I'm considering a new radiator now while my 1978 only has 1 tiny leak. Replace now or repair a few times and then replace are the realistic options right now I would think.
Anyone have experience with this recently or can recommend a radiator with confidence. I would think aluminum would be the way to go??
Anything to definitely stay away from too; brand, material, etc. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

If the upper and lower tanks are good, a rad shop could recore it for you. Unless you want to risk a breakdown on the highway, I wouldn't just patch it. I bought a brass replacement rad from the local rad shop for my 78'. Works great with 300 HP crete motor.

Gary

 

I don't want to spend a fortune but I have not been cheap or "half way" on any repairs or parts with this car. Safety and reliability is especially important (like a radiator). That's why I was considering a new one now. A quick patch job was not even a consideration.

Why did you choose brass? Good deal, Liked the product, Favorable warranty, something else? I was thinking about going aluminum for the lighter weight, faster cooling, & appearance too. I'm not set on anything and I've never needed a new radiator or repair so I really appreciate opinions.
Thanks Gary, I appreciate the reply.

 

A lot of older Vettes go with a DeWitts Alum. Radiator, or another like brand using electric fans. No cooling problems ever again!

 

Copper/Brass is what was in the car (original) and it was not to expensive (About 250 bucks I think).

Gary

 

@sfallison
$920 for the radiator/fan combo or $495 for the radiator. The combo is really cool (literally, ha) but not the time for me to spend that kind of money I'm afraid. I'll have to rethink this a bit.
@Duke94 - found one for $350 so far. Better on my wallet however.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...nd-shroud.html Here you go... fans shroud and radiator... all for under $600.... and imho there is NONE better... MADE in the USA!!!!</p>

 

I know I mentioned the DeWitts in an email, but recoring is a good alternative.
I grew up across the alley from a radiator shop and visited often for welding stuff and such. Saw how easy it was to rework them. In fact, they woud simply remove a tank to rod them out and resolder the tank back on, good as new.
Had the radiator in my old Nova recored after it got hit in the front, no problems.
They can even put a thicker core in.

 

I went with Aluminum, an off brand from Ebay~ $250. Fit was ok.
Made a big difference in cooling for me.
The old brass core was shot...touching it seemed to cause a leak.

 

Hilarious! I understand



Nobody wants to do that here that I trust; sad because this is not a tiny town. They want to sell new and I want to get this on the road as soon as possible

buying a new replacement seems smart now; maybe go for the aluminum with the dual fans down the road???

Thanks to all of you!

 

Concerning aluminum and pricing here..

And I got to thinking about checking elsewhere and finding a good product at a reasonable price. I really wanted to try aluminum this time, I keep hearing that people are really pleased with the cooling performance. They just all seemed to be expensive.

Then I thought about this below and ebay. Well, I just felt that again, somehere, there should an aluminum from a trusted company or good brand at a decent price.
There was an ad on Summit's website that had one for my car at a great price but when I went to click on it to check it out, it no longer said it was for Corvette but for other cars. I called Summit and they confirmed what I thought and had hoped; it would fit my car. Sale price ending today so I ordered; $269.95 for an aluminum radiator, direct fit, for automatic trans, & 3 day shipping for $12.95.

I took a gamble because I don't know much about it but it sounds good and I've had good experiences with Summit before.
Nearly ordered the stock unit when some of the comments from all of you steered me toward a little more looking for the aluminum. Your comments made aluminum sound worth it.
I can always add a fan kit on it later and do away with the regular engine fan and shroud! Real pleased. Thanks to all of you for your comments.

 

aluminium and copper/brass both have there advantages and disadvantages. to me aluminuim has the biggest disadvantage and thats its life expectancy..stray current/electrolysis is a headache with aluminium. not many cars suffer from it but if you are one of the unlucky ones your toast. copper/brass doesnt suffer anywhere near as much as alloy. if you get a leak in copper its no problem, braze it up and your back on the road. if you have the same problem with alloy ...good luck.

there is very little difference in the cooling efficiency of aluminium and copper/brass, in fact alloy is less efficient but its just the silver solder used on every fin,tube and tank of a copper/brass radiator that holds it back .

both copper/brass and alloy radiators have the ability to cool to 160 in average temps if they are quality units so efficiency is only going to be as good as the thermostat you choose. so for me ill be sticking with what came in the car originally, not what comes in cheap modern cars.

