Well, I've needed one a while. Took my car out last weekend and it was running pretty well, but overheated. Actually, I'm positive the reason it overheated was the thermostat (it was literally a 2 mile drive and the motor wasn't even hot to the touch but i boiled off damn near all the coolant in the system), but my radiator is leaky and is an NPD repro that never has really done the job. I always heard even with a 289 the 65/66 radiators didn't quite come to task but with a modified 351 it doesn't even come close. I remember hearing Northern Radiator was pretty good. I don't want to spend $500 but I'd be willing to spend to ahve something I'm confident will keep the car cool. Don't care about weight at all, fwiw. What design do I want? 2-3-4 core? Cross flow? Aluminum, brass, copper? Also, I had heard and considered putting a 67-68 radiator in (probably an aftermarket one - basically whatever your ecommend for the 66 I'd get for a 67) to install. I realize I'd need to weld in new mounts... how hard is that/how much should a shop charge to do that? Would I need to make any other changes?
Just get an aftermarket. Even with the 67-68's alot of times guys will get the "big block" radiators. I've got just a generic one from summit that works great. I drove it through 110* heat this summer with two core mounted fans (so its not even working that efficiently!) and it neve got above 185 standing in traffic. Also put one in a buddies 68 camaro that has a 350 with LOTS of power goodies in it. Handles it really well as well, with the motor at 2.5K in the shop with no external fan (just the radiator fan, shrouded) it would keep it at 170 constant. Mine fit in well, but idk if you'd have some fitment issues in a 65-66, I'm not real sure on how much wider the core support is
You didn't even ask me ? Just go to radiator works. They will custom build one to your spec and it will keep the motor running cool.
The 64-68 radiator (except for the 67 BB and 68 AC and BB) bolted to the rad support. Problem with that is, the 67 opening is much larger than the 65. The BB/AC radiator used saddle brackets, top and bottom. I have a 289HP, bored .030" over, with Ford AC in my 66. Like any late 66 factory AC car, I have a 3-row brass radiator, fan shroud, and thermal clutch fan. And no overheating problem. The beauty of this is, you could install the whole deal in an hour or two, with no cutting, drilling, or adapting. This is not my car, but has the same setup-
