Expert: Brad Sears - 7/5/2008

Question
I purchased a radiator for my 1966 Mustang and it does not fit. There is not enough clearance between the fan and radiator.  The car has a 6 cylinder with a 3 speed standard transmission.  The old radiator that I took out of the car has a width of about 1.5 inches and the new one is about 2 inches.  The brand radiator is by GO Dan Industries sold under Ready Rad part number 43-3251.  Since I purchased this from E-Bay I can not return it and I doubled checked the part number and it is listed for the 1966 6 cylinder mustang.  The new one I purchased has the input lines at the bottom for an automatic transmission.  Is the standard transmission radiator smaller?  I can not find anything listed to tell me if the standard vs automatic would require a different radiator.  I need about a half inch more clearance to make this work.  Is there someway I can change the fan to get the extra clearance?

Answer
I have a question for you and then we can get down to business. Is there an aluminum spacer between the fan and the pulley for the belts drive? If there is you can have a machine shop or some one with a lathe cut a half inch off it. The automatic radiator that you have appears to have a thicker core because the automatic transmission develops more heat than the standard.. Let me know.
Brad