68/70Vette

25% cooling capacity increase sounds good to me. My original 70 copper was given to the local metal scrap collector..the core was shot. Never thought about keeping it for the core surround stampings.

Jamess411

Hey Tom,
When I bought my project it had a brand new Champion in it which would probably work great on a normal SBC. Now I have a stroked 420 that is blown and injected hopefully in the 700+ hp range. Though I have not taking it on the street yet it does get warm fast. If there is enough of a difference between yours and that one (because us normal people can not see the inside) and you are confident enough to say YES MINE WILL DO THE JOB, then I will buy yours in a heartbeat. I just do not have the extra money to buy another radiator and end up with the same issues because there is NOT that much difference. So I am leaving it in your hands…..do I sink or swim??? lol..ok a little dramatic

68/70Vette

I think the question is, will the DeWitt aluminum radiator, designed to fit the 454 1970, cars provide adequate cooling for your perhaps 700 hp SB?

Jamess411

exactly my question

Darlas81

Tom, I had to laugh when you said dentist office. I have the same problem. I own a small dental lab, and have so for many years. I'm 60, and have been at this for 42 years. I even have 6 college degrees, including a PhD. I only work for dentists.
The economy, and our trade laws now, allow dentists to send work directly to China, where they can get a crown made for a bowl of rice.!!
$25.00 or so. I can't possibly compete with that, and I won't try. Now, the Drs. are not telling the patient that they had it made in China, because the patient trusts the Dr. to give them his/her best, and for $1200.00 a crown, the dentist is laughing all the way to the bank! Over 3,500 dental labs in the US have closed in the last 4 yrs. and more will close as things continue to decline. I like knowing that I've worked under a microscope and I have to stand behind my work. Even some labs are taking in work, sending it to China, marking it up without even looking at it, and if it fits, send it to the Dr., without letting him know either. It's a shame too. I used to be a craftsman, but now just a commodity.
Keep up the good work.

commander_47

First of all, let me just say that I don 't doubt for a second the efficacy, quality or engineering ability of Tom DeWitt and his products.

First class all the way!!!!!!!

I'm just not a wealthy man. I don't drive a new 2015 Stingray for a reason!!!!

Having said all that, I try to do everything cost effective. Please notice that I did say CHEAP. There is a difference between working within ones budget, and working cheap.

When I opted to go for an aluminum radiator, I looked for a DeWitts, but I also looked at a whole bunch of others. I checked construction details, and looked at all the reviews.

The one I decided on did not get glowing reviews on this forum, but it did do well elsewhere. I liked the construction, the design, and the price. There were cheaper radiators, and more expensive radiators, but for a lifetime warranty this seemed pretty cost effective.

http://www.speedcooling.com/index.ph...ewDoc&docId=28

Since it has been in the car I've had no issues. No leaks, it fit perfect except for having to relieve the lower rubber cushion a little.

This radiator, with the cap and mechanical drain only cost $219.00. A stock copper core replacement for my 81, which I still have and was only in the car a year, cost me $199.95. The stocker did not include cap or drain.

I do believe that the gains I got in cooling are more a result of the valence plate directing the air flow than the radiator.




My desire for an aluminum radiator was driven by my friend who put a DeWitts in his car. It is very nice, and cools great. He paid nearly $800.00 for it.



His wife treated him to a DeWitts radiator cap. It cost her $55.00.



My radiator cap came with the radiator.



I don't want to offend anyone, but we are not all efete, wealthy throw the money in the wind car owners. Some of use are down to earth car nutz.

A perfect example is side exhaust. Hooker side exhaust has always been my fantasy. I was finally able to procure a used set for half the price of a new set; which is now about $2000.00.

If you look on the net, you can find OBX, and another brand, for less than half that price. These brands are getting more popular and I see more of them at the show.

Not because people don't want Hooker, or DeWitts, but because they can afford them.

0Tom@Dewitt

James I would try it out when it's 90-100 degrees out. If it can handle the motor (700HP) with that kind of air temperature you should be fine.

Some might say, "come on" is yours better or not! Well the answer is, I don't know because the only way to really test a radiator (other than a wind tunnel) is to use it or distroy it. I am so glad you mentioned the inner constuction because that is something that cannot be seen without destructive testing and it is one of the hardest thing to explain.
When you look at an aluminum radiator they all pretty much look the same. What you cannot see is how well the FINS ARE BONDED TO THE TUBES. This is the key to the heat rejection capabilities and the nobody knows how well there radiator is brazed.

Let's say the the brazing process is not the greatest and only half of the fins are brazed (welded) to the tubes. Then that radiator is only half as good as the one that has 100% contact, regardless of who made it. We take this fin bond very serious and if anything in our process is done wrong, you will not get 100% bond.

Here is a link that explains that, with photos.
http://www.dewitts.com/pages/brazed-...radiator-cores

When this thread started (2008) the company mentioned did not make anything in the US. Today I beleive they have started ASSEMBLYING radiators and they are marketing the imports under several names. I say assemblying because they do not make cores. If you clicked on the above link you will understand that the CORE is the only thing that determines the effectiveness of the radiator.

That is why the imports get mixed reviews. China is more than capable of making a quality product. You must have all the equipment and technology to braze aluminum. The question is "do they follow the procedure to maximize the tube-to-fin bond? Would they scrap cores that didn't braze all they way? The answer is not always on both, so you just never know what you are going to get. You might have a good one.

Jamess411

It is ALWAYS 90-100 degrees out here in South Florida lol.
Like you mentioned before there is no way to look inside after it is built. I am just about ready to take the car out on the road and see what happens when air is actually moving through the radiator during driving. If it is still getting too hot for my taste then you will be getting a call.

Dane Laney

Just wondering what you think about the CC1215 radiator from champion radiators,, I have one I am trying to cool a slightly modified 454 with iron heads in a 71 c3, Do you feel this radiator will cool this car efficiently ?

cooper9811

This isnt a direct answer to your question, but I have a Champion 3-row aluminum cooling a Dart 427 SBC, making ballpark 500-550 HP. It runs 180 all day, no issues at all. I have AC, too. It's got a lifetime warranty and the radiator I recieved was pretty well constructed.

Fit was relatively straightforward, no modifications. The rounded top brackets are the worst part of the fit, but they still clamp plenty well enough to keep the radiator stable.

I am very aware of the negative view some folks have of these radiators. My personal experience says it's not entirely well-founded. There are good and bad examples of any product if you look hard enough

No doubt DeWitts will also do the job, and thier following speaks for itself - but there are other choices out there, and based on my observations, Champion is a viable choice; for the cost, it's at least worth a good long look. I reccomend that you do your own research and go from there - The reality is that there are other good choices besides DeWitts or Champion with a range of costs, and you can best decide what you feel comfortable with.

augiedoggy

I too have the 3 row champion and it cools my mild 355 perfectly.
I know its likely a chinese made radiator but I too am struggling with a budget to complete my car. and paying half as much for a radiator than it cost me to build my entire engine from scratch just did not make sense to me.

Theres nothing wrong with going with a higher end rad if you have the money and its what you want to do... The dewitts is made in the usa afterall.

Unlike some other products sold by venders which are actually the same exact chinese product sold elsewhere for $600-700 but sold here for over twice that under another brand name. I'm not going to go into it further since I was warned this forum is to support venders first and foremost (regardless of shady practices at the members cost I guess) but I was disappointed that my perfectly legit questions were deleted the way they were... What good is a forum if you cant ask legit questions about the products sold here? If the vender has nothing dishonest to hide he should have no issue answering them.
dismounting soapbox...