AD electric fan and aluminum radiator install

[Fred T]

The time finally came to fix the cooling system on my 52 Chevy 3/4 ton. The last haul I made resulted in my temp gauge being pegged until I slowed down to 40 mph. Contributing to the problem included an air temp just over 100 and two tons of topsoil.

I started by finding a radiator shop. My old standby was out of business. I had been doing business with them for 40 years. I asked around and ended up going to Newton Radiator in Newton, KS. This was where I learned why some many local shops are closing. The core makers are not making custom cores any longer. When the price of copper went up the core makers couldn't afford to do the custom jobs. There are still some made, but the price is high. The guy tried to find a core for me, but could only come up with a complete radiator. Again, not a cheap option.

His suggestion was to buy a new radiator on e-bay. Ledfoot Auto sells 3 row aluminum radiators of good quality. The one I bought was $250 shipped, about half the cost of what I found on the net from retailers.

A good friend convinced me to switch to an electric fan. I had previously destroyed one good core with a fan blade, and with just under 1/2" clearance I didn't want to risk another radiator. I ended up buying a Zirgo 16" fan, 3,000 cfm and reversible to use as a pusher. Current draw showed just under 10 amps. I also purchased a variable speed controller, Hayden Automotive 3651. This controller has a screw-in temp sensor and a relay that is part of the control. It also has a blade fuse in-line.

To mount the radiator, I had to grind about 1/2" out of the radiused corners on the core support, the tanks on the radiator have square corners and didn't clear. Aside from that, the radiator dropped in.

For mounting the fan, I fabbed some brackets to attach to the core support. I used aluminum because our local surplus yard has a good stock for a decent price.

Everything is together and I has test-driven the truck. So far, the new system works good. My next step will be to fine-tune the thermostat and clean up the wiring.

Photos:
1. Fitting the fan. Cardboard to protect the radiator and space the fan so it wouldn't rub.
2. The fan installed.
3. The brackets.
4-5. The radiator, installed and painted with radiator black.