Time to replace my radiator in my 77. I live in AZ & It's 111 today!! Prob going to go with aluminum. Those of you living in similar circumstances, are you running 3 core or 4 core radiators?

 

For the difference in cost, put as much cooling capability as you can fit into the space available.....

 

111* is ridiculous... Short story , my buddy was going to law school in Phoenix, got hit on his bicycle and ended up on the street on a similar day with his back messed up. He was screaming that he was getting burned by the asphalt. The bystanders dragged him to a turn arrow painted on the road so it wouldnt hurt as much. Good luck with cooling your car. I would go with a giant dewitts and twin Spal fans myself. If you have a small block, dewitts makes a big block fan that fits in the small block radiator supports, depending on the year,
EDIT guess that wont work for a 77, just looked on there site

 

111 degrees? Stay the frig home!!!

 

But it's a dry heat...

 

I recently made a chart of Corvette radiators. 2 rows aren't always 2 and 4 aren't 2 and 2 are better than 4.....sometimes buy not always.

A standard 4 row brass radiator has 4-.68" rows totaling 2.72" inches of tubes. Some 2 row aluminum radiaors have 2-1" rows totaling 2". And it gets confusing because every manufacturer is different. Manufacturers even list incorrect specs!!! For instance Cold Case says their tanks and cores are 3"...they're not. They're 2-5/8 which is the correct 'thick' size for Corvettes.

Q. Does your '77 have the thick (2-5/8) or thin (2") core?
Q. What options? L82? 4sp? A/C?

 

 

For my 77 I went with a GM direct replacement that I bought from Rock Auto. I made sure that all the seals were in place, the air dam was intact, replaced upper and lower hoses and installed a new thermostat. The factory clutch fan and water pump seemed ok because it wasn't overheating before. My 77 didn't overheat at any time even with the AC on. I live in the Phoenix area as well as the OP and the forecast for today is predicting a high of 114.

 

I seriously don't know how you guys deal with that kind of heat! But then you guys probably wonder how we deal with 0 degrees (or lower) in the winter.

 

114 in the dry heat of AZ isn't really all that bad.
I remember camping along the Parker Strip and Lake Havasu, AZ when it would be a nice 127 during the day and cool to a nice 126 at night.
We towed our boats and trailers through the area and never had heating issues in our 70's and 80's cars and trucks with a/c and all standard cooling systems.
If you plan to replace the OEM radiator and your not running a performance engine, then go OEM.
If you have or plan to install some performance mods in the future, I would upgrade to a DeWitts aluminum radiator with dual Spal electric fans now.

 

The tube size is what matters. You can get a 3 core with 5/8 tubes and get a 2 core with 1 inch tubes. And they will cool the same. Do some research before you buy. Plenty of articles out there. I did alot of reading when I bought a radiator for my 67 GTO with a 540 big block. I bought a Champion with 1 inch tubes and it works fine in NY heat. And you don't have to but the most expensive. I have been using Champion for a long time. I have one in my 72 that has a 502 in it and it cools fine.

 

You have to do outside activities early in the morning to avoid the heat. If you have to be out in the heat you drink LOTS of water. Road construction crews work at night to take advantage of the lower temperatures and less traffic. Fortunately, it's hot for just a few months and the rest of the year has great weather. Like many residents of Arizona I'm a transplant from the northeast. I grew up in northern NY about an hour north of Syracuse so I'm all too familiar with cold weather.

 

So your the guy with the string trimmer at 7am...

 

7 am? That would be a late start in this heat.

 

As someone who currently lives in Florida, and have spent many weeks in AZ & Vegas when it was well over 100°, I prefer the "dry" heat over the humidity here, but not enough to move away from the beaches.

I grew up in Detroit, and the stupid cold is what made me move to FL about 25 years ago.

 

The summer we decided to leave AZ for Tennessee, we had 90 consecutive days of 110+ heat, with most of them up around 115F. Before Phoenix doubled in size (with all that heat-sucking asphalt, stucco, tile roofs, and concrete) 105-107 was the normal mid-year hot day. After the growth, it wouldn't get below 100*F until after midnight. NO FUN....unless you live only at night!

 

I bought a cheaper kks aluminum 3 row from ebay(i think i paid like 160, a few years ago. been driving it this summer no problem. stock clutch fan with thermostat. no ac. i think i put water wetter in it too.
Im near LA drove in like 101 temps on fwy over an hr no problems.
all i needed was the wider rad mount cushions and everything fit pretty well.

 

I too have been in Arizona now for well over 15 years and I am watching this thread closely. The last owner of my c3 put in a new water pump, thermostat and new radiator (dont know any details) and claimed the very few times he drove it it was ok. But it makes me wonder why he put all that new stuff in? I have not gotten it on the road since I bought it in April so I do not know either. But I did find the front valance was all squished up from hitting curb stops at strip clubs and the air dam was loose and tied up to the cross member to keep it from dragging. I suspect that alone has a lot to do with cooling.
On the part about the hot weather........ Believe it or not we 'zonies' quickly learn to even look for a shady place to park "AT NIGHT" .......it just seems cooler (not 'as hot' is a better description). And they say cars without AC always have the right-of-way! But the compensation for the hot weather is THE GIRLS! Short shorts year round...bikini tops in the grocery store, and where else are you gonna have cuties in skimpy outfits and fake snow boots running around at Christmas time?
the bad is getting burned on the barbecue......and its not lit yet. Or leaving your tools in the sun for five minutes and you have to douse them with water just to pick one up. ........
115 today

 

I had "craftsman" burned into my palm my first summer in Utah. That sucked really bad. I bought an EZ up just to have shade for the tools I needed at the worksite

 

You guys are right its too hot for anyone to live here. Stay in the North & North East where you can drive your Corvettes all year round in the rain & snow. Question? If its so hot here could people be skiing in the end of May 2 hours from Phoenix. Drove my 67 AC convertible with stock radiator in 115 degree to Wickenburg & back water temperature never got over 190.