Have recently gotten a 76 , shes real sweat but need to be done over, just finshed up the front and rear bumpers , but when i was under puting on the lower spoiler found signs of antifreeze, looks like a leaker .
Question: i started doing a a bit of raditor shopping , any suggestions , alum apperar to be very expensive ($500) copper appers to be under $300, is it worth seeing if can be repaires if its in the core .will be pulling it it this weekend ,also any tips on getting raditor out of car .
thanks Rob

 

DeWitts is a work of art but pricey. An alternative aluminum alternative is the Northerm #5006. Approx $330 INCLUDING shipping from hotrodsusa.com. It's not Exactly the same as stock (and DeWitts), but it fit without modification on my 77.

 

The car came with copper and did not overheat then, so it will work now. You can get yours reworked by a good shop and it should be good for years. While your down there make sure all the radiator seals are in place and healthy, make sure the Air Dam is in place and in shape. Check the fan clutch for correct operation, it should spin no more that a half turn when you shut the motor down at operating temp. Make sure the hood seals are in place. All those components are important to cooling.
Now, having said that, Aluminum is the cats ***, it is way more effecient than the copper rad and it looks cool. Dewits is the cats *** of the cats ***, but is pricy, I'll be ordering a custom built one from them next month.
I have a Northern and it would work fine if I had decided that I do not want to do the mods to the radiator mounts it requires.
I went with aluminum and electric fans for effeciency and to clean the engine bay up.

 

A new stock type radiator, with ALL the seals in place, will work fine. I put a 4 row L82 type in my 77.
Regarding removal & installation - I take the hood off, unbolt the radiator support from inside the front wheel wells, take the fan off, then lift the radiator and shroud out at the same time. Mark the hood location on the hinges before unbolting.

 

I truely appreciate the positive comments above, and I'm not singling out any person or this thread but I do see the reference "pricey" a lot in the CF when talking about DeWitts. I think of pricey as something where the product does not justify the price or it's overpriced. A Couch bag or purse for example would be, imo, pricey but the Apple Iphone is not. Sure, the Iphone is one of the most expensive cell phones you can get, but it has a lot of features that back up the selling cost. If you value those features, then the cost justified. DeWitt's Direct Fit radiators are competitively priced when comparing them with such major players as Be-cool or Griffin. Lecture over....
To avoid hyjack comments, I will say that no C3 Corvette NEEDS to have an aluminum radiator, (except maybe the early ones that came with one) and the large copper radiators are plently big enough to cool down just about anything. The copper radiators can be fixed, recored, and replaced for less money than an aluminum one. People will still end up going with the aluminum units for a variety of reasons. Some do it for show, as the aluminum looks pretty cool in there. Some do it for the added cooling and/or weight benefit. I have a few dealers that use them just because they know they are going to fit without hassle.

 

Tom,
The unit my son bought from you during Carlisle for his '76 is awesome. The original unit would allow temps to reach 215 during the new engine runs. As soon as we installed the DeWitts, it never went over 180, yeah it looks way cool in there too!!

Having a Griffin in my '67, I wish I had a DeWitts in that car too. There is a difference in quality.