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Radiator Question

G

GTchris

Member
I am going to be picking up a radiator pretty quick. I have the original upper and lower brackets so, I was thinking of sticking with the year specific '67 big block stock brass style radiator. I have seen prices anywhere from $350.00 to $260.00.

What are you all using or recommend?
 
Mine has the '67-'68 big block radiator in it now (it was stock with factory air). It cools the small block well. So, it is a viable option IMO.

That said, it's leaking a small amount, and I'll likely go with an aftermarket alum rad to fit the space. About the same cost, but better cooling in case I decide to go nuts with the engine rebuild.
 
Unless your aim is to keep the car as period correct as possible, I strongly recommend you consider an aftermarket aluminum radiator. The additional efficiency of an AL unit will allow for future performance upgrades that an OE radiator might not be able to handle.
 
I'm using a Northern brand 2 - 1" row alum radiator in Shag and I am extremely happy with it.
 
I have a repop copper/brass clamp in 4 core radiator for a 428. It keeps the my 429 cool but as Dave said, it may be better to go with an aluminum one. I don't have AC, PS or anything else that could add heat. I did have issues sitting in traffic but I have two fans and holes cut in the cowl to let underhood heat out and run water wetter and only 15% antifreeze. I'm thinking of upgrading to a more efficient aluminum radiator.
 
i'm using a griffin aluminum.

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Thanks for all the great reply's.

After looking around I figured most were using the AL radiator. I think that most of the AL radiators look odd and out of place, the Griffin looks nice painted black. Thanks for the pics Buckeyed. I'm not sure about the $600.00 price tag though.

So, sorry but, now I have more questions if you do not mind. This is quite a bit of money for me at the moment.

Are there any other AL radiators that don't have that "AL aftermarket radiator look" that do not cost $600?

I am not running AC or power steering, I doubt my engine is going to put out much more than 400hp, we generally do not have many really warm days here. Do I really need an AL radiator for my application?

Should I just get over the way they look and get an AL radiator more in my price range or just save a bit longer and get the Griffin?

Am I going to have fitment issues using an after market AL radiator with a stock type fan clutch & shroud? I guess this depends on which one I end up buying though..

Thanks again for your time all.
 
i hate the look of the aftermarket aluminum radiators for our classic mustangs. that is why i paid the extra cost for the griffin...
 
well I'm with you... I haven't forked over the dough for a Griffin yet. I want one. I am doing okay with the copper/brass rad.
 
just a warning, i had to modify the brackets (top and bottom) to fit that radiator. nobody can see the mods or would know.

basically the radiator must be slightly thicker, so the brackets (top and bottom) were modified in a way to shift the saddles towards the motor about 3/16. in addition, the bottom brackets were modified to open up the width just a little bit.

not a big deal if you have a welder, but certainly not plug and play
 
Yes I guess if you want your alum rad to look very stock then you have to shell out big bucks. I picked Northern because it is probably the least irritating looking for an aluminum radiator, especially after I painted it black and it was less than half the price of Griffin.
 
I bought the '68 sb, A/C 24" 3+ row radiator from NPD #8005-1FE ($260) as I needed both outlets on the passengers side and didn't like the look of the aluminum ones either. I wanted the stockish apperance and blacked out fins. I haven't started it yet but don't think I'll have any cooling issues as I had the old 20" stock nonA/C, 2 row? one in there with no cooling problems so this is a definate upgrade. I also picked up an original 24" shroud and am adding a 6 blade fan and thermoclutch.
Jon
 
A shroud is a must. In the 67 I have a brass 3 row stock looking repop. I don't recall how much it was. The car has AC and manual steering. I have never had an overheating issue.

The 65 has an aftermarket AL radiator. It cools nice and for the look I am looking for, it is fine. It is a Ebay special cheapo radiator that is a direct bolt in. It is a 2 row and does such a good job even in the Vegas heat just south of me that I need to put a hotter thermostat in the car to get the temp up a bit.

So you need to do what you think is right. I had to do something cheap for the 65 as money was an issue and the radiator in it was not doing it at all. I like both choices I made.

I do think that you get what you pay for in our hobby. Every time I cut a corner and got a cheap part, one would be able to tell that it is a cheap part and many times I have had to do it again with the higher quality part.

You will never go wrong with either Griffin or Northern. Great quality parts!

Mel
 
Here's some pics of my Northern radiator. Due to it's thickness I could not use the stock radiator support system so I made my own brackets and bolted the rad directly to the radiator support. You will see the custom brackets in the 2nd pic. No drilling was required in either the radiator or radiator support. Just a little bit of engineering and prototyping.

I love the look of not having that fugly looking top bracket sticking out at cha'.



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I ran the 20" 3 row for about 10 years with no overheating issues. Since I upgraded to PS and AC, I went with the same 24" radiator Jonk mentioned from NPD. No issues with that either the few times I've driven it so far, well, after I swapped out the thermostat.
 
Thanks for the reply's all!

Thanks for the great pics cmayna! Where did you buy the Northern radiator from?

"sigtauenus" said:
I ran the 20" 3 row for about 10 years with no overheating issues. Since I upgraded to PS and AC, I went with the same 24" radiator Jonk mentioned from NPD. No issues with that either the few times I've driven it so far, well, after I swapped out the thermostat.
Click to expand...

Are you using that in a small block car?

Did you order the HD or the Max Cool version from NPD?

Do you remember the manufacturer's name that was on the box?
 
Chris,
I bought it from a supplier on ebay, but just google Northern Radiator and you will find numerous suppliers. The goal is to match to your particular application. 20" vs 24", lower snout on the drivers or passenger's side?
 
"GTchris" said:
Are you using that in a small block car?

Did you order the HD or the Max Cool version from NPD?

Do you remember the manufacturer's name that was on the box?
Click to expand...

Small block, don't recall, but it was in the $260 ballpark, 3+ rows for AC and HD. Do not recall the brand. Fits with the upper and lower clamp pieces.
 
"cmayna" said:
Chris,
I bought it from a supplier on ebay, but just google Northern Radiator and you will find numerous suppliers. The goal is to match to your particular application. 20" vs 24", lower snout on the drivers or passenger's side?
Click to expand...

Lower is on the drivers side.

Thanks again all.
 
Try the Champion on Ebay or any of the vendors who sale them, for the price it would be hard to pass up. I have not tried them myself, we always install the expensive ones. Rich.
 
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