Nice looking rig Casey. Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to get my own 2-door finished... Jim
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Nice looking rig Casey. Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to get my own 2-door finished... Jim
Well, now I'm wishing that I had purchased an all-aluminum radiator! I am currently broke down in Buffalo, Wyoming. Climbing Highway 16 West out of town on a 4 mile 7% grade, and was just cresting the top when the plastic tank on the driver's side blew apart! Now there's a gaping hole in the tank. She was running pretty warm, but not overheating. We got towed back to the RV park we had just checked out of (only made it about 15 miles down the road), and I'm sitting here searching for a replacement radiator. So far the engine starts and sounds normally, so crossing my fingers no damage was done with the sudden loss of coolant.
Anybody in the Buffalo, Wyoming region that has a good radiator laying around? :D
Casey
Good thing is that you are in a place where you can safely stay. Looks like there is a Napa, Car Quest, and OReilly auto parts in town. There is also an auto salvage place down off I90/204. I'd think that any of the parts places could have you a replacement within a day or so.
This manufacture has them and they are high quality, I just applied a thermal dispersant coating on one they are having tested, the radiator is a good unit... and they will overnight it if needed...
https://www.championcooling.com/
If the core is good, have it serviced and (both) tanks replaced at a local radiator shop. Same day service in most cases, at a fraction of the cost of new. It should last another 20+ years.
Thanks, guys. Yes, there are a lot worse places to break down; thankfully we were only 15 miles up the road from the campground; thankfully we had cell service where we broke down; thankfully a fellow 6.5L owner happened by at the just the moment the radiator blew and helped us get off the road and get in contact with a wonderful local towing company; thankfully my daddy taught me how to fix things and I get my family back on the road with a minimum of cost and down-time.
Yes, there are three auto supplies in town, and they can have a standard Murray radiator next day. But, I hate to put a questionable quality aftermarket unit in. I checked for a local radiator shop, but there is none close by. I had my eye on a Champion radiator already, so I called their distributor in California (Ledfoot Racing), and they are overnighting a new all-aluminum radiator to the RV park we are staying at. The local O'reilly's sent their delivery truck out with a few gallons of coolant, so I should be able to get everything back up and running tomorrow.
I started the engine up after she had cooled off completely, and she starts, runs, and sounds completely normal. Crossing my fingers there won't be any long-term damage.
Thanks again!
Casey
Good Luck Casey,
You probably aught to take a few moments and thank the Lord for all the breaks that kept you and your family safe through all of this!
We all hope the rest of your trip goes a lot better!
Keep us posted!
Dave
After the plastic side tank in my '93 blew apart - not towing, not pushing it - I picked up one of these: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sgt-cu1364
Copper radiator with metal side tanks. I only have a few thousand miles on it, so we'll have to see how it does over time.
RockAuto has it a bit cheaper: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...,radiator,2172
Well while your chilling, get out the lawn chairs and watch the next guy trying to back into a space.
Glad to hear your safe. Just think of the story you now have to tell.