Has anyone put their radiator in the bed???

Has anyone ever put their radiator in the bed of their truck? It seems I have run out of room up front. I have one mocked up right now but it doesn't look right. It makes my truck look like it has a bucked tooth

I have seen a couple of cars/trucks in magazines with this. Any information or pics/ideas would be awesome. I know if I do It I will need a electric fan. Do you guys think cooper tubing would work? do I need a special water pump? PLEASE HELP!!

 

One of the guys from Ohmaha did it and it looked killer. All you saw was motor. Drop Hell Raiser a PM and I know he can help you get in touch.

 

Here's a guy from the Tucson Over The Hill Gang..WENDALL....runs cool year around even with the blower.and yeah he runs the wheels of it.motor is one of those french flatheads

 

A friend has his radiator in the bed of his morris minor truck. And the only problem he has is that at high way speeds. He looses air flow or circulation. (At idle or low speeds no problem). Because of the way the air flows over the cab it creates a vacuum effect right where the radiator is mounted. He even tried to lower the tail gate. But just like the test that some automotive mags did awhile back to see if you could achieve better gas mileage with the gate down or up, there was no difference. And even with a high flow fan the vacuum effect was still too strong to let the fan overcome this problem. And he is still working on it. And pondering a very large radiator for more volume of coolant. BUT HELL IT MIGHT WORK IN YOURS...ghost

 

I would do it ...all that extra water and pipe will make it run cooler too

 

I have seen a lot of cars lately running that set up. It shouldnt be a problem at all.

 

i say try it! normally i'm not a fan of these type of trucks. but if you can sit that grill shell just right i think its gonna look cool! worth the trouble for sure.

 

Get an electric water pump....that way you would have ultimate control of temp.

 

You're just going to have to sacrifice a few inches off the bottom of that grille to allow it to shift forward at the top and be "in line" with the firewall and the rest of the truck. The headlamps are pointed at the sky and the grille is looking up too.
There's your solution to the buck-toothed look which is very common in these rat-style vehicles.
The radiator mounted in rear seems to me to be a seriously labor intensive and potentially expensive solution to a simple cosmetic design flaw.

 

Heck yeah, that's how I got it home.

 

Easy deal, electric water pump, aluminum 4 pass radiater, killer stainless braided hoses with AN fittings(ebay, ex nascar stuff=cheap) weld aluminum bungs to radiator and water pump and ya got a neat almost closed system....two tips....dont use the cheap ass little zip tie things to secure your fan to the raditor, build a seperate bracket, and use an industrial hose place to final cut and swag your fittings, be sure to tell them its not a high pressure deal........any good fan will solve "air flow" issues it just needs to pass through the radiator.....Vic

if you decide to go this route, pm me your phone# or email, I may be able to hook a brother up...get the distance from your current water pump to where you want your radiator positioned

 

Tried it once, but then antifreeze got on the mattress, then the wife got all pissy about it...plus the damn thing is pretty sharp and cuts the mattress!!

To actually answer your question, no...but I've thought about building an RPU and have considered the same thing. It would be interesting to see if the guys running that actually are able to keep the engine cool enough in traffic.

I'm inclined to agree with pasadena, in the case of your truck. But, it would be a shame to cut up that nice grille for that, too. It almost looks like you caught your grille backing off a curb or something, so I can definitely see your dilenma.

 

No, but I did sleep with a couple of Ho's. OOOh, got to clamp down on these.

 

I'm working on this as well. I've seen this done with 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" copper pipe coupled on each end with radiator hose and hose clamps.. I've heard comment that you may not even need water pumps at the engine with an electric inline water pump. I'm considering using plastic pexto pipe. It is used a lot for plumbing in our area, probably all over. Talk ta a plumber buddy. One question I have, on a flathead engine, are the lower hoses pushing water into the radiator or sucking into the engine?, and should the lower hoses connect to the upper or lower tubes in the radiator if it is in the rear of the vehicle? csw

Another thought, My bobcat tractor has the radiator in the rear, mounted pretty high, with a strong fan and a good shrouding system and to my knowledge has no problems overheating. It could sit still for a half an hour and be fine. Might even consider a Bobcat radiator.

