bbc radiator?

[jason7698]

I am going to put a 496 in my 71 c10 350/350 turbo and after reading several post on the net it seems like cooling issues come up alot. I want to make sure that I get the right stuff so I dont have to deal with cooling problems. My truck is a cruiser that will not see the drag strip but could sit at a red light for awhile in the summer heat. I am on a budget but am willing to spend some money to make sure I stay away from cooling issues and I want it to look nice and clean..Thanks guys all advice and suggestions welcome!!

[chevytruckluver]

Cooling a big motor like that will be crucial you sure dont want to cause any damage if it were to get hot. The big block version of our truck comes with a 4 row radiator, the size of the opening in the core support is full of radiator and it will ge a full coverage of airflow across it while moving. The problem then becomes airflow at idle speed, I would run 2 electric fans. If you go with an aftermarket aluminum radiator and you see 4 row be careful. I have learned that 2 one inch wide rows will cool better than a radiator with 4 smaller rows.
Hope that helps
Also just looking at your original statement having a 350 turbo in there behind that engine you will be looking for trouble if you dont upgrade to a turbo 400
good luck

[jason7698]

So what about the alum. radiators at jegs and summit?

[Autoblueprint]

Originally Posted by jason7698

I am on a budget but am willing to spend some money to make sure I stay away from cooling issues and I want it to look nice and clean..Thanks guys all advice and suggestions welcome!!

I run a dual circuit engine oil / trans cooler set-up with an electric pusher fan on my small block. Both engine and trans have fluid thermostats to make sure the oil / fluid only goes to the cooler when required. The engine has dual remote spin-on oil filters and the trans has a single remote spin-on filter in addition to the internal filter; trans also has a deep sump cast aluminum pan. The engine has a high pressure and high volume oil pump to deal with all the additional feet of cooler line and an oil pan with an additional 1 quart capacity over stock. The capacity of my engine oil system is now 12 quarts with filters and cooler lines.

I have a 4 core radiator with the proper shroud and tucked inside is a small electric puller fan that complements a large diameter flex fan attached to a high flow water pump.

I keep an eye on all of it via AutoMeter Water, Oil and Trans Temp along with Oil Pressure gauges.

The bottom line to all of this?

I can, for example, cruze the I-15 to Las Vegas with an average speed of 75 mph in the heat of a summer day and have no overheating problems whatsoever and then do the Strip Crawl for hours in the bumper-to-bumper and still have no overheating problems.

Remember, it is not ONLY the cooling system that is responsible for overheat conditions...keeping the engine oil at the right temp plays a significant role too, whether it be small or big blocks.

And, yes, it is a large parts expense...but in my experience it is money well spent.

I have detailed information and photos on all of this in the MECHANICAL build section of my 1971 C-10 web site if you are interested.

[blown 72 gmc]

Hello, I ran a four row copper radiator in my truck with dual flex-a-lite fans and big block blower. It only ran warm in the heat of summer the rest of the time its not to bad. I was told that air flow is your main issue getting as much air flow across the radiator as you can is critical along with a high volume water pump. Chances are with a good hot summer day and a big block your t-stat wont be closing much any way. I know they make aftermarket fans that pull more than mine might check them out look for high cfm pullers. PM me if your interested there is a guy in missouri that makes a nice 2 row aluminum that is for 67-72 that is finished really nice. This is what I plan on using when I go back together.

[1quik70]

I had tons of cooling problems out of my 396 in my Nova. I went with a Professional Products 31x19 Aluminum, and have never looked back. They are the exact same radiator sold by jegs and Summit, but the cheaper one does not have a trans cooler. I just went with a stand alone unit, to keep the heat out of the radiator. I dropped my operating temperatures 30 degrees with the swap.

[SOON2BLAZE]

I just ordered this one on wednesday Amazon.com: Griffin 8-00008 Dominator Series... 2 year warrenty and 1 1/4 tubes. Great price & free shipping. Hoping it fits right in. Thinking straight water and some water wetter or something to prevent corrosion. Already running dual flexalite pullers already and have been thinking about adding an oil cooler.

[prostreetC-10]

An old 4 row copper will never cool like the newer aluminum stuff. I'm running an inexpensive SINGLE row in my 454 and it cools awesome. Keep in mine that the single row is about the same width as the 4 row copper.

[dbstepside]

in my big block truck i'm running a factory style 4 row radiator. i do not have a mechanical fan. i'm using a single 15 inch pusher fan. my truck stays cool all summer long. i normally don't drive more than an hour at a time but i did sit in traffic for about an hour and then drove to hotel when leaving the nhra hot rod reunion at beech bend last year and never had a problem out of it.

