heads would spot the "original" tank. Plus I got a better performing radiator that still fit perfectly and looked original. Was under $200 and well worth it. Yes original means one thing and numbers matching means another. Personally, if it means that much to you (and it usually does) try to have it re-cored by a good, reputable shop.

 

If you dont care about originality, speedway motors has very affordable aluminum radiators, for about 135 dollars.

 

Thanks for the tips.

I don't care as much about 100% originality. I have heard some people have had issues with 455 running hot when bored and others have no issues at all. In this instance I wanted to make sure I had a big radiator.

For future reference for anyone, do not order a radiator from Napa or it will not fit. I plan to change to an electric fan later on, which will require a custom shroud, so this time, for me, the lack of a perfect fit won't be a big problem for me, but it might be for others.