[WickedSnake00]

On the list of many stupid things my PO has done, one is the radiator draincock. Where it should normally be, there's just a massive glob of epoxy. I can only assume he broke it off, and just plugged it.

Does anyone know if there's a suitable location I could drill and tap the radiator for a new one? Or am I SOL and need to get a new radiator? It's not like it's a terrible thing, just an inconvenience. After all I drained it before from the water inlet hose. But if I need to replace it, now is the time before I fill it up with coolant and fire it up.

If I do have to replace, it's going to be a pain. The junkyard in town has exhorbitant prices (they wanted as much for used COP's as they were new!), the one south of here actually refused to sell me parts, and going up to Indy is a gamble if they have any Mustangs, not to mention Superbowl traffic this weekend.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

[brokenweasel]

I'm surprised the epoxy even held. What about one of those lever on/off oil drain plugs? I haven't heard great things about them but you could just drill out the epoxy and epoxy this one in the same spot, this is what I'm thinking about:

QuickOilDrainValve.com - the best way to change oil

[WickedSnake00]

Sourcing a draincock is no problem.

The hard part is installing one. I'm unsure of the end tank sheet metal thickness so I'm unsure if I can drill/tap it.

Not sure if I'd roll the dice in drilling the epoxy either. I'll snag some pictures today. It will be good for some laughs.

[MustangMatt96GT]

New radiators from Advanced auto parts are really reasonable for these cars.... But he'll you could buy a be cool or a Griffen and never have to worry bout it.

[laser46]

Originally Posted by WickedSnake00 Sourcing a draincock is no problem. The hard part is installing one. I'm unsure of the end tank sheet metal thickness so I'm unsure if I can drill/tap it.

Sheet metal? The end tanks are plastic. Maybe you have an aftermarket radiator?

[cliffyk]

You can get a new one from RockAuto for $100 to $130. I have never had a problem with anything I've got from them...

[WickedSnake00]

Originally Posted by laser46 Sheet metal? The end tanks are plastic. Maybe you have an aftermarket radiator?

I could be wrong, maybe they are plastic.

In that case the plastic may support a draincock. I think I might just drill a hole and epoxy in a new draincock. Although I might actually do this the correct way, unlike the PO.


I've got no problem with new parts from Rock Auto, but remember, this here is a junkyard build (albeit a very fast junkyard car) and I'm going to try and fire it up this weekend.

[brokenweasel]

Originally Posted by WickedSnake00 I could be wrong, maybe they are plastic. In that case the plastic may support a draincock. I think I might just drill a hole and epoxy in a new draincock. Although I might actually do this the correct way, unlike the PO. I've got no problem with new parts from Rock Auto, but remember, this here is a junkyard build (albeit a very fast junkyard car) and I'm going to try and fire it up this weekend.

My radiator end caps are plastic, but since your frankenstang is on its what, 3rd? engine, who knows what you've got, right? I suggested the open/close valve so you don't have to worry about tapping threads for a draincock, you can tap threads or just drill a hole, then epoxy the valve in place so you never have to thread or unthread anything again, just flip the lever and drain.

[WickedSnake00]

Originally Posted by brokenweasel My radiator end caps are plastic, but since your frankenstang is on its what, 3rd? engine, who knows what you've got, right?

I'll probably look for some sort of SOV when I'm out looking for fittings to use as a heater core restrictor this weekend.

I also think "Frankenstang" is an appropriate name for this monstrosity. Third motor (that I know of), very little makes sense on it. Lots of parts from all sorts of cars (Cobras, MKVIII's, Crown Vic's, GT's, fabricated). The radiator has definitely been effed with at some point (like much of the car). The whole A/C condensor core is gone, most of the A/C setup is still intact.

I probably should eventually go to a better radiator. This one is the stock 4.6, but it seems pretty wimpy. Add to that the fact I'm going to be dumping a whole lot more heat from a higher power motor with bigger heads and a big fat dual pass HE that's in front of it, and it would probably be a good idea.