Later cars with AC could have 26" radiators. But without AC they also frequently had 22" radiators, so, it's not just a year thing.
But even with a car that had a 22" radiator standard mounting a 26" radiator is pretty easy. It can be as simple as just drilling 4 holes, although you can go the extra mile and weld the nuts to the core support like the factory did to make installing the radiator a little easier.
My Duster came with a 22" radiator from the factory. I installed a 26" Champion radiator and use a '95-2000 Ford Contour dual speed, dual electric fan set up on it. I left the core support opening alone, it only partially shrouds the outer rows of the core. And the fans have a shroud that covers the entire core, so, air is pulled across all of it when the fans are running anyway. At speed there's no cooling issue. The smaller radiator won't save you a ton of weight (and the aluminum radiator is lighter to start than a factory radiator anyway). And a larger coolant volume is a good thing, not a bad thing. I suppose every little bit of weight counts if you're really serious about racing, but a few degrees of engine temperature can make a really big difference too. If the larger radiator lets you control your engine temps better, it would make a bigger difference than the small change in weight IMO.
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