Cool/Heat: 1957 Silver Hawk Radiator

[Stu2stu]

I know it has been discussed many times but here is my question. I have a 1957 Silverhawk with
a 289, 4 barrel I want to replace my radiator with an aluminum one. Will the Champion CC1919 work ?

[jrlemke]

Don't know about that one, I have the Chev into Jeep that has been mentioned here. It was pretty straight forward instillation and works great in my '61 Hawk. -Jim

[345 DeSoto]

This exact radiator, and a PT Cruiser electric fan and shroud are exactly what you need. It is a "drop in" radiator, with out the need for the Stock radiator shroud OR Stock fan blade. I know...I did it in my Sky Hawk. A few extra holes needed, and it just slips in the Stock radiator mount...http://www.kksmotorsports.com/show.asp?id=701 I also added a thermostatically controlled switch (ebay). The whole set-up works BEAUTIFULLY. The Champion radiator is a no go. PM me for any help or questions...

[Jeffry Cassel]

Ditto DeSoto. Put one in my 64. Need to make some baffles to direct airflow trough radiator instead of around it. NO<NO<NO on Champion radiator

[StudeRich]

Most Hawk Radiators have a 1 1/4 Inch upper Inlet tube, I don't think the stock molded Studebaker hose would work with these 1 1/2 Inch Tubes.

Also to use the stock Shroud you need a Upper Inlet that faces the fender, these are not for everyone, they work better in Larks.

[345 DeSoto]

"Most Hawk Radiators have a 1 1/4 Inch upper Inlet tube, I don't think the stock molded Studebaker hose would work with these 1 1/2 Inch Tubes."

I used a rubber radiator hose adapter...Stock Hawk upper radiator hose works fine.

[bensherb]

Most Hawk Radiators have a 1 1/4 Inch upper Inlet tube, I don't think the stock molded Studebaker hose would work with these 1 1/2 Inch Tubes.

Also to use the stock Shroud you need a Upper Inlet that faces the fender, these are not for everyone, they work better in Larks.

My '62 has 1 1/2" hoses and the upper outlet points straight tward the firewall. The lower does too but angles up slightly to clear the suspension crossmember.

Our '53 radiator has outlets much like you describe. We had one made for it by Griffin. It's 1/2" taller to incorporate a trans cooler in the lower tank and fits well, but they neglected to relocate the mounting holes to compensate for the added height, so we had to drill extra holes.

[wdills]

Another thing to consider is A/C. If your car has air conditioning, or any plan to add it, you need more cooling capacity. I had Griffin build me an aluminum radiator with a lot more capacity than the standard Stude radiator. They made the brackets the same and formed the top tank to look like a vintage radiator. Fit perfectly with the original shroud, looks correct and now I can idle on a 95 degree day and the AC running without any overheating concerns.

[Stu2stu]

Thanks for all the input I ordered the one 345 De Soto suggested I will post pics as to how it works out.

[bensherb]

Another thing to consider is A/C. If your car has air conditioning, or any plan to add it, you need more cooling capacity. I had Griffin build me an aluminum radiator with a lot more capacity than the standard Stude radiator. They made the brackets the same and formed the top tank to look like a vintage radiator. Fit perfectly with the original shroud, looks correct and now I can idle on a 95 degree day and the AC running without any overheating concerns.

Out of curiosity, how long ago did you get your radiator made by Griffin?

[wdills]

July of 2017.

[bensherb]

July of 2017.

Thanks, I just wondered because they made ours about 10 years ago and they had some trouble making outlets that fit around the stock '53 shroud. It took them a couple tries, evidently they hadn't made one for a Stude before. They've probably done a few since then and have it down now.

[wdills]

I actually sent them my original to copy.

[WLB]

Griffin Radiator

I actually sent them my original to copy.

I was reading your post about the Griffin Radiator. I'm putting a 350 Chevy with 350 Turbo transmission in 56 Hawk and was thinking about putting in a aluminum radiator. It will have a serpentine system with AC. Does yours have a manual fan? I was going with electric fan. Any suggestions? Thanks

[StudeRich]

What did you do about the Drain Cock that should be on the Front side, but is on the Bottom and will crash into the Radiator support?