 

I got this project with the radiator already in the bed AND all pluming from front to rear. BB Chevy, I have my dout's only because it's new to me! To much done by PO so will try and make it work. Looking for same info!

 

I tried the 1.5 inch with rubber hoses and clamps, it really just looked like crap and keeping the lines hidden is almost impossible with that much "plumbing" the AN stuff is smaller diamater but it is longer and will flow plenty of water with the electric pump.

 

Tried it once, but then antifreeze got on the mattress, then the wife got all pissy about it...plus the damn thing is pretty sharp and cuts the mattress!!

I knew that I was going to get a little flack for the wording

Thanks guys for all of your comments. I think I am going to try it. One of the comments talked about the grill looking like it was caught on a curb while I was backing up....exactly!!!!! I wanted the grill to be somewhat slanted back from the original location on the 1940 Cadillac, mostly because I like the look of a backwards slanted grill. I even cut and sectioned the small piece of hood I am using to allow the grill to slant backwards towards the cab. I just feel like the grill sits to far out from the front end. I had the grill mocked up lower and a lot closer to the engine before I aquired a walker radiator from my dad and it looked great to me, anyway I am going to try it and hope for the best. Thanks again!!


Here are a couple of shots of the "BEFORE" radiator install.....This is the look I am after!!!

 

http://www.sportmachines.com/history/twinsonoma.php

It's an OT vehicle but Lingenfelter did it in a Sonoma with an LS1, Twin turbos and 700hp. If it can keep all of that cooled I don't see a problem with an open front vehicle. His bed was covered too!

 

check out my A build thread and it will answer most of your questions

 

Nice!!!

 

A friend of mine put the radiator in the back of his Vette and it worked great! It was a roadrace car and it also gave him perfect 50-50 front to rear weight.

 

That is really one of kind done there . Super nice ! I really like it !
As for the question , yes but make sure it gets plenty of good clean air flow plus an electric fan ! I have seen many done that way and I believe the big pro off road racers do that too so it will be protected from all the rocks !!

 

I tired that once but my wife said that either it goes or she does.

 

I used 1 1/4" copper tube and plumbed it from the engine to the rear of the car that way. I would caution you to remember that you need a fill location at the highest point in the coolant system. I am running an aluminum radiator from Jegs or Summit, they make all sizes and port configurations.

 

Thanks for all the comments. I ordered a electric fan and relay from speedway and next week I am off to the plumbing store for some copper pipe. I'll let you know how it comes out

 

Nope, I bought an electric blanket

 

ive had most parts of my car on our bed or beside it at some stage, i just dont have much room here, i dont want things chiped or weathered and the bed is soft and the bedroom floor has carpet.
worst thing is in a argument went the wife says she wants all the parts out of the bedroom or she will chuck them and you have to instantly go into suck up mode.

 

I know this is an old thread and I apologize right now for bringing it up again. However, maybe what I have learned over the last 2 years will help someone else out. I installed my SBC 21x18 radiator with a puller fan back in 2009 (which turned out to be pusher only!!) and have learned a few things. if you use a radiator mounted in the rear please consider a remote water pump to allow the cooled water to get back to the motor. Also go big or don't go. I had a huge temp problem with the size I was using, it would be fine on short distances and the further I drove the hotter it would get some times up to 230F which is just to hot. For the past week I have reworked my truck and installed a Flex-A-Lite fan system with dual fans (puller) and a remote water pump. I used a relay for the water pump and the fan kit came with a relay and a thermostat controlled on/off switch, it was a lot of work but the finished results are outstanding! I have a new favorite number....180F. All day today during my shakedown run it never went over 185/190. I think I have licked the hot temp problem. This is the kind of shit you have to go through when you live in the friggin desert. I hope this helps someone else out.

 

I've seen it done but don't know how well it works

 

Not to rain on your parade, but you might want to reconsider how you run the water lines under the diff. I never read it anywhere, but I think the lowest thing on your car should not be any of that stuff. Gary