1957 Ford F100 Radiator replacement

G

GHerr1957

Junior Member
The radiator in my 57 F100 is totally shot after 55 years of use so it it time to replace or repair it. My truck is not a show truck so I am not concerned whether the radiator is original looking.

I am having problems finding manufacturers that actually make after market radiators to fit this truck at a reasonable price. I have found a few that make them but they are priced anywhere from $500 - $700.
There are lots of people that make radiators for every year except for years 57 - 59.

I have found an aluminum radiator manufactured by American Eagle for about $250 which is by far, the least expensive I have found. My question is, would I be better off buying a radiator made for a 1960 (AE251) and then adapting it to my truck. Or going with the manufacturers recommendation which is a radiator made for a 68 - 79 Bronco. Their part number is AE433-AA.

Which one would be an easier fit? Or should I be going for a different year? Has anyone had any success doing this and if so, what year of truck did they use as a source for the radiator??

Here is the website if you care to take a look. Not that you can tell too much from pictures.

http://www.americaneagleradiator.com


Thanks
 
If you have the radiator made for the truck, take it to a reputable repair shop and have it re-cored.
 
I did check with one shop in town and they said they were not certain if they could get a core for it and if they could, it would be about $450 to do the job. That is $150 more expensive than a new aluminum radiator. LMC has a radiator listed for $470 plus freight which would be another $20 or so.

I do plan on stopping in at the local radiator shop today along with a few other if possible to see what they can do. I highly doubt that they can recore it for less than $250 but I could be wrong.

Interesting enough, the LMC catalog lists the replacement radiator as years 1957 - 1960. American Eagle has 2 radiators listed for 1960 Fords. I am thinking one of those might be a better fit than the one they are recommending which is the Bronco radiator.
 
The aluminum radiators that are being offered as replacements work great in the earlier cars/trucks, providing you use a three row in lieu of the more common two row..
A neat little trick a friend of mine figured out a few years back is to use an aluminum racing radiator from Summit... These radiators are made for stock car racers so they are very well built.. They are intended for cross flow use, they can be stood up in the earlier vehicles by using the Chevy style in a Ford, Ford in Chevy, this puts the hose openings in the correct location..
The '57-60 F series radiators are very similar to the F series radiators used through '73.
 
Bill,
Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it. I did stop at the local radiator shop and it was $450 to recore the original radiator so it looks like it is going to be an aluminum replacement.

Gary
 
As a follow-up, I have been working with American Eagle Radiator and they are very helpful. They do not have a direct fit for my truck but they are very flexible in working with me to find a radiator that will fit and making alterations to it such as changing mounting brackets, and inlet position. They even offered to have me send my radiator to them (at their cost) and they would make one for me as a prototype. And give the radiator to me free of charge. Only drawback is I would have to wait 4 months to get it. I am going with the option of using one of the cores they have in inventory and altering the brackets. The only difference between the stock core they have and mine is that it is 4 '' shorter in profile. I can make that work.

Anyone looking for radiators should defiantly be contacting this company.
 
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