cooper9811

I've got a 3-row champion cooling a fairly large CI stroker - I agree the fit of the stock brackets is a problem, but considering the cost, I see it as a minor one. The champion should be recognized for what it is (at least in my experience): a very effective low-cost option. Other radiators may be 100% drop-in but you will pay more for that.

I've been running my champion for 2 years and it keeps a fairly strong motor cool in all temps - I have yet to get over 190 on a hot summer day (and with AC). I drive it a lot in the summer.

If I were more concerned with an original looks along with good cooling, I may have gone with a more costly radiator. I was only after functional, cost-effective cooling - I never pop my hood to show off, because I drive this thing and it gets dirty under the hood. I have not regretted it at all.

Stephen Irons

OK, I know this thread is entitled "Aluminium Radiators", but in the "related" context, I used these people to replace the rad on our 78. http://www.completeradiators.com/

I'd had the original rad repaired, then later replaced it with a "modern", probably ally, rad, that didn't fit and eventually (after a couple of years!) sprang a leak. I went to Complete Radiators who supplied (at a very reasonable price, including shipping here to France) a radiator that is a perfect replica of the original, fitted straight in with no mods, bending, sweat or tears and now keeps the engine so cool that I needed to change the thermostat.

croaker

Champion Radiator in. 3 core . This temp was after 45 mile run 90 degree Louisiana heat and,5 minutes idling in driveway. No seals in .

The_pakettle

I like that radiator cap; I've never seen one with a built in temperature sensor before.

croaker

I like it keeps my dash gauge honest.

rogernison

Who is the manufacturer of the radiator cap with temperature gauge?

croaker

Mr Gasket

saunderscx

On the mater of "related topics", I have an aftermarket aluminum radiator in a 72 C3 roadster with a 350SB. The original GM "expansion tank" is long gone.

Most aluminum radiators have a little overflow port just under the radiator cap...just like pics in a prior post on this thread. I have a rubber hose on the radiator overflow bib but no tank to catch / feedback coolant back into the radiator....for now the rubber hose would just expel any coolant down onto the road. I'm not over heating so it's really not a big issue but I have lost coolant to some degree as I found the coolant level lower than what I filled it to previously.

I've looked at the "OE expansion tank" diagram briefly last week. The tank is like $170, then there's a cap, bracket, two straps, and T to tie into heater hoses. I more or less stopped looking at the diagram because that's not what I'm after. It seems the OE expansion tank is designed to work under pressure, but I think that's not at all a necessary thing with a modern aluminum radiator. Right ??

I'm looking for a "semi nice looking" overflow tank that I can tie to the aluminum radiator with a simple rubber hose.....like 99% of every modern car on the road. A 2 liter bottle, duct tape job, and long rubber hose would work, but I want a tank that doesn't scream "yeah I rigged just that up" when looking under the hood.

Anyone using or know of a SIMPLE overflow tank (plastic preferred to see coolant level inside) which looks nice and could mount in the approximate/same postion as the seemingly over complex pressurized "expansion tank" designed for use with copper OE radiators ??

What are your thoughts on this ?

0Tom@Dewitt

I see a lot of mistakes regarding this "missing tank". That is because many people see a car the same year as theirs and it has the tank, therefore your tank must be missing, right?
No. Only base C3 small block (no AC, no Auto, and no special engine) and BB cars have the factory aluminum surge tank. If your sb car has anyone of these options, then you would not have the pressurized surge tank. The filler neck with cap was on the radiator and there is no need for one.
If you really want to use a catch can, you could just order a plastic one from a 73 or later. I don't see why you would need it but it would work. Normally you would fill the radiator about 3" low and this room allows for fluid expansion when it heats up. If you overfill the radiator it will push this extra fluid out when it expands. Often people will confuse this with boiling out or puking. Then they re-fill the system when it cools down because they feel they need to and this madness continues over and over.

saunderscx

Thanks for the input. The car has no AC. Essentially Stock 350SB aside from .030 over bore on rebuild. It seems then this car never had the pressurized tank in the first place. That's good news. I fully assumed it did when I saw all the related parts online for my model year. It's not overheating and I'm in Texas. Good advice. Thanks for the reply.

Dynra Rockets

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-radiator.html

george2066

i like that, over and over

croaker

Looks to have been around the block a few times.

L-46man

I recently purchased a Cold-Case radiator aluminum...Very pleased.

40% more cooling than 'stock'. Solid alum, with perfect dimes over dimes TIG welding.
Polished tanks. OEM configuration.

Nice piece for $325.

Domobomb

Anybody run the Spectra Premium radiators? They are aluminum with plastic tanks.

Pretty popular with the 2nd gen Camaro guys who have had success with them.


https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sgt-cu717/applications

http://nastyz28.com/threads/budget-a...unting.131059/

carriljc

I've had a Summit Radiator (28" x 19") in my 68 since 2004. When I bought it I wanted to squeeze the biggest radiator I could in there so I knew I had to make modifications. I bought some brackets and modified it all to fit in. I did not like the lower hose outlet so I shortened.

