Gerald Morris
Senior Member
Greetings Cold Case & C Body Moparians!
Having purchased their MOP753A radiator from Cold Case explicitly as a First Five Customer, I now present for all and sundry my report on the fitment and performance of this radiator on Mathilda, our 1966 Chrysler Newport 2 door hard top coupe, running a 383 2-bbl engine with a 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission, no air conditioning or power brakes, but power steering.
Background:
I've driven Tilly for 2 previous summers in Tucson, AZ with fairly stable thermal behavior. Normal running temperature in peak heat and traffic conditions gets to ~ 210 F tops, and cools down to ~ 195 F as soon as I run in some open road for over a minute. This past winter I began noticing a slow increase in running temperature up to 220F, which has been mostly alleviated by thinning down from the ~60% antifreeze mixture for the winter to a summer mix at about 30%. Be this as it may, the old radiator, a 22 inch Mopar #2524984 made in 1965 with numerous patched leaks and much stop leak holding them, was overdue for
replacement. I plan to keep this much praised original for my cradle, which hosts a 1977 400 which we hope to eventually rebuild to replace the 383 still powering our beloved Mathilda, God-willing.
Having researched modern aluminum radiators, I opted for a 2 row large tubed sort to replace the *4984. Noting much dissatisfaction with Chinese made Champion, we decided a U.S.A. made product simply HAD to be obtained. There really are only two companies which vend a 22 inch product close to the characteristics of the *4984 for prices we can afford: Engineered Cooling Products and Cold Case. ECP ran out of their 22 inch big block model just as my first paychecks started coming in, which left Cold Case as the only vendor with a 2 row product available for my purchasing range. Seeing their First Five trial plan, I contacted them, and was speedily accommodated. Cold Case does WELL in customer service as far as getting the product shipped promptly for a good price! This counts for much in selecting vendors.
1. Initial fitment check:
While the core of the MOP753a at 16" height is 2.5" less than the measurable core height of the *4984 and its cousins, the 1.25" diameter tubes volumetrically compensate for the decreased core height. I would PREFER that Cold Case START MAKING 22 INCH RADIATORS TO MATCH THE EXACT DIMENSIONS OF THE MOPAR 22 INCH RADIATORS, but I KNEW what I was going to buy from Cold Case, and am happy to try it out. The AVAILABLE cross section to the core from the radiator support actually comes VERY close to the original, despite the lower height, as can be seen in the picture below.
Were this not the case, I would have shipped it back in the box. As things are, the whole core of this radiator gets the wind so to speak, which is well. I actually poured all but about 6 oz of the coolant I drained from the old radiator and hoses back into the new one also! Those big tubes amount to something good folks. The lower profile of the top of the radiator is rather nice also.
NOT that everything was perfectly swell in installing this shiny new cooler, as we will see in its place....
Cold Case welded the transmission cooler line connectors into the bottom nicely, which took my old connectors quite well. THAT was my first actual test. Had this failed, I would have
packed it up for return. Note the little bit of yellow Teflon tape showing where I threaded the connector in. Use the yellow tape if there is any chance of contact with hydrocarbon solvents. This is meant for methane and propane, but resists heavier stuff such as mineral oil better than the plain white PTFE does.
ONE annoyance. The original connectors are 10 inches center to center. Cold Case has theirs at 12 inches. Not a huge discrepancy, but carefully bending the line nearest the oil filter over that additional inch and threading on the connector was a trifle problematic. I'm glad my tube bending skills in situ are still good, especially considering an upcoming brake hose replacement later this week. Anyway, for C bodies, Cold Case should try to match the dimensions on the 22 inch x 18.5 ( 19" OEM spec ?) of the mid 1960s Mopar radiators a little better. Ultimately, it comes to whether you have enough demand to justify the accommodation, but you'll get MORE DEMAND IF YOU ACCOMMODATE MORE! Such are the paradoxes of capitalist markets....
Still, overall, the tranny cooler lines threaded up fine, and miss my 18 inch fan, so all is just ducky there.
2. Installation Fitment: Satisfied that the tranny cooler lines would connect, and that the cross section provided by the radiator support would be filled entirely by the new radiator core, I measured carefully to insure that the 1/4-20 attachment bolts would fit the flange and permit me to bolt on to the support. The top holes are perfectly spaced, exactly where they shopuld be, but the bottom slots are actually over 2 inches too far down on the flange for a mid-60s C-body! Look:
Center to center, the vertical distance between the attachment bolts is ~13.5 inches. Now look at the Cold Case radiator when I bolted and C-clamped the old and new radiator back to back to mark where to drill after measuring how much further down the notches for the lower bolts are on their radiator:
You can see clearly how I traced in with a Sharpie the old radiator's notch onto the new one's flange. Part of the new notch at the bottom of the Cold Case flange can be seen here too. This and the preceding pic show how exactly I bolted and clamped the flanges together before drilling a 9/32" hole top dead center of my notch marks on both sides. Only with this alteration could I then bolt the Cold Case radiator in, hook everything up and take it for a test run.
