Possible new Scout radiator alternative

[scoutboy74]

FWIW...At least the pre-74 D-series radiators are wider than an SII rad. I don't know by how much. The fan shrouds are also not interchangeable between the two.

[michigan scout]

I have used radiators from all models 69-75 back and forth between yearswith no issues. I did a thread on a wagonmaster and I put a radiator out of a 75 pickup in it and it was a 73. I also put a radiator in a 74 out of a 70 etc...74 and 75 have a different depth fan shroud, scout2 fan shrouds are narrower. D series radiators are winder than scout2 I could measure as I have both on hand on the shelf but don't know the measurements of the top of my head.

[Bryan G]

I just printed out the measurements from the ebay listing and compared them to my pickup, no-go. The pickup is quite a bit wider. I did email the seller and got a reply back very quickly. This might not be the end of it.

[Dennis Bernth]

Originally Posted by bull

we need new steel gas tanks and rads..i get heep parts books and there is nothing that is not supplied to the heep owners which seriously torques me off..i hope this works out well

Far as I know, steel Scout II tanks are available through the LL dealers. Don't know the cost, but it's a limited demand item so I'm sure they're not as cheap as a Jeep tank would be but they're still doable.

[Dennis Bernth]

Originally Posted by sullyscout77

Hope it works out for ya Big Guy! Will definitely bring a cleaner look to that Engine compartment. $189 is definitely doable for most! Thanks for blazing another trail!

That was my thought when I started in on this a couple years ago. At that time copper/brass radiators were running over $400, or you could piece together a Summit Racing 'universal' aluminum radiator and make it work. I thought if we could get a bolt in stock replacement for a couple hundred bucks or so, it would help keep more Scouts on the road. Face it, if you have a Scout that has some rust, but runs OK and the radiator goes, it's a toss up whether to spend $4-500 on just the radiator or part out or scrap the truck. $200 is much more doable, gives people an incentive to keep them on the road. I'm looking forward to getting mine, it's supposedly shipped. I'm thinking I'll be outside in the 'lion' part of March installing it in the Scout.....

[binderbart]

Dennis, keep me updated on what you find out. just thought I would chirp in. You can get a new scout radiator from 1-800-radiator for around $400-$500. As far as gas tanks go, why not up grade and get a plastic one from MTS? I have had two of them now and like them. won't rust.....bonus.

[Dennis Bernth]

Originally Posted by binderbart

Dennis, keep me updated on what you find out. just thought I would chirp in. You can get a new scout radiator from 1-800-radiator for around $400-$500. As far as gas tanks go, why not up grade and get a plastic one from MTS? I have had two of them now and like them. won't rust.....bonus.

I'll post up a new thread once I get the radiator and get it installed. And the $4-500 price tag is why I contacted these guys, I saw (at that time) that they were selling aluminum radiators for 66-77 Broncos for $149, and I thought how sweet that would be to have an option like that for our Scouts. One thing led to another, and it finally happened.

I have one of the plastic gas tanks, actually I've had several in different vehicles, and my main complaint about them is getting the sending unit to not leak. The sending unit 'socket' for lack of a better word has to be screwed into the plastic tank, and with the thickness of the plastic tank you can't install the retaining ring like you do on a steel tank, or at least I've not had much luck doing it that way. The O ring gets cut or rolled and it leaks, and if you loosen up the screws to give enough room to get the sending unit in and then tighten the screws they tend to leak. I've got one in my 78 fiberglass Scout II, and I have to drop it because the sending unit isn't working. I think when I do, just to make sure, I'm going to cut a thick paper gasket the size of the 'socket' and cut the center hole out to fit the sender, then use that between the tank and 'socket'. I think if I run the screws down through the gasket material it should seal them off from seeping and solve the problem, but that's a 'quite a bit later' ordeal, I've got other things I have to do on my other Scout first.

[J.J.]

Dennis,
that is a heck of a deal. Glad I asked

JJ

[Dennis Bernth]

Originally Posted by J.J.

Dennis,
that is a heck of a deal. Glad I asked

JJ

I'm glad you asked too, I had forgotten about checking in with them!

[Dennis Bernth]

OK, back to the top, I got the new radiator last night via FedEx. It's not installed yet, I have to wait for halfway warm weather, looks like maybe later this coming week will work. But I unpacked it and checked it out and took a couple of pics to show what it looks like. First impressions are that it looks well constructed; I've bought a couple of aftermarket replacement radiators off of Ebay for 'modern' vehicles, and they usually have plastic tanks, one large row of cooling, and the tanks and fittings are crimped and cemented to the core. This one is all TIG welded, and for an aluminum radiator it's pretty heavy, heavier than I expected. Looking in the bottom hose opening, the core has three rows just about the same as the copper/brass radiators do. Actually, everything I could see is a direct copy of the 'stock' Scout II radiator, but beefier since it's all TIG welded and the aluminum they used is thicker than the tank material on the stock radiator. The upper radiator hose connection isn't formed and curved like the stock copper/brass radiator since the aluminum is a lot thicker; it's two pieces mitered and welded to form the 90 degree angle. It has the captive nuts for the stock shroud and stock type mounts for mounting it. All in all I'm happy with it, if it installs like I suspect it will (just like stock) I'll post up then also. As far as cooling capacity, I'll probably have to wait on that since the Scout is about to get itself stripped and sanded for paint, and I won't get it back on the road until that's done. But I have no reason to think it won't cool just fine, at least as well as a stock radiator and for about half the price. I currently have a three row copper/brass radiator in the Scout and it's had issues keeping it cool at idle in summer with the AC running. I've tried a few different fans, but in the interest of 'apples to apples' I'll leave the fan alone when I swap over so that I'm comparing the exact same setup and can give results that aren't changed because I changed fans. Sorry it'll take so long for those results, I'm just happy that I'm going to get moving on the Scout at all!