68 Radiator?

[toro_mike]

I may need to get a new radiator for my 68 Toro. Anybody have any experience here? It seems the cost to get mine back up to snuff may be prohibitive compared to a replacement. I'd prefer a direct replacement type (not really interested in aluminum), but maybe a four core.

Thanks!

[Twilight Fenrir]

Well, I bought mine for my '66 from o'Reily's.... it's the same one they sell on rock-auto, but for half the price wierdly... Made by Murray IIRC, it's copper/brass. But only a 3 core. I dug, and dug, and dug and I could not find a new 4 core... Not sure if a '68 is different.

The new one bolted right in, the only change was it had a pair of bushings to get to the transmission cooler lines, (came with the radiator) And there was significantly less dead-bird skeleton on the front of it

[toro_mike]

Thanks for the reply... I probably won't go for a for core anyway as it required modification of the mounts. Thanks for the tip, I'll check O'Reilly's.

I appreciate it!

[xgecko]

Your 68 is the same as my 69. I looked around and while Twilight is correct in that there is a compatible radiator for his 66, I do not believe you will find one for the 68 as it is likely to be 34" wide vs 28" (IIRC) for the 66.

I ended up going to Performance Radiator and having them recore mine with an extra capacity 3 row core of very high quality for $600 including tax here in WA. I went for a more expensive performance oriented core which cost me quite a bit more. IIRC a stock core would have been somewhere around $400-$500 or so.

I am very pleased with the result. Ironically, the 68 I bought ostensibly for parts but will end up restoring has a stock version of this core, and it does look very nice.

http://www.performanceradiator.com/

[toro_mike]

Interesting... U.S. Radiator lists several models for the '68-'70 Toronado with the dimensions of 17 x 34. It lists 17 x 28-3/8 for 66-67 in their catalog.

66/67 - http://www.usradiator.com/oldsmobile-to ... iator.html
68 to 70 - http://www.usradiator.com/oldsmobile-to ... iator.html

So, you are saying that 34" is not right for the 68? I'll have to measure my bad one again today. I thought that was right.

http://www.usapartssupply.com/ also lists both a 66/67 and 68 to 70 radiator in 3 and 4 rows, but do not list dimensions.

Incidentally, I'm glad your 68 parts car will survive. That's great news! Another car saved!!

[xgecko]

No, I am saying that the 68 is 34" wide. It is the 66 and perhaps the 67 that is narrower.

While I recall seeing claims of new radiators being available I was never able to actually find one that truly existed. By all means give it a shot, but I came up short many times. If you do find a source be sure to add it to the appropriate section of this forum as it is something we should all know about.

As for my 68, it was a rather interesting experience somewhat similar to my 69... I found it in Craigslist apparently the day it was listed. Called the owner and headed up that day to look at it. They had it listed for $1090.00 and when I saw it I realized they priced it perfectly as it is in good shape aside from the need for the right fender, bumper and valence due to a hit by another car. The rest of it is in highly restorable shape so I could not bring myself to cannibalize it for parts... now I really need a parts car!

What is also interesting is that when I bought both cars I got more than just a car, I got a new set of friends. Both owners have kept in touch and want to see both of my cars as they are restored. In fact, I got several new friends when I bought the 69 and now know several other Toronado nuts here in the Puget Sound area!

Good luck with your radiator and be sure to report back how you made out.