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66 AMERICAN RADIATOR REPLACEMENT

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Root 66 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Root 66 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: 66 AMERICAN RADIATOR REPLACEMENT
    Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 7:51am
Any leads on best source for a new aluminum rad for a 66 rambler 220 with original 199? 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 232jav3sp Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 8:06am
I bought mine off of eBay. Cannot remember the seller, but it works very well.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Root 66 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 8:26am
I've seen a few listed on there too, including Champion. But compatibility charts are a bit sketchy though so figured I'd put it out there to have a little more peace of mind selecting. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LakesideRamblin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 12:37pm
Here from a Forum member or Galvin's or American Parts Depot.
LakesideRamblin
69 Rambler 360
73 Javelin 360
"If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month." T. Roosevelt
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nickleone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 1:37pm
If  are not building for show quality, this is what I did on my 196 in my classic.


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401 71 Gremlin pro rally car sold
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Root 66 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Root 66 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/25/2021 at 2:27pm
that was my next move...ebay stuff makes me leery sometimes. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tomj Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/26/2021 at 1:56pm
I used the Champion in a 1968 American -- very heavy aluminum, solidly built, expensive as those things go ($250?) but wow top-notch quality. Actual, no-bull drop in in that car.

In my '60 American I bought an eBay aluminum radiator, gambled on it, $140, part numbers vary but will probably have "407" in it. Mine's a CC407. Lighter metal, but very well made, it too is drop-in but for 1960 I had to move the holes down to raise it 1/2" to clear the 195.6 front x-member, but that's a peculiar chassis... not an issue on your 66.

Though a lot of people here will never use an aluminum radiator, maybe due to early experience with older radiators, they're now routine and reliable. But! you have to not screw around with coolant. NO TAP WATER. I buy premixed coolant, already 50/50. I always assume that was some sort of ripoff, but it's not -- it's deionized water.

I flush mine to clean with cleaner and hose water, follow instructions. Drain, fill with a couple gallons of distilled water, run for a few minutes, drain that, THEN fill with premix. 

Four years later coolant is crystal clear, no cloudiness, no rust. I run an overflow jug (I prefer vodka bottles for that classy look, but they're also clear). 

My cars do not overheat under any circumstance. 111F Las Vegas summer highway cruising included, at thermostat temperature. I now run 7 psi radiator caps, if you take the heat out, there's no need for raising the boiling point. Anyone can do it.

1960 Rambler Super two-door wagon, OHV auto
1961 Roadster American, 195.6 OHV, T5
http://www.ramblerLore.com

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Root 66 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Root 66 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/27/2021 at 2:26pm
Thanks for the insight, gonna save up for the same...original is functioning but has had alot of repairs so not the most reliable.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tufcj Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/27/2021 at 3:14pm
For my 67 (should be the same as your 66), I bought a Jeep CJ aluminum radiator.   Height and width are the same, brackets are right.  I had to re-drill the 2 lower bolt holes, but otherwise a drop in.

Bob
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote farna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov/01/2021 at 5:35am
Well, the Explorer radiator should be more efficient (the side to side flow type usually are) and a new one is pretty cheap. The lower grommets should be as well. Do have to fab a lower support, but that doesn't have to be fancy. Just a metals "shelf" with a hole for the grommet... or "a" grommet. Any rubber grommet that will fit the stud will work fine. If it's a daily driver and working is more important than looking original that's the way I'd go. you can always make an extended cover for the upper part... the 64-69 Americans have a filler plate on top, IIRC, that can easily be extended over the radiator for more of a factory look. 
Frank Swygert
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