Radiator replacement question Options

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Bit the bullet and decided to try to resurrect my Base Level 94 Celica ST 1.8L with manual transmission. It has been unable to start for over a year and a car buff friend stopped by and assured me he would help me pull the engine and get me through the problems of rebuilding it's 7AFE.

So, the engine bay is empty, the garage is full of mostly washed parts, the engine block in on an engine stand, I have a rebuilt head, and I am faced with the following problem about the radiator:

What caused her to shut down was an overheating event which messed the head gasket, warped the head so it could not be repaired, and blew a hole in the RADIATOR.

It just so happens that a couple of years ago when I was redoing her suspension, brakes and wheel bearings all round, I needed a front steering knuckle and found one on a Celica at a local junk yard. At that time I also ripped off that Celica's decent looking radiator and brought it home where it has been stored ever since.

My Celica's transmission is manual. Its radiator is different than the one I got at the junk yard, which is for an automatic transmission. There is no identifying information on the junkyard radiator, and I do not recall what Celica it came from, but maybe 1995, just guessing. I moved the two fans from my old radiator and was easily able to mount them on the junkyard radiator. The only way I know the two radiators are different is that 1) my radiator core is about 5/8" deep, while the junkyard radiator core is 1" deep, and there are two teats on the bottom of the junkyard radiator (for automatic transmission fluid) that are not on my radiator.

All that said, the QUESTION:

Would it be ok to use the junkyard automatic transmission made for radiator in my Celica that used a radiator made for only for a manual transmission? Would it cool my engine properly? Are their any snakes laying in the direction of my thinking?

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Appreciate your comment, root. I bought this junkyard radiator a couple of years ago, as a 'hey that radiator doesn't look so bad!', when I was putting in new, or rebuilt, suspension parts, brakes and wheel bearings all around, and found I had a bent steering knuckle at the right front, and went to the local junkyard to find one. So, I got the radiator cheap, along with the steering knuckle. Further, this radiator looks to be in much better condition than the one it is to replace.

Completely tearing down the 7AFE engine is already a costly proposition, at least for me, a person of limited means: $250 for a rebuilt cylinder head, $40 to resurface the flywheel, $170 to test the head, hone the cylinders, and clean up the mating surface of the block, $260 for the engine rebuild kit, $? for the clutch kit, $300 for the hoist, $140 for the cleaning tub, only god knows how many rolls of blue towels, gallons of de-greaser, etc. I have had to buy, and on and on it goes. Still haven't decided what is left to do regarding the block, so that's an open cost figure. And, even when I am finished with the mechanical stuff under the hood, the interior will still look the same, so I will not have increased the value of the vehicle to anyone but myself, and it isn't worth $2K! (And, worse, it cannot be insured for what it is worth as parts, screw the labor!)

So, I justify my decision to proceed on the fact that it will, and is, teaching me a whole lot about how a car works, mechanically. It is fascinating!! Where else can I pay so little to learn so much?

Like every single part I am cleaning while doing this tedious job, it does bother me that there is old 'stuff' in that radiator, so I am planning on going to shop radiator shops to see if I can find someone who will pressure test it for me, and perhaps flush it out, for reasonable money. Depending on the cost, I might end up taking your advice about buying new, or be forced to, but am hoping to cut whatever corners I can.

I do appreciate your taking the time to comment, and thanks for reinforcing the fact that the aftermarket forces you to buy the Automatic Transmission cooler inside version of the radiator. I had looked at Rock Auto and wondered why all of the replacements they listed were only for the AT version.