The Ford Barn

delco1946 · 04-01-2021, 10:43 AM

Hi All,

My 55' Crown Vic is in the shop getting new engine mounts, bushings etc. Apparently with all the new rubber this moved the engine forward slightly. The aftermarket fan (flex fan) was already close to the radiator. Apparently this minor move forward was enough to cause the fan to hit the radiator.

The fan is toast. The rad is likely original so that's a plus. Options are:

patch the rad and have it hobble along (yuck).
re-core the rad
buy new rad

I'd like to hear from folks who have gone through this - pros? cons? I know re-coring still doesn't get you a 'new' rad, but how good a job is this? Is it worth the savings? Are the new rads from Macs any good (quick search says they're $600 without much detail

)? Is there a better source? I'd prefer quality/ USA made over junk. Money is tight, but if I have to spend it to get a quality lasting repair, then so be it.

04-01-2021, 10:43 AM	#1
delco1946 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Gladstone, OR Posts: 170	Radiator woes Hi All, My 55' Crown Vic is in the shop getting new engine mounts, bushings etc. Apparently with all the new rubber this moved the engine forward slightly. The aftermarket fan (flex fan) was already close to the radiator. Apparently this minor move forward was enough to cause the fan to hit the radiator. The fan is toast. The rad is likely original so that's a plus. Options are: patch the rad and have it hobble along (yuck). re-core the rad buy new rad I'd like to hear from folks who have gone through this - pros? cons? I know re-coring still doesn't get you a 'new' rad, but how good a job is this? Is it worth the savings? Are the new rads from Macs any good (quick search says they're $600 without much detail )? Is there a better source? I'd prefer quality/ USA made over junk. Money is tight, but if I have to spend it to get a quality lasting repair, then so be it.