[gysgtc]

They're out of stock.

Originally Posted by SOON2BLAZE

I just ordered this one on wednesday Amazon.com: Griffin 8-00008 Dominator Series Universal Fit Cross Flow Radiator for GM A-G Body: Automotive 2 year warrenty and 1 1/4 tubes. Great price & free shipping. Hoping it fits right in. Thinking straight water and some water wetter or something to prevent corrosion. Already running dual flexalite pullers already and have been thinking about adding an oil cooler.

[jover]

We have a 68 Stepside w/a 388sbc, we run a aluminum radiator with a electric fan, we have over 517hp (was dynoed) and we occasionally get into some traffic when its hot out, as long as hubby remembers to turn fan switch on we have absolutely no heating issues, she runs about 165-170 degrees, when truck goes to track to run, even after run I've seen it go up to about 195 degrees, but when he comes in he just leaves fan on for bit and she cools right down, we also run 210runner aluminum heads too. So You shouldn't have too many issues if You just go the aluminum radiator and electric fan theory. Good Luck!

[jason7698]

So how do you guys feel about the summit and jegs alum radiators? Is there someone else who makes a direct fit alum for around the same price?

[gysgtc]

I spoke with these people yesterday. They are out of stock on this one but said they should have them in within the next 2 weeks. I didn't think this was a bad price.
http://www.reliableradiator.com/serv...Truck-3/Detail

[prostreetC-10]

Originally Posted by jover

We have a 68 Stepside w/a 388sbc, we run a aluminum radiator with a electric fan, we have over 517hp (was dynoed) and we occasionally get into some traffic when its hot out, as long as hubby remembers to turn fan switch on we have absolutely no heating issues, she runs about 165-170 degrees, when truck goes to track to run, even after run I've seen it go up to about 195 degrees, but when he comes in he just leaves fan on for bit and she cools right down, we also run 210runner aluminum heads too. So You shouldn't have too many issues if You just go the aluminum radiator and electric fan theory. Good Luck!

This is why on a street engine it's a must to you temp sensors for on/off when running electric fans. You don't want to be all stressed out about the traffic and heat and forget to turn your fan(s) on. When they start to cook, they can sky rocket in no time!!!

[chevytruckluver]

I just got one of theses had them add 2 fans and a shroud
http://www.speedcooling.com/Radiator...r/prod_38.html

[c1069]

^ wow that looks like factory style

I saved that link this will be an amazing upgrade to my truck since I will go to BBC

[davepl]

I've never had luck with aftermarket electric fans. Just look at the electric fans you see on a modern production V6 and you quickly realize how marginal even the biggest Summit-style fans appear to be. And avoid pushers, you never see them from the factory. They're less efficient to begin with an unless you came up with some reverse shroud setup, only push air through a tiny portion of your radiator.

Most large trucks use mechanical fans. My 510hp (factory) Range Rover uses a mechanical fan. A properly installed mechanical fan cannot be beat, as far as I'm concerned. My 505hp ZO6 uses two honkin' electric fans, but they're properly set up in a shroud, not just zip-tied to the radiator.

Any fan needs to be properly shrouded; even electrics. If you use an electric without a fan then it's ONLY pulling air through the area of the fan, and the rest of your radiator does very little when you're not rolling.

It also helps to seal the shroud to the rad (weathstripping). The fan should be about 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the shroud, and the shroud hole must be very close to the size of your fan.

Copper actually conducts heat BETTER than aluminum, but aluminum is stronger, which allows them to build tubes with more surface area and thinner tube walls.

My 502 Camaro uses a BeCool aluminum setup with a (shrouded) pair of electrics. The backside of the shroud has rubber flappers to allow air to exit when rolling but not the other direction when the fans are doing the work; I'm impressed with its effectiveness.

My 427 Pontiac uses a factory clutch fan, rad, and shroud. It worked fine until the shroud broke, another testament to how important the shroud is. Did I mention I like shrouds?

Another common issue, though usually not in factory setups because they know better, is when your rad can "loop" air. It pulls air through which goes down towards the ground and gets sucked up back up the front. You can usually fix this issue with an air-dam of some sort at the bottom of the rad to prevent it from re-eating it's own hot air.

Don't bother with "mechanic in a can" water wetters and viscosity voodoo formulas. If you have a cooling system that works, they might make it better. But if you have a malfunctioning, underdesigned or marginal system they will never make a good one out of bad.

Lastly, water transfers heat much better than antifreeze. Only run as much antifreeze as you need to in order to have a safety margin against freezing, and to lubricate the waterpump. Otherwise, run as much water as you can.