When we signed on to be the exclusive radiator supplier for Speed Channel’s new series Car Warriors, we were excited to see the first episode was going to be 66 Mustangs with dual quad engines. Not a week goes by without someone calling to ask how they can keep their 65-66 Mustangs with high horsepower engine conversions cool, so we knew this would be a perfect opportunity to show what it takes.
The two engines used for the episode were a 450+ HP naturally aspirated dual quad and a 500+ HP Dual Quad with a blower.
The first step is to dump the small O.E. radiator for a larger more efficient radiator. Its difficult to cool a 400+ HP engine using the stock 16-1/2” x 17” radiator core. Even moving to a 4 row or an aluminum radiator won’t cut it. The 68-70 Mustang radiators where chosen for their size (24” wide core) and because they are easy to install into the 65/66s.
In order to ensure that these engines stay cool under any conditions, we used our Desert Cooler High Efficiency Tripleflow radiators outfitted with our 16” Thinline Fan/Shroud packages. These Thinline fan/shroud packages are a great solution for cars with very little engine clearance; such was the case with these Mustangs.
The next step is to enlarge the opening on the core support. The teams chose to do them a bit differently, but the concept is the same. You need to open up the core support to expose the larger core to airflow. The white outlines show where you need to cut the core support.
The final step is mounting the radiator. It’s a fairly simple process which involves positioning the radiator low enough for the hood to close, scribing and drilling the mounting hole locations onto the core support, then mounting with some tube spacers.
That’s about it! And because we used a 68-70 Mustang radiator, it looks like Ford would have done it this way.