radiator purchase help I6 292

[In The Ten Ring]

I receiver my KKS radiator last year, it looks great. It does require 4 row lower radiator brackets. It sits up a bit high but I am going to cut some bushings from PVC tubing and get longer bolts so I can use OEM upper 3 row radiator brackets.

I'm very impressed with mine also.

[old51sedan]

Originally Posted by sventinker

So I am in the need for a new radiator for my 1970 c10 manual trans 292. I bought one from Rockauto and in the drawing it appears to be shaped like a traditional brass/copper radiator. It is not, it looks like the $130 specials that are flooded on eBay. It is an osc 368 and it came in in good shape but cheap as hell looking it is longer than my stock unit and the places where the brackets hold it are too far apart and not rounded. so it wouldn't fit if I wanted to. Where can I find a radiator that will just bolt in? I don't need a transmission cooler but they all appear to have this. I appreciate any help.

I bought my truck last year out of CA. It has the 250 and I have plans to install a 292. This truck was built in CA with the 250 and has a 3 core radiator along with a fan shroud. It runs cool all of the time. My thoughts would be to have this one rebuilt if need to instead of buying a new one.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by old51sedan

I bought my truck last year out of CA. It has the 250 and I have plans to install a 292. This truck was built in CA with the 250 and has a 3 core radiator along with a fan shroud. It runs cool all of the time. My thoughts would be to have this one rebuilt if need to instead of buying a new one.

The only radiator shop within several counties quoted me something like $700.00 to recore my original, that's the only reason I haven't gone that route but I plan to later. That is why I removed the rivets from my lower brackets and replaced with a machine screw and lock nut. That way I can remove those and replace with smaller brackets and move the passenger side bracket to the other hole.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

The only radiator shop within several counties quoted me something like $700.00 to recore my original, that's the only reason I haven't gone that route but I plan to later. That is why I removed the rivets from my lower brackets and replaced with a machine screw and lock nut. That way I can remove those and replace with smaller brackets and move the passenger side bracket to the other hole.

Jeez! $700 bucks. Should be able to get a couple or 3 radiators for that kind of money. You need to find some radiator shops in a bigger city, and take a road trip.
I found I could get my leaking brass/copper heater core repaired for a dollar more than the Chinese aluminum autoparts store ''replacement'' so I went for it. Cost me $45. The new replacement was a little smaller than OEM too.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

Jeez! $700 bucks. Should be able to get a couple or 3 radiators for that kind of money. You need to find some radiator shops in a bigger city, and take a road trip.
I found I could get my leaking brass/copper heater core repaired for a dollar more than the Chinese aluminum autoparts store ''replacement'' so I went for it. Cost me $45. The new replacement was a little smaller than OEM too.

Guy told me mine would have to be recored, not just patched. Yours might not have been as bad as mine.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Guy told me mine would have to be recored, not just patched. Yours might not have been as bad as mine.

Also only a heater core, not a whole radiator. Maybe about 1/10th the size.

Want to hear the worst part? I had a NIB copper/brass heater core. I swapped it in, but used pointy drywall screws in mounting it. Guess what? Yes I screwed it up myself, and my ''new'' core started dripping as soon as I added coolant to the system. So I took the old heater core, which had been on the truck since I replaced it in 1998, and had the guy resolder the tank. When I pulled it apart to replace it again I found my pin hole. Doh!
Anyway it's all back together now and running cool, heatwer and defroster are hot, so it's all good. I could have the guy solder up my pinhole, but it's guaranteed for one year, and if I have it done, the core would be off warranty by the time I need it.
On the re-install, I used long #6 screws with a nut, making mounting studs instead of screws. Little tricky to get back in -- had to shorten the narrow-end studs, but it worked. [Pic]
Good news is that I had an OEM Harrison AC heater core in a box, stored in my '67 Suburban [which I use for storage of Chevy Truck parts.] I had forgotten all about it. My '71 Jimmy has production AC, which is another project.