3. Initial Performance: I took Mathilda out to the nearest highway in rush hour traffic with the ambient temperature at the nearby airport showing 102 F. After about 20 minutes of mean running, I noted that Tilly stayed around 195 F until I got her home, where just as with my old radiator, she crept up to 210 F when I put her in reverse to park. so I can confidently say right now that this MOP753A performs AS WELL AS my 53 yr old Mopar 2524984 radiator, which is GOOD. I've left numerous other variables such as lack of shroud, fixed fan, possible malformed aluminum pump housing, head gaskets, the stars and such exactly as they were before the test, as its the RADIATOR I'm evaluating.
4. Recommendations: 1.) Build a limited line of C-body specific 22 inch radiators with the taller core. This will increase the volume of fluid being cooled in your radiator, which might enhance your product's cooling just enough to compel these conservative C-body owners to embrace your product.
2. If/when you do a run of "MOP753Bs" lets say, BE DAMNED SURE TO BETTER MATCH THE BOLT NOTCHES AND THE TRANNY LINE DIMENSIONS! You did "Good" with what you sold me, but there is room to make this "Excellent."
3. I LOVE the flanges for modern shrouds on the engine side of your radiator, but study how the old Mopar shrouds attached more closely and see if you can run a row of bolt holes down the sides of your radiators which will allow the old shrouds to bolt on directly. I now have to get creative with my shroud, though not until I get it painted. I have a NICE old STEEL shroud from a ~65 Imperial which has brackets just a little different from what a Newport needs. I'll doubtless make something with angle metal do the job....
I'll make a final performance report in a week or month from now, but for FITMENT, I think I've told you all I can. If possible, obtain a few old mid-60s radiators to model yours on more closely, for C-bodies anyway.
Respectfully Yours,
Gerald E. Morris
P.S. I'll register for my Warranty later this evening. NOW for a longer TEST DRIVE!
Having purchased their MOP753A radiator from Cold Case explicitly as a First Five Customer, I now present for all and sundry my report on the fitment and performance of this radiator on Mathilda, our 1966 Chrysler Newport 2 door hard top coupe, running a 383 2-bbl engine with a 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission, no air conditioning or power brakes, but power steering.
Background:
I've driven Tilly for 2 previous summers in Tucson, AZ with fairly stable thermal behavior. Normal running temperature in peak heat and traffic conditions gets to ~ 210 F tops, and cools down to ~ 195 F as soon as I run in some open road for over a minute. This past winter I began noticing a slow increase in running temperature up to 220F, which has been mostly alleviated by thinning down from the ~60% antifreeze mixture for the winter to a summer mix at about 30%. Be this as it may, the old radiator, a 22 inch Mopar #2524984 made in 1965 with numerous patched leaks and much stop leak holding them, was overdue for
replacement. I plan to keep this much praised original for my cradle, which hosts a 1977 400 which we hope to eventually rebuild to replace the 383 still powering our beloved Mathilda, God-willing.
Having researched modern aluminum radiators, I opted for a 2 row large tubed sort to replace the *4984. Noting much dissatisfaction with Chinese made Champion, we decided a U.S.A. made product simply HAD to be obtained. There really are only two companies which vend a 22 inch product close to the characteristics of the *4984 for prices we can afford: Engineered Cooling Products and Cold Case. ECP ran out of their 22 inch big block model just as my first paychecks started coming in, which left Cold Case as the only vendor with a 2 row product available for my purchasing range. Seeing their First Five trial plan, I contacted them, and was speedily accommodated. Cold Case does WELL in customer service as far as getting the product shipped promptly for a good price! This counts for much in selecting vendors.
1. Initial fitment check:
While the core of the MOP753a at 16" height is 2.5" less than the measurable core height of the *4984 and its cousins, the 1.25" diameter tubes volumetrically compensate for the decreased core height. I would PREFER that Cold Case START MAKING 22 INCH RADIATORS TO MATCH THE EXACT DIMENSIONS OF THE MOPAR 22 INCH RADIATORS, but I KNEW what I was going to buy from Cold Case, and am happy to try it out. The AVAILABLE cross section to the core from the radiator support actually comes VERY close to the original, despite the lower height, as can be seen in the picture below.