Darth Z

I may be looking into a radiator soon. My dad has an 82 C.E. that I am TRYING to motivate him to get back on the road. Poor car hasn't touched a highway in about 30 years. He told me Thursday that he had misplaced his radiator and fan shroud. I was thinking that the OEM radiator (or probably a replacement considering the car was driven straight into a bayou), probably has plastic tanks on it. If I remember correctly though, he DID have the OEM style brass radiator. If he has to replace the radiator though, I am going to (probably fruitlessly) push him to buy an aluminum radiator. He's cheap, and doesn't normally do too many upgrades.

After reading this thread, I'm thinking about suggesting the Dewitt's option. I have never used or even heard of these until reading this thread.

I do have one experience with an all-aluminum rad. After the terrible, crappy plastic tanks failed me in my 2001 Camaro Z28, I decided that I did not want that to happen again. For years, I had mild overheating issues with the car. I was absolutely forced to replace the rad. I parked the car a few weeks, after experiencing frequent, more serious overheating, including putting the car into limp mode. I went with Be Cool. Direct replacement, and 3 times as thick as the stock POS. Never overheated again.

I don't know if I can get my dad to swing a Be Cool, but MAYBE the Dewitt. Saving about $100 will be more encouraging.!

Just no. The OEM radiators were brass coils with brass tanks, right? They were designed to hold up, not fail. ANY radiator with a plastic tank is GUARANTEED to fail, unless you dump the car off on someone else before it does. I can't believe they even used plastic from the factory for so many vehicles. What are the two biggest enemies of plastic? Heat and age. Running the vehicle for any amount of time, is subjecting the plastic to heat. It's not enough to melt or anything like that, but it will begin weakening the plastic, and continue to weaken them over the life of the radiator. How long do you plan to own this car? 5-6 years? Or 10-15+? I owned my 2001 Z28 for about 12.5 years. Somewhere around the 10.5-11 year mark, and 166k miles, I sprung a leak.

If you don't plan to own this car for very long, go as cheap as you want. I wouldn't, but I'm not you and it's not my car.

The13Bats

A different perspective on plastic tank radiators,

Most if not all cars that came factory with them were to me throw away cars, when they get old they are just used cars not classics, and off to the scrap yard.

So no shock they have a throw away radiator,

Our 2004 xterra at about 180k miles had a radiator leak, not at a plastic tank, it was the orginal radiator to this throw away suv,

Over a decade and 180k im okay with that, less that 100.00 bought a replacement same thing that will outlast the vehical,

In another thread a fellow asked about an aftermarket high end radiators warranty, it had a leak and was like 10 years old, and the fellow was told did he really want to fool with fixing a 10 year old radiator why not buy another one,

Point being, i got 13 years out of a cheap factory plastic tank unit, and the aftermarket aluminum unit was suggested at being worn out and was leaking at 10,

Kind of damned if you do damned if you dont.

However,
I would never go plastic tank in my corvette, i like the empty bragging rights of my high dollar custom aftermarket aluminum radiator.
But on other non corvette forum lots of cats have no issues getting an uber cheap plastic tank unit, and report good luck with them,

OZvette72

With regard to radiators I have to say I am totally neutral as we imported our car with a De-Witt's already installed. I had no idea that there was such a large variety of choice and quite frankly have not needed to look into it as it does the job. Having said that I can only share my personal view and experiences to date of the De-Witt's High Performance radiator that I have and hope it helps someone/me make decisions in the future. Living in a climate ranging from 104F to 41F, I personally have not been a supporter of thermostats so that was removed day one giving a consistent unrestricted flow. Fitment of the De-Witt's is very clean with it's twin thermatic fans tucked in there like they belong with plenty of ventilation. Fans have been set to come on around the 180F-190F which happens reasonably quickly on a warm day around town. The extreme situation we experienced was a two hour stop start on one of our major highways which had the fans running the whole time but never getting over the 180F-190F setting. Glycol coolant at 50/50 mix keeps her humming along and I have not lost a drop since the last service I did on my cooling system which has been a while now. Looking into the future I am researching the possibility of using these new synthetic cooling products that are on the market so that we may travel with more cabin comfort as we don't have Air Conditioning.

Darth Z

I understand your position on this. I have done it on a truck that my dad owned several years ago, and a car that I owned. Neither ever had an issue by doing this. That being said, I have heard and seen alot of people saying that not running a thermostat, is very bad. Some say it doesn't give the radiator time to cool the water enough. I as well as you don't believe this, because the coolant constantly running through the system doesn't give the coolant time to heat up. Others say that it causes the motor too cool and that's also a bad thing. Supposedly, that shortens the life of the motor. With your car, you don't have to worry about the PCM trying to compensate by dumping more fuel. Engines are designed to run at certain temperatures, and some suggest running a 185* T-stat. I just did a Google search as to why it's bad, and the majority of what I did read, is advising against it. I see you have a mighty purty engine under that hood, I would hate to see you lose it or anything. Ofcourse I know, that you have your belief, and I'm probably not going to be the one to change it. We all get set in our ways and beliefs, and noone likes change.