Radiator Relocation

This might be a terribly stupid question, but has anyone tried to relocate their radiator to up front behind the grill? I know that if it's possible, it would probably have to be a different size radiator than what is stock. Wider but shorter. Is it even possible or would it just ruin the whole system?

If it is possible, it would get better cooling and open up a lot of space in the front of the doghouse. Just thinking about warmer times ahead. Let me know what you guys think or if I am being a total idiot.

If you are, WE are. I was thinking about doing the same thing and running a remote reservoir with long hoses/pipes.

It would be way more efficient than fabbing up a long shroud directing all the incoming air to the radiator in the stock location. Aside from than, I am running four carbs with velocity stacks and I need cooler air flowing through my doghouse four obvious reasons.

guess weve all pondered that idea im gonna keep watching this tread ,dave

I'm not really worried about the mounting of the radiator. Fabricating some new brackets would be the easy part. The part I am not sure of is if I just get a different radiator and longer hoses, would it work just the same…or are there other more complicated details that I am not thinking of. Like the fact that my current radiator is a downflow and the shorter wider replacement would have to be a crossflow. Anybody a radiator expert out there?

Here ya go Charlie. Your new enough here that you probably haven't seen this.

That's exactly what I'm talking about…with a bit more polish. Is that just out front with extended hoses or did you add it to your main radiator? Tell us your secrets, Mike.

I have thought about this too. Building my first van right now and its a 4x4 conversion. I still dont know exactly how my engine fitment will end up so I'm concerned about space and cooling capacity. Placing the radiator behind the grille would be just the ticket, but how would you fill it?

I seem to recall someone on here posting a picture of a secondary radiator attached to the belly pan with an electric fan on it. I don't remember if it was a 2 radiator setup or just a relocation?? I've thought of routing the coolant down one frame rail and back up the other through some finned copper tubing like in household baseboard heat but haven't gone past the "what if" phase in my mind. I'll be watching this thread too for ideas!

That's the famous Blue No-Door right after Vanish got it. That radiator was on the bumper when he got it. That's Vanish on the right and his ACE mechanic (The Governor) on the left.

So would it still work if the hoses went under the cab floor or would the dip in the hoses cause some issues. The hoses would have to go down out of the doghouse and up to the top of the radiator behind the grill. Is there any sort of pressure issues or problems with coolant sitting in the dips caused by the longer hoses?

I have a suggestion, but it depends on if you are running a belly pan and already doing the electric fan. Lower it about 3 inches. get it in the air. You may have to install an in-line filler neck and an overflow tank then plumb both overflow lines together to that, run the same pressure cap on both. It worked for me. Im running an aluminum X flow that ran warm at hiway speeds till I made the drop.JM2C
Digz

If the lowering doesn't do it for you, and you still want to relocate the rad, Use galvanized tubing under the floor and have it come up under the dog house to where your rad hoses would hook up as if they were going onto a rad. Bead roll the ends to help hold hoses to the pipe. At the actual rad end by the grill you would only need short hose to go from tubing to the rad. You can fab up some brackets to hold pipe just under the floor and easier later to replace a hose when needed.

not sure putting rad out front would help. you need air flowing threw it, and a fan!

Ill agree with the above post -air flow. Ill also add if you do a relocation- remember all the trapped air in the system must have somewhere @ hughest point to escape-radiator cap is usually always that place!!

Even with the stock location, it's a pain to burp or purge the air out of the cooling system, but I'm running with the heater core... I'd be concerned with the long return line going back to the top of the rad via the subfloor for that reason.

No matter what you use to relocate it you will still have no better cooling.
GM put the radiators up in the front on the fieros and had bad over heating problems on them mostly the 4 cyl engines but some 6cyl engines to. The problem was the distance that the coolant has to travel back to the engine block once it had been cooled. I am sure that you will have the same problem with the radiator in the front of your van to.