Radiator Conundrum
 

I recently bought a 350 with a 700R4 to replace the 230 and three-speed in my '63 C10. I am now looking into radiator options. Is there any reason I couldn't or shouldn't use a flange mount style radiator as used in the '60-'62 year models? It just looks like such a simple option as opposed to rounding up all the necessary hardware for the '63 up style mounting system.
I am considering a Champion aluminum radiator similar to the one in this picture.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

There is no real reason, if you're not looking for a somewhat original setup. I have seen all types of mounting solutions over the years. I think my buddy just when with this type of flange mount setup because he didn't have all the original mounts. Working great for him.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

There was a thread not long ago on this type of setup. He made the brackets and welded them to the radiator support. Then he had no place for his battery box to mount. Just something to look at.
Jimmy

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

Champion has models to fit the 63 like a glove. Do you have the stock radiator in there now or? The stock will cool the 350 just fine if it's in good shape and maintained well. I have a champion and it cools my LS great, I went that way due to leaking original rad.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

I'd also recommend a fan with a shroud...I had that set up in my 61 and it overheated in the 100 Degree Central California heat. With the shroud and fan combo, no more problems even in bumper to bumper traffic and the ac running.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

Agreed! I have 2 12" fans, one for ac/high pressure and one regular, both in an aluminum shroud.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

I heard that the radiator is good but the fan is cheep.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

Thank you everyone for all your input. I have a Champion three row radiator in my '61 Biscayne cooling a 350 with a/c. I used a stock V8 shroud and it does well, even on the hottest of days. I mostly just needed to confirm the earlier 60-62 flange style mounted radiators will fit a '63.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

I like the idea of the flange style as well eliminating the top and bottom bracket clamp style. It pulls the radiator a bit more forward as well filling in the gap. May have to consider this myself with the LS3 conversion I did.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

hey 71Pickemup ChevyMIKE is right i did buy that exact Radiator from Champion it is a bolt in makes things much more easier but a few things to note are this ... 1 because its for the older 62 63 truck it does sit just a bit higher than the one thats made for the 64 to 66 . ill post a pic to show you what i mean ... it does make leaning over the engine in the front a bit harder . burning a nipple once and you will have no problem remembering lol been there done that ... next thing the fan shroud they sell for it is great ... but the Fan sucks ! so buy a better fan . next thing is this very important buy a 2 row NOT the 3 row . the 2 row has bigger cooling tubes so it cools much better than the 3 row . it is a china made radiator thats why its so cheap ... the welds are good the polish is great ... im not made of money so i had to do what i could afford to do .. BUT it is very true you get what you pay for just remember that tho too . if i had the cash ide have gotten a RnDFab radiator

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

Wolfman, i'm interested in this statement as i just put a Champion 3-row into my '61. Do you have experience/proof with the 2-row cooling better or just the theory of two bigger tubes vs three smaller tubes?

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

no i have proof ... i first bought the 3 row and installed it but was still having it run to hot .. with having a 180 stat in it 210 to 220 i did not like that .. so i changed the fan 1st to a better quality one it helped a little bit but not much so after changing water pump and new T stat and hoses . i called them back up and they told me ... that i really should have ordered a 2 row because of the 1 inch cooling tubes they cool better than the 3row so they sent me out a new 2 row and i sent them back the 3 row installed the 2 row and she runs no higher than 190 now .. so im just passing on my experience so others wont make the same mistake too :)

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

71PICKEMUP i do ask tho if you figure out a way to get the radiator to sit down lower than mine please tell me how you did it and show me some pics of the mod ... cause ide love to get mine in lower too :) happy truckin

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

That's some pretty good first hand knowledge i'd say. I wonder why they make a 3-row if the 2-row performs better?

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

lol to be honest i wonder the same thing ... maybe the 3 row would be enough to cool a 6 banger ? i have no idea but the 2 row is a much better radiator for sure when it comes to efficiency ;)

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

The Champion website is a little confusing. They have 3 different radiators

2 row with .75" tubes
3 row with .63" tubes
Also their American Eagle that has 2 rows of 1" tubes.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

I have the last one, cools my LS nicely. I had the 2nd one but it developed a small leak at the neck and was replaced under their lifetime warranty.


The 3 row will cool to 600hp, the American eagle 1" core will cool 750HP is what I was told.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

Trust me i have a mostly stock engine no cam just exhaust intake carb and HEI .. and it did not cool mine till i put in the 2 row with 1 inch tubes ... funny thing is when I called up to order it they told me that the three row would cool mine too and then when I started having problems and called them he said oh well you should have ordered a 2 row lol so yeah they were kind of a little abrasive to deal with in that manner because I have to admit I was rather frustrated with them telling me the first time the wrong radiator been having me go through this mess but I have to say other than that being that they sent me out a new radiator right away with no money charge to me and went by the promise that I would send back the three row their customer service was good not many companies would do that

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

I have the American eagle(Champion's other brand) two core with a single fan. It was getting pretty warm on me. I have no shroud though. I have a dual fan set up to put in soon. The radiator seems pretty well built

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

If it is the fans that they make or send with the radiator don't bother they are junk the Shroud that comes with the radiator if you ordered it that way is good sometimes depending on the application it takes a little modification for the Shroud to work even better but the fans themselves are garbage do yourself a favor if they are those fans buy different ones

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

I didn't get a shroud or fans with it. Honestly not sure where I picked this fan up at. It's 16". I have dual 12" to put in it now. I'll do that when we rewire it

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

Hey WOLFMANmike,
I pulled the trigger and ordered the Champion American Eagle radiator from Jeg's yesterday. It has two rows of 1" tubing as you had recommended. I went with the 60-62 flange mount style to save the trouble of rounding up all the necessary pieces for the 63-66 mount style.
I also ordered a full cover aluminum shroud and a 16" Flex-a-lite Syclone electric fan. I hope this combination does the trick for my little 350.
Thank you to everyone for the valuable tips.
Danny

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

This article here helps explain the whole 2 row, 3 row, 4 row deal. Granted it's written by a company that makes 2 row radiators, but it's still a good read. I actually run the company's radiator and I like it a lot. http://www.speedcooling.com/3_Row_Ve...omparison.html

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

Good information. Makes perfect sense.

Re: Radiator Conundrum
 

I went with a Champion in my 61 with 1 16" fan and it worked perfect.