Aluminum radiators

[Rods57]

Thanks for all of the comments so far, I found one at brotherstrucks.com for 299 that says its made in america. anyone used or heard about these.

[Trekster]

You get what you pay for. I bought a Champion (chicom) off of ebay for my 1950 truck. I had to build small spacers to make it fit in the original location. It lasted for about 6 months. During this 6 month period, I did not drive very much. I called the guy I purchased it from and he exchanged it. The exchange radiator leaked before I could even drive it. I sent it back and they took a month to send me a third one. In the mean time, I had the original one fixed. I now have a new aluminum raditor in the basement and an old original radiator in the truck.

My point is, try and find an American made radiator and plan on spending more money. In the long run it will be worth it.

[tmoble]

I have a well-worn 327 in my 57 3100, built it in '85, drove it to Az from So. Oregon. I had a big old Harrison out of a 67 Impala wagon with a A/C and 396. Always worked fine. Developed a seam leak along the back of the top tank. I had it fixed a couple times but it cracked again. This is my daily driver in Phx. I discovered if I left the cap loose on the first notch it leaked a lot slower. then I discovered it leaked a lot slower yet if I just barely hooked the cap so it wouldn't fall off. Then I installed a heavy duty hang down under the dash A/C with a factory A-6 compressor on the factory passenger side brackets. I was expecting it to over heat terrible so I had the top tank soldered again. It cracked again. Did I mention the temp gauge didn't work? so here I am driving around Phx in the summer with the A/C on and an unpressurized cooling system. I'm also working as a line mechanic in shops where I saw lots of modern cars that would overheat like crazy if the tiniest thing was wrong with the cooling system.

finally I gave up and bought a cheapie $130 aluminum radiator off ebay. The lower hose outlet is angled up for some reason known only to Confucious and his buddies. The lower hose is half kinked off because the engine sits low compared to the radiator. There was no petcock on the radiator so I put off adding antifreeze till I could fix that. A few weeks later I pulled the cap to see how it was doing and the entire billet filler neck is a corroded mess, really nasty. No way the cap is holding any pressure at all. So, I've been driving it a couple weeks in Phx in the summer and I pull the cap to see how much water it has in it and it's about half full. It's a small radiator to begin with, I think the core is 18 x 18 or something. Two rows of 1.25" wide tubes. It's about half full, the lower hose is kinked, there's no shroud, no pressure cap and the fan is about 8" away from the radiator.

After all the cars I've worked on that wouldn't cool this thing is insane.

What's the secret? I think it's the engine basic build. In 85 I built it to run on regular unleaded. It's a 327 +.030, it was originally a 275 HP in a big car. I completely blueprinted the engine and cut the chamber side of the set of TRW forged pistons to get 9.0:1 real measured compression with the 462 camelhump heads. It's zero decked to retain a tight quench. Even with a 260 cam this allows me to run a lot of timing. Has 16° initial, 20° mechanical and 15° vacuum out of a ZZ4 HEI. Perfect, no pinging, good response, good power. Runs on 87 regular, gets around 16MPG around town with a TH 400 trans.

Works for me. If I had built it at 10 or 10.4:1 I wouldn't be able to run that much timing, it wouldn't get the mileage and would run hot. Junk radiators with no cap wouldn't work at all.

[tmoble]

Ron Davis, a good guy from the inside out. Used to race sprint cars with him at Manzanita in Phoenix. It was a big half mile, wide with long turns and short straights. About 5/8 around the outside. He had this little hole in the wall radiator shop in South Phx.

I didn't see him for a couple years, he somehow turned into this radiator King guy, opened up a big new modern shop, started selling nationally, started wearing nice clothes to work, the whole nine yards.

Nice to see somebody decent doing well for himself. I need to get by there and see him, it's probably been 5 years.

[Handfull 54]

Originally Posted by Kim57

Has anyone used these guys. They make a cross flow as well as a replacement for our trucks.
You can get aluminum or copper/brass.
More than the $250 but they look nice.
Kim
http://www.usradiator.com/radiators/...k.html?cat=647

I bought their Dessert Cooler radiator several years ago for my 54. I called them and told them what I had and the radiator they made for my truck works perfect. They have been making radiators for a long long time. Not cheap but "buy cheap buy twice" has always been my motto. Temp. is 160-175 all the time.

[_Ogre]

i run a dessert cooler from brothers http://www.brotherstrucks.com/prodin...number=RDHA059
it's not aluminum but it gave me no issues on the power tour where temps were 100+

[Dads Burb]

Anyone familiar with ecp (engineered cooling products) radiators? They are on e-bay. They are a 2 row radiator. Thinking about something for a 5.3L engine in a 55 (2nd) suburban.

[lonelywanderer]

i bought a brothers crossflow aluminum for my 59 and it looks really nice quality. i have yet to try it out since my truck is still being put back together

[72Mountaineer]

Not to change the subject, but looking at different pics of radiators and fans, ect.......are most people running short or long water pumps with a SBC and HEI?

[justplainray]

generaly long, but that is more dependent on your choice of accessory drive.
i'm using a serp belt set-up from a '92 Camaro 350 on my '73 400 small block.
also using a pump mounted fan clutch, (not an electric fan)
justplainray

[B_Hix]

I had these guys custom make a 4-row for me, using a Mustang II unit - not cheap, but great product and no overheating worries -

http://www.usradiator.com/ford-musta...-radiator.html

72Mountaineer, I am running a SBC (350) with HEI and long water pump

[B_Hix]

Originally Posted by Kim57

Has anyone used these guys. They make a cross flow as well as a replacement for our trucks.
You can get aluminum or copper/brass.
More than the $250 but they look nice.
Kim
http://www.usradiator.com/radiators/...k.html?cat=647

Kim I saw your post after I had already posted, but yes, I got mine through them - very nice product

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by B_Hix

Kim I saw your post after I had already posted, but yes, I got mine through them - very nice product

That's who I'll probably use for mine.
Kim

[pvienneau]

I bought one on Ebay from American Eagle and it fit with minimal modification. I did a lot of research and am pleased with the price and quality.
http://www.monstercooling.com/Americ...R%20PHOTOS.htm