Posted by Torvald [172.68.174.181] on Monday, August 14, 2023 at 00:50:22 :
In Reply to: Torvald - Questions about your 265 setup posted by Matt Wilson [172.69.65.221] on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 20:58:18 :
Hi Matt,
Before I get into how I solved the radiator problem, let me say that if at all possible I suggest getting a radiator, waterpump (including the housing), and crankshaft pulley for a 251. Using the 251 parts will be SO much easier than what I did.
For pictures with descriptive commentary see my facebook album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1609305249282310&type=3 I don’t believe that one has to join facebook to look at the posts. The radiator rebuild photos go from Jan 28 ’17 to Feb 26 ’17. Modification in mounting the coolant pump and fan are covered Apr 7 ’22 and Apr 28 ’22. A good shot of the radiator installed is also shown on Apr 28 ’22.
Now on to the nitty gritty. The stock 230 radiator CAN be used, but there is a lot of modification to be done to it. You’re right, the core has to be moved ahead. I did this by turning the core around so that what was fan side is now the grill side while the top and bottom tanks remain in relatively the same position. This moved the core ahead ~3”, allowing room (eventually) for the fan. A word of warning: the core has top and bottom tube plates which have flanges that are crimped over corresponding flanges around the tanks (see facebook entries from 28 Jan & 3 Feb ’17). My tube plate flanges loved to crack and break off when I was de-soldering the tanks. There is a method of repair, but it’s kind of picky. After I had made repairs to the bottom tank and soldered it back on in its new position, I took the opportunity to rod out all the tubes. In the 3 Feb ’17 entry I reference a cutout in the top tank for the fan. I didn’t do that I moved the fan and pump instead.
With the top and bottom tanks turned around, the former radiator mounts will not work. The best way to get a handle on these alterations is to look at the entry for 28 Apr ’22, I’m afraid a written description is too confusing. :(
So now the radiator is in place (and the original cowl will fit around it). Now the problem is that the fan can’t turn because the top tank is in the way. I couldn’t find a 251 pump and housing so I made an adapter that moves the pump down (and forward an inch) so that the fan doesn’t try to cut through the top tank (see the entries from 28 Apr ’22). Of course with the fan moved forward, the pulleys no longer line up, I solved this by putting a second pulley ahead of the original crank pulley (again see 28 Apr ’22).
The last problem was that the coolant outlet pipe doesn’t line up with the new radiator position. This could be easily solved with some flexible radiator hose. I took a different approach, see the 26 June ’22 entry.
Oh ya, I didn’t have a fan shroud and it wouldn’t have fit anyway with all the alterations. So I altered one from an M-37. See 8 Feb ’23 which also includes the extended radiator outlet tube and plumbing into the coolant pump.
So yes, it can be done with substantially stock parts, but there is a tremendous amount of alteration (I get tired just looking at the pictures). If one is comfortable with radiator repair, machining, precision fabrication, welding, soldering, etc. one can do it, but it is far easier to get 251 parts and use those.
By-the-way, it seems that the 265 engine puts out a lot of power. :) You’ll want to go to 4.83 gearing
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