1968 Ford F-100 Aluminum Radiator Install - Bumpside Build-Off

Speaking of fans, there's no reason us classic truckers should be using the same low-profile electric fans that the street rod crowd is using since we have ample engine bays. These are both high-quality 16-inch Spal fans, but the one on the right has a smaller, flatter motor that's flush with the back. The fan on the left is Spal's high-performance curved-blade bad boy. The bigger sealed motor sticks out the back a few inches, but I'd rather have its extra blowing power for daily driving and our lovely Southern California traffic jams.

When you order, let US Radiator know that you want the fan with the big motor. The shroud was made with welded-in nuts on the backside, so fan mounting is a breeze--get it? This baby flows 2,400 cfm.

The Desert Cooler went in the stock location without a hitch. When I ordered the radiator, I told them what size inlet and outlets I needed for the Ford engine and where they should be located.

Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone and use regular radiator hoses to join the engine and radiator. I was set on making some nice, clean stainless steel tubes to do that job. I ordered several 1 5/8-inch U-bends, 90-degree bends, and one 4-foot length of stainless tube from Stainless Works to hopefully do the job.

I'd have to connect the stainless tubes to the engine and radiator with a small amount of hose. Straight, non-flex radiator hose seemed hard to come by, so I talked the kid at the parts store into letting me go back and look to see what I could find. I got these pre-formed hoses with 1 1/2-inch ID that had long straight sections and a few bends that might come in handy in a tight spot.

Well, I'm glad I got those hoses, because right off the bat there was a tight situation coming out of the thermostat housing. In a total stroke of luck, I picked a hose that had all the right bends I needed to clear the cold-air intake, go down, and then to the left in front of the engine.

I stuck one of the 90-degree bends in the hose running under the cold air intake and measured how far off the tube was from where it needed to meet the outlet on the radiator. About 7 inches of straight tube will do the trick.

Stainless will eat most saw blades for breakfast compared to mild steel, so the chop saw will be our best friend for cutting duties. After every cut I take great care to deburr the inside and outside lips of the new opening. And don't forget--safety first!

Ultimately, before welding two tubes together we want a nice chamfer on each end, like this. Also, mandrel-bent tubes will have oil and grease on the inside of them that will make it real hard to weld without cleaning. I use brake cleaner to carefully clean out each tube. A nifty little trick to hold tubes together for tack welding is cutting slots in common hose clamps like this.