Thread: Meller's "Last" Hoorah - '62 Fairlane

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Thought I'd ask another "Gomer" while waiting for my looms to get here:

First of all this little Fairlane 289 has an auxillary tranny cooler attached to the front of the radiator instead of running the tranny fluid thru the connections in the bottom tank of the rad. It's pretty obvious from what I can see that the tranny lines are needing re-doing because it appears that they have been "barrioed" from some copper tubing and rubber hoses - - - that's just a guess from what I've found so far in this Car and from what little I can see but it shouldn't be long before I/WE can get'er on a rack and take a look (shutter: I'm not looking forward to that realization).

ANYHOW - now the question: "is the added tranny cooler better than the one in the radiator?"

Originally Posted by MelloYello

....ANYHOW - now the question: "is the added tranny cooler better than the one in the radiator?"

Em, if it were mine I'd buy a new radiator and if necessary, replace the lines or cut back the old ones to a point that they can be re-flared, then extend them to the cooler in the radiator. It sounds like the PO had a leak in the radiator cooler or at the fittings, and elected to swap to external. Mounted to the front of the radiator it 1) reduces air flow through the radiator and 2) pre-heats the air going through the radiator. A supplemental tranny cooler (to cool more than the internal unit in the radiator), is generally mounted in a spot where it can get free air flow, but not in front of the radiator in my experience.