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My radiator lower hose outlet comes straight out and the DeWitt outlet is nearly a 90 degree outlet upwards and will not fit with my shroud that appears to be the original shroud and radiator in my car. Was there an early and late radiator in 57? My car was built about March 19, 1957.
I called DeWitt and left a message but have not heard back from them yet.
EDIT: 56H
The Harrison tag on my radiator is 3133689
I am assuming the 56H is a date code of August of 56 manufacture.
Yes, I am sure I will. It was probably after they closed when I called and got the voice mail.
I was just wondering about this question in my post "Was there an early and late radiator in 57? My car was built about March 19, 1957 however the radiator was built in August of 56." My car has it's original radiator and the bottom hose fitting is straight rather than angled (which will interfere with my fan shroud) which also appears to be the original.
Just seems like a long time between Aug 56 and March 57, but I'm sure DeWitt has lots of data correlating radiator and car build dates.
Is there any chance your radiator was serviced by a shop and the lower outlet was replaced?
Not necessarily odd as components got put on the shelves and the front ones got pulled. If a new shipment got put on a shelf with older inventory still on it the did not reorganize the order and some of the old inventory could continue to be in the back for months.
It does not appear to be tampered with and why would someone modify it to straight if the angled one fit correctly with the shroud?
hey tom just because your on here , is the 61 straight out as baba has has been at my car and im contemplating getting old rad serviced or going with 1 of yours..
thx Andy
hey tom just because your on here , is the 61 straight out as baba has has been at my car and im contemplating getting old rad serviced or going with 1 of yours..
thx Andy
1961 could be the same radiator as 55-60 for the first 300 cars or so. They used up the rest of the radiators from 1960 models until they were gone and then switched to the aluminum version with a surge tank mounted on the exhaust manifold.
why would someone modify it to straight if the angled one fit correctly with the shroud?
A lot of times the lower fitting rotted out or was crushed up by using a screwdriver to remove the hose. The radiator repair shops do not have all the special angled fittings so they soldered on a replacement straight to make it work.
A good radiator shop (not as many around anymore with all the environmental regs) might not have the correct outlet shape, but could replace a tank or outlet and no one would be able to tell it except for the incorrect shape/bend.
As requested, I spoke to the OP 'ers (John) mechanic. He claims the radiator has never been modified and it is straight. Well, I have never seen one like that but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. He could have some kind of "one-off" styling car they built for racing or something but it is not the norm.
My recommendation is to make it right or norm. Use the radiator we supplied, get a stock hose, and if necessary, cut the shroud to make the curved fitting to work. That way, if you (or the next owner) ever need replacement parts, everything will work the way it is sapposed to.
Plan B, would be to send the radiator back to us and we'll customize one with a straight neck. Not returnable.
Just for the heck of it, I check out my inventory of old tanks and here's what I found.
Well, it is certainly a puzzle. I looked at the car at the shop today and IF we were to cut the shroud to allow the new radiator outlet to work it would hit the aftermarket sway bar I have installed. It seems awfully coincidental that my shroud and outlet clears it. The car did not have one when I bought it but you can see where one had been on it in the past. The shroud certainly appears to be a factory original one and I would think that if it was a reproduction it would have been built as the original anyway. I thought possibly my car had a passenger car radiator (it DOES have a straight bottom outlet) but the top outlet and fill hole are both in a different location. I think I am going to send the radiator back to DeWitt and have them modify it with a straight outlet. I would have it done by a local radiator shop but DeWitt will void the warranty if we do that.
Certainly my car can't be the ONLY one like this out there and one of the reasons I posted this here.
for starters I know zip about 57 cars but a few on here do, and I am sure Tom D has no reason to sell you the wrong radiator. but I find it very strange that you believe what you have is correct and I would think if you could post some pictures of your set up some one who has built many 56-57 cars could tell you what you have and point you in the right direction
for starters I know zip about 57 cars but a few on here do, and I am sure Tom D has no reason to sell you the wrong radiator. but I find it very strange that you believe what you have is correct and I would think if you could post some pictures of your set up some one who has built many 56-57 cars could tell you what you have and point you in the right direction
My mechanic sent me pictures of my radiator and the DeWitt side by side, the picture of the original Harrison tag and a picture of the lower shroud but I don't know how to get them from my phone to a post here. If I get time tomorrow I will take my camera over there so I can post some pictures here. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the radiator DeWitt builds, I am saying there is something definitely different about my car but it DOES appear to be factory. If anyone want the pictures I have on my phone I coud forward them to your phone. PM me if so.
12-07-2017, 05:16 PM
Fit problem with DeWitt radiator on my 57
