47-59 radiator

[nvrdone]

I know this has been discussed before, but now I'm ready for a new radiator.
My local shop quoted me $500.00 last summer and now its $750.00.
I need recommendations for a good source and thoughts about aluminum vs
copper/ brass.
Thanks

[6DoF]

i have had great luck with the cheap-o Amazon AL direct fit rads that come with the fan/shroud. i have them in 2 different jeeps and the 55, all are better than factory cooling and fit great.

something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Cubauto-Radia...t%2BTruck&th=1

[Rickysnickers]

I've had a Champion radiator for several years and had no issues.

[youngrodder]

I went with an aluminum Champion 4 core rad then painted it black to blend in better. I went with an electric 2 speed fan/shroud from Cooling Components. 0 cooling issues.

Marc

[nvrdone]

Ok, just called Champion and they recommended a 2 row with the 1" tubes.
Youngrodder - you say you have a 4 core. Is that 4" or 4 row?
I'm wondering if a 2 row will have enough cooling when I install a/c?
thanks for any additional thoughts.

[dsraven]

my thouights,
go big if you have ac, both with the rad capacity and the fan capacity
there are a few guys here who have "running hot" issues with the AD trucks and sometimes I think it is because there is a limited amount of room up front for all the things that create or shed heat in the same place. engine rad, trans cooler, p/s cooler, ac condensor, etc. they get stacked so warm air shed from the first in line has to pass through the next in line, and so forth, until the rad recieves it's cooling air. by this time the air thats supposed to cool the rad is already heated past the ambient temp of outside plus it has been a little restricted due to having had to pass through other coolers. thats probably fine for a highway cruiser thats not towing a trailer and isn't loaded, just a simple truck cruising down the road in o/d with lock up engaged (minimal heat being made by the torque converter) and with lots of available ambient temp air, plus a ram effect of the air being pushed by the truck. maybe not so good for a city driven truck parked at a red light on a hot day and going from red light to red light creating heat in the torque converter, engine etc and sitting on hot pavement which is also generating heat. if you have ever driven a motorcycle in the city on a hot day in these circumstances you would realise how hot the area outside can be
just my thoughts, get the most from your rad that you can and let the thermostat shuttle to keep the engine at operating temp. get the best air flow you can, set up a multispeed cooling fan, or two, so the noise level can be kept at a minimum but there is also ample availability for air flow, mount aux cooling for things like trans and p/s in a good airflow area but possibly not directly in the air flow profile of the rad. there is also the availability to install cooling fans for aux coolers that are mounted elsewhere

[nvrdone]

raven - thanks for the thoughts. Right now I dont have a/c but it will be a future add on.
M21 4 spd so no t/c heat. No p/s so no heat there. The only towing is a 5x8 open trailer with yard waste.
My thought is go big or stay home. Summer temps here can hit 90 - 102 degrees in aug / sept.

[dsraven]

yup, go big. you dont usually regret going for the better unit than what you think you might need but usually when you go for the one that gets you by you end up with regrets later. the thermostat should take care of keeping the temp correct as long as the rad can get rid of the heat it is given. having too much rad wouldn't be any worse than driving in the winter, the stat shuttles to keep the engine at operating temp. usually the only time I have had too much rad capacity the temp is quite cold, like -20C. i have to use a winter front (cardboard in front of the rad). there have been times when I haven't had enough rad capacity, because i cheaped out on the rad and bought one with less rows.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

Ok, just called Champion and they recommended a 2 row with the 1" tubes.
Youngrodder - you say you have a 4 core. Is that 4" or 4 row?
I'm wondering if a 2 row will have enough cooling when I install a/c?
thanks for any additional thoughts.

Pretty sure a 4 row. I thought they referred to them as core. I just wanted to make sure i was covered with adequate cooling. I did have to do some slight modifications to get it to fit. A 2 row would be an easier install. A good cooling fan is a must too.

Marc

[mr48chev]

I've got this one that took about an 80 dollar jump in price since I bought mine. https://ecp-radiator.com/products/19...CABEgK8G_D_BwE

Champions 2 1 inch rows coincides with what Engineered cooling products says. With Aluminum the two rows of wider tubes works better than the 3 or 4 rows of smaller tubes. I'm thinking that brass doesn't work out well with the larger tubes in a structural sense.

[nvrdone]

ok, why was my post moved and where did it go to??????

[mick53]

I'm running a two 1 1/4" row aluminum radiator with a mechanical pump in my 53 3100 with a 292. They told me it cooled 40% better that a conventional 4 row radiator. I think they are some kind of weird profile tube. It has a 3600 CFM chrome fan on it. I haven't used it yet. I'm also running a Ron Davis horizontal mount drag radiator between the rails with an electric pump and spal fan primarily for heat sink after shutdown or in a high capacity situation. I wanted to keep my mechanical pump for replacement availability.

[leegreen]

you posted in the projects section and looks like it got moved the the general discussion

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

ok, why was my post moved and where did it go to??????

It just got moved to the general area, don't panic

[nvrdone]

no panic. just surprised when I couldn't find the post.