69 charger Rad question

[lexxman]

I'm putting every thing back together on my charger, it had a 22" rad in it. Can I put a 26" in its place? The opening for the rad is only 22" and it looks like I would need to drill new holes to mount it. Opinions welcomed.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Can you?  Sure.  Like you said you'd have to drill new holes on one side of the core opening.  You would benefit from the extra coolant capacity but without the 26" core opening you wont get the benefit of added air flow....
I have seen where others have taken a saws-all to the core to open it up on one side....

[Dino]

I remember someone enlarging the opening on his car but forgot who it was.

May I ask why you want the 26" rad? 

[lexxman]

I remember someone enlarging the opening on his car but forgot who it was.

May I ask why you want the 26" rad? 

I friend that is helping me suggested I upgrade the rad. The engine is bored out .060 over, witch I know is a lot. The previous owners work. But I don't want to go cutting the rad support up.

[Dino]

I remember someone enlarging the opening on his car but forgot who it was.

May I ask why you want the 26" rad? 

I friend that is helping me suggested I upgrade the rad. The engine is bored out .060 over, witch I know is a lot. The previous owners work. But I don't want to go cutting the rad support up.

A clean cooling system with a 22" radiator should have no issues.  If the engine gets too hot then a 26" rad is not going to make much difference.  The problem then is usually one or more bnlocked passage ways.  Plenty guys run their 440's hard with the smaller rad.

I'd star by aiming an infrared thermometer at the top of the radiator and see what you get before you do this mod.  If for some reason you need another rad, it's not that big of a deal to tackle with everything else installed.

[Charger-Bodie]

I remember someone enlarging the opening on his car but forgot who it was.

May I ask why you want the 26" rad? 

I friend that is helping me suggested I upgrade the rad. The engine is bored out .060 over, witch I know is a lot. The previous owners work. But I don't want to go cutting the rad support up.

A clean cooling system with a 22" radiator should have no issues.  If the engine gets too hot then a 26" rad is not going to make much difference.  The problem then is usually one or more bnlocked passage ways.  Plenty guys run their 440's hard with the smaller rad.

I'd star by aiming an infrared thermometer at the top of the radiator and see what you get before you do this mod.  If for some reason you need another rad, it's not that big of a deal to tackle with everything else installed.

I respectfully disagree with you here Dirk. A 26 3 core factory radiator will cool far better than a 22. You will need to enlarge the opening to get full benifit though. It can be don two ways. Get the replacement rt side support panel or cut a strip out and slide it over and butt weld it together then grind smooth.

[Dino]

I agree that the 26" rad will cool better, my point is that a proper 22" rad should be sufficient.  If he doesn't want to cut into the rad support then I'd test the current rad for performance first.

[Challenger340]

I agree that the 26" rad will cool better, my point is that a proper 22" rad should be sufficient.  If he doesn't want to cut into the rad support then I'd test the current rad for performance first.

I agree the 22" should be more than sufficient ?
I drove around Las Vegas last year in 90* heat, stop and go traffic, even bumper to bumper for 5-10 minutes at a time, never even got close to "hot", no issues whatsoever.
1969 Charger, 440 automatic, all stock and original with a 46 year old 22" radiator.

You could always use the larger A/C Water Pump if you are worried about cooling ?

[myk]

The smaller 'rad support is odd to me.  I thought these cars were built pretty much the same except for the components that were bolted onto them, such as radiators and the like? 

[Charger-Bodie]

Running an original partially worn out  stock bore 440 is a totally different thing than cooling a fresh built 440 bored out 60 thou. IMHO the bigger radiator is the best way to go.

[lexxman]

Thanks for the input guys.  I'm not sure if I said, but I have a 383 in it(rebuilt) and the 22" rad needs to be recorded. I was thinking it would be a straight swap, the engine bay is already painted. So I would prefer not to cut and weld, but I could open it up and have it look good without too much trouble. Traffic and the heat can be a bitch here. Either way I need a new rad.