Joined: Sat Aug 19 2006, 05:03PM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2919
starshipconstellation wrote ... I got my Spectra CU332 radiator for about the price of the Summit unit from eBay. Rock Auto had already discontinued them about a year ago. I replaced my 22 inch radiator with this. It's a 26 inch. Had to get another fan shroud. If your original is a 26, this should be a direct swap.
My original rad was 22". The parts car that donated the replacement front clip for mine had the 26" rad support, but I didn't get a rad with it.
Joined: Tue Oct 06 2009, 09:37AM
Location: Paris, KY
Posts: 1496
Mike66Chryslers wrote ...
starshipconstellation wrote ... I got my Spectra CU332 radiator for about the price of the Summit unit from eBay. Rock Auto had already discontinued them about a year ago. I replaced my 22 inch radiator with this. It's a 26 inch. Had to get another fan shroud. If your original is a 26, this should be a direct swap.
My original rad was 22". The parts car that donated the replacement front clip for mine had the 26" rad support, but I didn't get a rad with it.
Understood. If you decide not to do the Ford Explorer radiator, the Spectra CU332 is an excellent choice.
I ended up having to put my 26 inch rad on the 22 support. If a 22 inch rad had been available at the time I ordered, I would have went with that. At the time Rock Auto had the radiator they seemed to have onlly the CU332. The eBay fitment chart was misleading and I got a larger rad than I was expecting. I got it centered on the transmission lines and found that one side bolted in normally and then I had to drill holes for the other side. It's worked fine. My fan clutch started going bad just as I put it up for the winter. The replacement is waiting for me to have time to do it. <span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Tue Mar 06 2012, 01:56PM ]</span>
Joined: Sat Aug 19 2006, 05:03PM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2919
I discovered that the Spectra CU332 is indeed discontinued, so getting difficult to find locally. There is also another rad available for this application, Vista Pro #433332. This one is less expensive than the Spectra, but I wonder about the quality. Also, Champion Radiators makes an aluminum version of the CU332 design though it's not on their website.
I've gone back to "Plan A" and made one more attempt to fit my 22" rad into the 26" rad support for now. Pics below. Vertically it is at the correct height. I had to notch the side of the rad bracket to clear the battery tray, and slot the top bolt hole so that it sits lower. Horizontally it's shifted 3/4" towards the drivers side versus where it should be.
I'll check for shroud fitment once the engine is in. If the fan doesn't hit the shroud, I'll add some stiffening ribs to the adapter plate that I made (or cut another one out of a piece of thicker steel), paint it black and call it good enough for now.
<span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Sun Mar 11 2012, 07:49PM ]</span>
Joined: Sat Aug 19 2006, 05:03PM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2919
Update: I have my engine in the car. I installed the fan, slid the 22" rad with my adapter plate into position, and installed my OEM metal shroud to test fit everything.
It's not going to work. The fan is 1/4" away from the edge of the shroud on the passenger side. Sites I've found where people made DIY shrouds all recommend 1/2" or larger gap. I wouldn't be as worried if it was tight on the drivers side, but when you apply torque, the engine is going to want to lean to the passenger side and reduce that 1/4" even further.
Joined: Mon Jun 28 2010, 09:40PM
Location: South East Side San Antonio
Posts: 422
Mike66Chryslers wrote ...
What are people actually using for rad and upper rad hose? Part numbers would be appreciated if possible. Also what, if anything, are you using for a fan shroud? Thanks!
Most part stores will let you go through thier stock of hoses and see the one you need. I really don't like flex hoses so I mocked up the bends and length I needed with a wire hanger and went in to line them up with what the store had , and used a razor to cut away the section I didn't need. Looks stock, but I know it's custom.:)
Joined: Sat Nov 20 2010, 09:19PM
Location: Granbury, Texas
Posts: 485
I've got my original 3-row 22" AC radiator. I had it re-cored back in 1989.
I recently had the radiator in my wife's 380SL re-cored, so I took the Fury radiator in for a check-out. The good news is that the radiator is still in excellent condition. But my radiator guy (top-notch -- shop owner) also informed me that if the radiator ever did go bad, it could not be re-cored because "bucket-type" cores are no longer manufactured. So he recommended that I take good care of the core I had. His two specific recommendations were:
1. Always use distilled water along with anti-freeze. Don't use tap water as it will have dissolved minerals that are corrosive to a copper/brass radiator (especially here in N. Texas).
2. Use a lower-pressure radiator cap. He recommended 8-10psi. You do give up some boil-over protection with this, but it puts much less stress on the radiator. Use an overflow tank it you decide to do this.
Joined: Sat Aug 19 2006, 05:03PM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2919
Could one of you guys that is running the Spectra CU332 be able to measure the distance between tubes (center to center) and let me know?
I have been calling around. Apparently an OEM 26" rad had 9/16" center-to-center distance between tubes, like this:
There is also a "high efficiency" rad core available with 3/8" spacing between tubes, so there are more tubes. I would like to determine if the CU332 would be considered OEM or high-efficiency.
Thanks
<span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Wed May 02 2012, 03:01PM ]</span>