Thread: radiator questions

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G'day! My radiator on the '33 is tilted back right at 20degrees. Because of the clearance with the engine I'm running an electric puller fan on the back side, but would rather it be a straight mechanical drive fan. The biggest thing I see there would be that the fan shroud is going to need to be made to extend back for proper flow. With a custom shroud there's no problem with tilting - just look at the Shelby Cobra for an example.
You want the lower radiator outlet to be on the same side of the engine as the water pump inlet, as much for ease of routing as anything, and be sure that your lower hose has an internal spring to prevent it sucking shut at high flow.
Easiest way to determine your radiator need is to look at the OEM radiator for the donor vehicle for area and number of row reference as a starting point, and don't go smaller, IMO.

To expand a bit on Roger's comments, the fan shroud needs to cover the entire back of the radiator. This ensures the full radiator area gets air drawn through it. When the radiator is tilted the fins tend to block natural air flow. Additionally creating panels to fit between the grill shell and the radiator will also help to ensure the air goes through the radiator, and not spill over, under or around the sides of it.

As for sizing, perhaps the wise thing to do would be to contact a manufacturer, such as Walker Radiator, and ask them to size a radiator based on the engine you will be using. Then you will know 3 core vs. 4 core, etc. They make a living do this, see if you can get their recommendations.

Hope this helps!