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Hi I had overheat problems
I redid the radiator replaced the water pump, thermostat ,hoses ,hot water distribution tube ,turned out in the end it was because the block was over bored (.6) generating too much heat ,I got a universal champion aluminum radiator used a flex fan and made a Frankenstein shroud
Instant success

Hi I couldn't figure out how to answer a private message
On the site but
Champion is owned by a guy named Jeff
They have a website and the retail part is leadfoot racing
Find on google I told him I pass along the packard saga I had: so I'm Steve
You'll need to know the width height and position of the pipes i.e. Upper and lower and where they are in relation to passenger/ driver
There's a universal mounting kit from speedway it was easy Peazy cuz there's lots of room
My original rebuilt radiators out so if you need the measurement let me know
The stock hoses won't fit (too big) but Napa sells a little rubber thing (collar) that slips in the end of the hose
Kanter will selll you a new set of hoses
I got my fax fan at pep boys just bring the old one with yo match it up
I made a franken-shroud out of a plastic one and a rivet gun
Shrouds were unheard of on the days of 450 rpm idle but I really wanted to cool the thing off
Ps you can get the trans cooler in the radiator so if your an ultranationalist guy and want to eliminate the packard funny one in the cool hose
You'll need a couple 1/4 npt to hose barb fittings ( Napa) and some rubber hose ; double clamp!
Very gratifying result !

Ps I think I used a fan spacer also at Napa !

Rule of thumb: halve the distance from the fan blades to the core and (without a fan shroud) you'll more than double the air flow thru the core.

I was able to purchase the drawing of the original radiator 419500 from the Studebaker/Packard museum and I am having it compared to the replacement radiator that was installed in my car to see what the exact differences are. In this way, I can make sure my new radiator is close to what the original was.

Additionally, Ernie V was correct about the exhaust system. I had the muffler removed from the car and found out that it is not a straight through muffler but had offset chambers inside.

Once we replaced it with a straight through muffler, we picked up about 10 degrees in cooling performance. Thank you Ernie!

Cool! Ernie

Here is an update on my post.

I was able to get the drawing for the original 419500 core from the Studebaker/Packard museum.

It turns out that the 419500 core is an inline Serpentine (fin type) with three rows and 11 FPI for a total of 102 - ?" tubes. The new core that the radiator shop used is a staggered continuous fin, four row with 8 FPI and a total of 150 - ? inch tubes (for 50% more tubes)

The tubes in the new core have a .118 belly vs the original 419500 which has .085 belly. Thus the core manufacturer says I now have more volume (capacity).

I got an opinion from another radiator shop who specialize in radiators for older cars and they said that they believe that the key to cooling my car is not in the capacity of the core. It is in the fin distribution. With serpentine fin patterns, the fin contacts the tube with a wider surface area. The heat transfers to the fin more effectively than a flat fin which contacts only a small area. When switching from serpentine to flat fin we need to account for that. As a result they usually double capacity and max out fin count at 12 FPI (if they change flat fin). The current core I have has increased capacity, but has decreased in fin count. They believe that this is what is hurting my cooling.

There is more to come on this but I wanted to at least document where we are to date.

From what you're saying, the pictures I provided are from a recored, not original or non 419500.

Sorry for that. I thought it was based on the miles. I had no cooling issues but made certain I flushed everything well before I refilled the system.

Hi Jim,

No worries. I appreciate your help. Based on the drawing that I bought from the Studebaker/Packard museum, I believe the 3 row core is the correct one for the 419500 core.

Thanks again

I wanted to post an update on this situation:

As mentioned earlier, the original 419500 core is an inline Serpentine (fin type) with three rows and 11 FPI for a total of 102 - ?" tubes. The new core that was installed is a staggered continuous fin, four row with 8 FPI and a total of 150 - ? inch tubes (for 50% more tubes)

The tubes in the new core have a .118 belly vs the original 419500 which has .085 belly. Thus the core supplier said that I now have more volume (capacity).

I got an opinion from another radiator shop who does Packard work for one of the big Packard parts suppliers. They said that they believe that the key to cooling my car is not in the capacity of the core. It is in the fin distribution. They said that with serpentine fin patterns, the fin contacts the tube with a wider surface area. The heat transfers to the fin more effectively than a flat fin which contacts only a small area. When switching from serpentine to flat fin they said that we need to account for that. As a result they usually double capacity and max out fin count at 12 FPI (if they change to flat fin). They said that the new core I have has increased capacity, but has been decreased in fin count. They believe that this is what is hurting my cooling.

Many others have told me that they have never seen a bigger radiator cause problems. But my thought is what about if the fin count changes (fewer) and goes from serpentine to flat?

I have talked to a lot of other "experts" over the last few months. Many of them say that I need to supply more air through the radiator at idle to get the radiator to cool better at idle.

But I am starting to wonder if we have caused a mild conflict here?

Could it be that by going to the bigger radiator, we are now also forcing the situation to be resolved by needing more air to now blow through it? (need for higher CFM)

Could it be that the original fan with the original core was well matched and cooled as originally designed in 1949 with the higher fins per inch at a lower CFM? (with the stock fan)

And now that we have a larger radiator with more rows and lower fins per inch, we are forcing the need for more air (need for higher CFM)?

And the so called experts are basically right that we need more air but I am wondering if we basically forced the need for more air by going larger when we did not have to?

Remember that the original core was clogged and the radiator shop said that they checked the "manuals" and said I had the wrong core in the car and then sold me the larger replacement core. After much work and time, I realized that the original core (419500) was what was in there all along and was the right size. The call for bigger core was not correct on the part of the shop.

At this point, the only way that I see to resolve this is to go to a pusher fan as a temporary fix or go back to the original Packard 419500 core. The latter is more expensive but in order to keep the car original, I may have to do it.

There will be more to come on this post but I wanted to get this updated since I probably won't get time to resolve it until wintertime. In the meantime, I am going to a 6 volt pusher fan to get me through the rest of the warm weather

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