Hello - I read a bunch of threads on it however i still have a question. I am restoring my 54 chevy bel air and i bought a new alum rad to install with a built in trans cooler. anyway, the radiator sits to far back and hits the original water pump pully/fan blades. Does the short pump from patrick's move this part back, and if so how far? I would like to use the new radiator as is without modifying the mounting area/hood flange or cutting the flanges off the rad and re-welding them. As of right now i made up some spacers to move the radiator away from the engine about 1" and that should work, however it does not look right. -thanks shane
what engine do you have? The 54 and earlier engines have the pump mounted so it's in front of the head, while the 55 and later engines have it recessed in the block. The later pump is a lot longer than the earlier one and won't work in the early cars unless you shorten it or move the radiator forward or both. You can also adapt the early pump to the later block.
A photo of the pump and pulley you have might help guys come up with a solution. My first guess is that the radiator you bought is set up for a V8 and would work perfectly with a V8. What I have done on a friends 53 Chev truck with a 56 235 in it is to find a water pump pulley that is enough shorter to move the fan back the amount you need but still clear the rest of the pulleys. Then you take the pump off the engine and press the hub for the fan down the shaft to the correct spot where it should set for the new pulley to work right. You have to cut the shaft off so you have just enough stub sticking out to center the pulley and fan on and install it back on the engine.
been a while since worked on a '54 but, lots of '55 Chevys run radiator in front of stock support brace/panel.
55 chevys are not like 54 chevys, you could get a 55 with a V8, so they mounted the radiator behind the bar with the 8 and in front of the bar for the longer six.
thanks for the fast reply's...this forum is truly full of great people.. anyways, I have the orig. 235 in my 54..I just rebuilt the engine and had the tranny rebuilt too...it has the original long pump on the engine...the orig. rad mounts in a support (kind of like a sleeve) and then slides into the front of the compartment as a unit...i cannot just mount it in front of this unit as there is a brace/wire loom tube that goes on the front of this..as of right now i have the orig rad support/sleeve removed and the new rad. spaced about an inch foward...i would just like it to look close to orig. and was just wondering if there was a way to move the pump back...a number of you say i can press the pump hub backwards and use a diff. pulley...what pulley have you used and how much room did it give you? - i will try to get pics but i have to work the next three days, so it will most likely wait until monday..
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