Were this not the case, I would have shipped it back in the box. As things are, the whole core of this radiator gets the wind so to speak, which is well. I actually poured all but about 6 oz of the coolant I drained from the old radiator and hoses back into the new one also! Those big tubes amount to something good folks. The lower profile of the top of the radiator is rather nice also.
NOT that everything was perfectly swell in installing this shiny new cooler, as we will see in its place....
Cold Case welded the transmission cooler line connectors into the bottom nicely, which took my old connectors quite well. THAT was my first actual test. Had this failed, I would have
packed it up for return. Note the little bit of yellow Teflon tape showing where I threaded the connector in. Use the yellow tape if there is any chance of contact with hydrocarbon solvents. This is meant for methane and propane, but resists heavier stuff such as mineral oil better than the plain white PTFE does.
ONE annoyance. The original connectors are 10 inches center to center. Cold Case has theirs at 12 inches. Not a huge discrepancy, but carefully bending the line nearest the oil filter over that additional inch and threading on the connector was a trifle problematic. I'm glad my tube bending skills in situ are still good, especially considering an upcoming brake hose replacement later this week. Anyway, for C bodies, Cold Case should try to match the dimensions on the 22 inch x 18.5 ( 19" OEM spec ?) of the mid 1960s Mopar radiators a little better. Ultimately, it comes to whether you have enough demand to justify the accommodation, but you'll get MORE DEMAND IF YOU ACCOMMODATE MORE! Such are the paradoxes of capitalist markets....
Still, overall, the tranny cooler lines threaded up fine, and miss my 18 inch fan, so all is just ducky there.
2. Installation Fitment: Satisfied that the tranny cooler lines would connect, and that the cross section provided by the radiator support would be filled entirely by the new radiator core, I measured carefully to insure that the 1/4-20 attachment bolts would fit the flange and permit me to bolt on to the support. The top holes are perfectly spaced, exactly where they shopuld be, but the bottom slots are actually over 2 inches too far down on the flange for a mid-60s C-body! Look:
Center to center, the vertical distance between the attachment bolts is ~13.5 inches. Now look at the Cold Case radiator when I bolted and C-clamped the old and new radiator back to back to mark where to drill after measuring how much further down the notches for the lower bolts are on their radiator:
You can see clearly how I traced in with a Sharpie the old radiator's notch onto the new one's flange. Part of the new notch at the bottom of the Cold Case flange can be seen here too. This and the preceding pic show how exactly I bolted and clamped the flanges together before drilling a 9/32" hole top dead center of my notch marks on both sides. Only with this alteration could I then bolt the Cold Case radiator in, hook everything up and take it for a test run.
3. Initial Performance: I took Mathilda out to the nearest highway in rush hour traffic with the ambient temperature at the nearby airport showing 102 F. After about 20 minutes of mean running, I noted that Tilly stayed around 195 F until I got her home, where just as with my old radiator, she crept up to 210 F when I put her in reverse to park. so I can confidently say right now that this MOP753A performs AS WELL AS my 53 yr old Mopar 2524984 radiator, which is GOOD. I've left numerous other variables such as lack of shroud, fixed fan, possible malformed aluminum pump housing, head gaskets, the stars and such exactly as they were before the test, as its the RADIATOR I'm evaluating.
4. Recommendations: 1.) Build a limited line of C-body specific 22 inch radiators with the taller core. This will increase the volume of fluid being cooled in your radiator, which might enhance your product's cooling just enough to compel these conservative C-body owners to embrace your product.
2. If/when you do a run of "MOP753Bs" lets say, BE DAMNED SURE TO BETTER MATCH THE BOLT NOTCHES AND THE TRANNY LINE DIMENSIONS! You did "Good" with what you sold me, but there is room to make this "Excellent."
3. I LOVE the flanges for modern shrouds on the engine side of your radiator, but study how the old Mopar shrouds attached more closely and see if you can run a row of bolt holes down the sides of your radiators which will allow the old shrouds to bolt on directly. I now have to get creative with my shroud, though not until I get it painted. I have a NICE old STEEL shroud from a ~65 Imperial which has brackets just a little different from what a Newport needs. I'll doubtless make something with angle metal do the job....
I'll make a final performance report in a week or month from now, but for FITMENT, I think I've told you all I can. If possible, obtain a few old mid-60s radiators to model yours on more closely, for C-bodies anyway.
Respectfully Yours,
Gerald E. Morris
P.S. I'll register for my Warranty later this evening. NOW for a longer TEST DRIVE!
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