22" radiator 391 gears = overheat

[John Munroe]

Hi names john I have a 71 dodge challenger R/T with a 383 no air no power steering. Came with 323 gears and A 22" raidiator and never ran hot. I changed the gears to 391 and now on a hot day open road driveing at about 3200or so rpms the temp climbs up to hot after a while I think its a two core rad. but not sure Iput a 160 thermastat in but did'nt help I have a clutch fan and a shroud. I don't want to change the rad. support to fit a 26" rad. Can I have the 22" rad re corred to a 4 core and will that help. around town there is no problem just on the open highway on a hot day. can anybody help me. email at RTJMUN@CS.COM thanks for the thread.

[dewme5]

yes, you can have it recored. you are looking at about $300 when all said and done. The more frontal area that you can get, the better it's going to be, especially if you plan on doing anything more with the engine. A cooling system is like a fuel system, it can almost never be too big. you'll save money in the long run if you go ahead and work in at least a 26" 3 or 4 core, or alumnium radiator. a few extra dollars spent now, with save you the whole cost again down the road.

[John Munroe]

I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE THE RAD. SUPPORT AS THIS WOULD BE TO BIG A JOB. I THINK I HAVE TO WORK WITH THE 22" RAD . WILL A 22" 4 CORE HELP????? IM OPEN FOR SUGESTIONS.

[jimbo7074]

I too have a 22'' radiator in my Challenger.Mine has 3 cores in it and came out of Cuda with avery strong 440 and 4.56 gears,and it did not overheat.I would suggest possibly adding one more core,but for sure add either a Brassworks waterpump,or do what I did and order the backing plate made by Brassworks.I ordered mine from Summit Racing for a measley 6 bucks.This plate simply pop rivets on the back of the impeller,and in my case dropped my water temp 15 degrees.Good Luck.

[John Munroe]

thanks jimbo ill try that.

[dusterbd]

as far as the support goes, i dont think you have to change it, i think you can open it to the 26" hole without too much hassle, but thats your call. on radiators, dewme5 is right. you cant have too much. my suggestion would be to run the 160 theermostat, the fan shroud with a blackmagic electric fan, complete with painless wiring adjustable thermostat kit set to 180 degrees. ditch tyhe clutch fan, while your at it. i never liked em. as far as the radiator goes, if money is no object, a three core aluminum job would be perfect fog it black to make it blend in, and go. but, since it probably is, id recore your stock one to three cores, fog it black and smile. as far as the water pump oes, get an aluminum one, put the backing plate on it, and its set. fill your cooling system with a 50:50 mix, and add two bottles of redline water wetter.
mike

[jelsr]

Not sure on your dimensions, 26" wide rad should not require any changes. I've ran the 26" 3 row on virtually everything we've used on oval track, A's and B's. The sidestraps are notched to clear the sub frame legs, but it is a bolt in. Running a 18h x 26w 3row in p/u w/440 to pull race car here in western Ks at 90+ ambient, no problems. Have to let it idle for a spell after arrival at track to prevent surge boil, don't have surge tank.