 r1.jpg |
I was lucky that the original radiator was still in the car, albeit a little worse for wear. I took the unit down to our local radiator shop and they did a fine job on the re-core. They have done other project radiators for me and they are hip to the restoration thing. Two days later and $175.00 my radiator was as good as new. They usually don't return radiators unpainted but I made a request for that as I wanted to use the Eastwood Radiator Black as I have had great luck with that paint. |
 r2.jpg |
On my buildsheet the line for radiator decoded as 2949054 Max Cool The arrow points where to look for your radiator number. This is the 26" version and will be backed up with a shroud and a 7-blade fan to keep the Hemi cool. |
 r3.jpg |
After a cleaning with oil & grease remover and a thorough blow job with the air gun the radiator is ready for painting. Start by using light, misting coats first in one direction then another. To properly cover the fins you need to spray them from all four directions. |
 r4.jpg |
Now that you have dusted the paint from one direction start painting with the paint coming in from the opposite direction to cover that side of the fins. Try to keep these coats as light as possible while still getting good coverage. |
 r5.jpg |
Here you can see the paint is starting to even up and the fins are looking more even and smooth. Take it out in the sun or under a very bright light and move the radiator around to different angles to make sure you got everything covered. |
 c11.jpg |
As far as the water pump goes I had the original rebuilt and reinstalled it in the housing. The water nipples were in good shape but I had to replace the water neck. At this time I opted not to use a thermostat and we will see what the temps come out to be. I don't think that I will be driving this one much in winter so I really don't need the heat. |
 c1.jpg |
Three months of searching finally yielded a good fan with the proper part number and a very good clutch. After a trip through the de-greaser and the bead blaster the blades came out great with just a prime, light sand and paint in store for them. The Clutch just needed a light wire brushing and a shot of Eastwood's Alumi-Blast and a little of the Eastwood Gold Cad system for the face. The whole thing bolted up real easy using the bolts from my Hemi bolt kit I had bought and it was ready to go. |
 c2.jpg |
I am real happy with the way the accessories are looking against the bright Hemi Orange paint. Kinda reminds me of the Great Pumpkin! |
 c3.jpg |
I was lucky that the original 26" shroud survived all the years and really cleaned up nice. We scrubbed it with Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner then wiped it down with a light coat of Lacquer thinner and the surface came out great. |
 c4.jpg |
Be sure to slip the shroud over the fan before you slide the radiator into the engine compartment. I am pretty sure it is like a near impossibility to get it on once the radiator is in. |
 c5.jpg |
This is a good of time as any to remind you all to make sure to paint the front of the radiator support with semi-gloss black. Nothing looks worse than a great restoration with the body color peeking through the grill. |
 c6.jpg |
Here is the radiator all painted up in Eastrwood's Radiator Black. I usually try to find paints other than from Eastwood due to the expense, but this one works great. It sticks to the core and tanks and doesn't stain if you splash some anti-freeze on it. Just make sure you get the fins coated evenly but don't put too much paint on as it will make the radiator function less efficiently. |
 c7.jpg |
Put the bottom bolts in a little way then lower the radiator onto the mounting slots and then put the top bolts in. The shroud then fastens with 5-nuts to the radiator. All the bolts for this also come in the under hood bolt kit I scored from e-bay. That kit has been okay in that all the bolts function but bad in that they do not resemble the originals in some occasions. I have used a mix of the new and originals bolts & nuts depending on what the new ones looked like. Here they were dead on the money so on they went. |
 c8.jpg |
Nothing to see through the grill but a black background for that outstanding Charger grillwork. |
 c9.jpg |
A new cap gets snapped on and I was able to save the original hose by giving it a cleaning in lacquer thinner then some rubber conditioner and it went right on. Nothing like the original stuff if you got it. |
 c10.jpg |
Here are the correct part number, the Pentastar and the model number. These are all things you only get with an original Mopar radiator and when it is right on top it is good to have the stuff there. |