VERY slowly getting our 53 Special going, and after fixing the brakes, transmission, and some electrical, we have it running. Unfortunately, we need a radiator, the old one is no good and would be over $1000 to repair, which is out of the question. We've been looking for new radiators, and it seems to be rather difficult to find one for the straight 8, which is to be expected since 53 was the last year for the straight 8, and the first year for the V-8. Apparently, the V-8 radiator is too thick and would hit the fan, and the 6 cylinder radiator would probably be too small for the straight 8. Anyone have any ideas on where to get a new radiator for the straight 8 in 53? Would a radiator for a 52 fit? Can we make a V-8 radiator work by removing the fan spacer and moving the radiator bracket an inch or so? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
53 Buick Special straight 8 radiator
- Thread starter Trax 53
- Start date
Looking at Hollander, there is reason to suspect the rad may be the same back to at least '49. The reason I am not sure is they are only describing it as "core" in my book. The only difference should be manual or automatic transmission. I would not be surprised if the larger Roadmaster radiators would fit too, they are thicker, and only available as dynaflow.
This does seem to be an oddball year, since the straight 8 was only put in the Special in 53, all the other models had the 6 or the new-for-53 V-8, which has a different, thicker radiator. And the fan spacer can't be removed, because then the fan would hit the water pump. This is proving to be most difficult.
There were no six cylinder Buicks from 1931 until the early 1960s. Straight eights only through 1952, then 1953 introduced the V8 in the Super, the Roadmaster and the Skylark. The '53 Special was the last of the straight eights.