Aluminum radiator

[skorpioskorpio]

Looking into a 4 core aluminum radiator, who uses what and where did you get it from?

Seems like Classic Industries has a pretty fair selection. I'm looking for an original type mount but using electric fan(s) since I'm swapping in an engine that never had a fan on the front of it and I doubt I'd be able to get a factory shroud to look like it belongs there even if there was. Classic seems to have what I assume are house brands that look mostly like OEM but made out of aluminum, the "Northern" ones which seem to have matching electric fans and shrouds available and the "BeCool" systems which are ungodly expensive, what is the deal with that? I've also seen post about Champion, what is the consensus on this?

[sixtyeightchevykid]

i got one from http://www.shepherdautoparts.com/. good quality 4 row, the one issue i found on it is the mounts, i used the original mounts the drivers side mount went on great put it on the seam between the tank and core but on the passenger side the cap is in the tank and its too close to the seam to put the mount there, so i just moved the mount over to the 6cyl position and left it there.

[Tom Vogel]

Well, I have the BeCool set up. It does pretty much bolt right in and is very high quality. It can also handle 1000 HP which believe it or not is important for my setup. However, in your case, I think you need a reverse setup right?
Posted via Mobile Device

[skorpioskorpio]

Not sure what you mean by reverse setup, do you mean pusher fan setup or do you mean an high/low side swap? Answer to that on the first scenario is, I'm hoping I can squeeze the fans in as pullers and on the second scenario no, high/low is the same as a small block high on the drivers side and low on the passenger side.

I haven't fitted the engine in the bay yet and where it lands is kind of where it lands, although I've already come to the realization that my firewall is going to need to be modified, pretty severely actually as the ITB setup I'm going to use means I need do a pretty heavy notch for the #6 stack and air filter right about where the master cylinder is so I'm going to be moving that, and it looks like it'll be going under the floor.

The Atlas 6 is about an inch longer fully dressed than a BBC with just a water pump and flywheel on it and will probably sit a little further back than a BBC and it's about an inch and a half maybe 2 longer than a fully dressed LS1/6, so it's not as bad as you'd think. The V8s have all their accessory drive stuff and water pump forward of the engine where the 6 is pretty compact at the front. The plan is to get the engine as far back into the firewall well as I can and then modify it for that last throttle body.

[TexasK5]

I just installed a BeCool radiator this past weekend. As Tom mentioned above, it fit directly where the original 4 core was, original hold downs worked fine. With the only change being the radiator (same fans, etc as previous) the temp did drop 20 degrees. Not sure if all aluminum radiators do that, or if there were major issues/clogs with my old radiator, but I was happy happy happy. I am running a BBC that is a little more forward than normal and have the dual electric fans from Jegs. They are very low profile (because of the engine location I didn't have space left for the mechanical fan and wasn't going to redo the engine mounts and tranny crossmember). They move a lot of air and make a lot of noise, but for tight spots, they are great.

[kelsfine69]

Did BeCool change there design any? The do list a direct replacement so I thought awesome. I was going to get one last year but from a little digging and research found that they didnt quite fit in the stock 4 core brackets. My upper brackets are chrome and everything is painted so modifiying them was not an option.

[TexasK5]

I have a manual trans, so I got the 60058 from Summit. It doesn't have the same flanges to fit in the stock supports and hold downs, it's more flat there, but I just set it down on the supports and tightened the hold downs and it seems very secure. Not sure if that's changed over the years or not.

[GASoline71]

I got an ebay cheapy that has large 4 row tanks and a 2 row core. Fits and works just snazzy. Paid around 135 bucks for it.

Gary

[skorpioskorpio]

I'm kind of surprised by the number of BeCools, I must be missing something they seem to be way more expensive than anyone else I see. I'm OK with spending more for something worth it, but when I see prices of nearly 2 grand for a radiator and fan setup when I've yet to see another brand break $1000 it really makes me curious what makes it so special?

[Vandy5]

Wes with Class Heartbeat has some pretty good deals on them as well. And he is on the forum.

[skorpioskorpio]

Originally Posted by Tom Vogel

Well, I have the BeCool set up. It does pretty much bolt right in and is very high quality. It can also handle 1000 HP which believe it or not is important for my setup. However, in your case, I think you need a reverse setup right?
Posted via Mobile Device

Ugh! dyslexia, looked again and it is reversed, low on drivers high on passenger, so it isn't standard, looks like I need to use a different radiator. This makes things a bit more complicated .

Not sure if that's what you meant by reversed, but you made me think about it and saved me from an expensive error.

[Tom Vogel]

Yep...that's what I meant. You could Call BeCool, and see if they could reverse the bungs, or maybe someone could build you a custom one.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Zoomin]

Here's a link to a guy that I found very helpful on ebay Link

I needed to replace the radiator on my 66 SKylark. I gave him the dimensions and he was able to find a Champion radiator that fit like factory. It appears to be very well built, surprisingly so for a $200 aluminum radiator. I'll be using him again.

[KyFarm]

I got a 4-row alum radiator from a guy that posts on here sometimes,

ProPerformance I think is his name

It came with the radiator and two electric fans

works great, the 402 stays just above 190

[Steinerj56]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Here's a link to a guy that I found very helpful on ebay Link

I needed to replace the radiator on my 66 SKylark. I gave him the dimensions and he was able to find a Champion radiator that fit like factory. It appears to be very well built, surprisingly so for a $200 aluminum radiator. I'll be using him again.

I bought one of these champion radiators myself... Put 100 miles on it and now it leaks. I called to get it warrantied and they were great about it. Only issue is it will be 4 weeks before they have another one in stock. Looks good. Wish it didn't leak. now time to find another one.