 

I enjoy trying new things. The price of the aluminum one I bought is the same as a standard replacement. It is new, under warranty, won't rust, has good reviews, may take on electric fans later, looks nice, and may be a little lighter in weight. I don't see a problem here.

I've had many of traditional radiators in many cars. If this one sucks, then I know. If this one is well liked and does a good job, then I know. For an equal price, call it a test or experiment of equal opportunity. The price won't change my life so why not look in to new things; it is how we learn and hopefully evolve. Just a thought.

Greg

 

I too have done a fair bit of research on this topic for my 1976. In my business I had used a local rad shop many times in the past with inconsistant results. I am using a GM crate engine and one of thier requirments for any type of warranty was for a reconditioned or new rad.

I checked out the price to recore my old rad and it was over $400.00 dollars. I got a bit queasy when a thought of possibly a outlet or inlet pipe not getting installed in the right place or the tanks may be misaligned some what.

After searching this board I made the decision to go with a Dewitt Direct Fit rad and it arrived today. Absolutley a well made product.

With all of us knowing how tight the clearances are in Corvettes I did not want to be pulling that rad out and then to put back in just to attend to something that should have been right in the first place.

There are some areas of a Corvette that you just can't get away from paying close attention. I for one believe it is the cooling system.

Dano,

 

Korevette - so are saying that you're glad you went with a direct fit too? Or that you went with aluminum? Or that it is that particular brand?

Sounds like a good one, I looked at Dewitt's aluminum ones today before I ordered mine.

 

Was there something specific that caused the leak...or did it occur just due to age and years of use? The reason I ask is that it makes a lot of difference on what advice I would offer. If it leaks due to an object hitting the core or some inadvertent damage while working on your car, then a simple repair would be in order. If it did not occur from a specific incident, then it was due to simple age/wear...which means that more such occurrences will be coming in the near future. In that case, a good cleaning (hot tank), testing (pressurize it to test for other weak areas), and a recore and tank/fitting repair would be in order..OR..time to replace with a new radiator.

The only real difference in those last two options is in the cost and the enhanced cooling capability of the newer, aluminum higher-capacity radiator. The reliability of the re-cored radiator will be about the same as buying a new one...if the work is done correctly.

 

Hi gs78vette, to answer your question it was the combination of having a Direct Fit rad drop into my rad support with no hassle. The fact the rad looks identical mattered. It can come painted black if you wish. I also like that it can cool 30% more efficeint than stock rads. I have air conditioning and that mattered to me.

Dewitt has some great product information on their site. The thing I liked about Dewitt was they talked to the points of their radiator and the points of other vendors without getting into the old war of 'ours is better because your's is not' routine. That tells me that this vendor is confident in his product without needing to bash others. Professional. Once I saw the rad today it was well worth it.

Dano,

 

These first couple of quotes, broken down from their complete quote status, have different views I think on efficiency, maybe life expectancy, etc. The radiators as simple as they are, are different from each other and obviously viewed that way from experiences.


About 7T1vettes post is below the quote...

Very good points and questions 7T1vette-
This car was purchased by me on the briefest of information and checking out. Long story, learned a lot, & got lied to a lot. My mechanic and some work by me, especially part of the interior was a big project over 4.5 months in the shop. We found lots of things that needed repair or replacing and could not have been found even if we spent most of a day really checking it. Many things were grossly neglected with only a few things very new or cared for. Now the car is really fantastic or very close to it; end of next week maybe all done?

So in answer to your inquiry 7T1vette; unsure about what all leaks with the radiator. Looks very bad inside and we can't even see the fluid level after driving less than 100 miles.
To Re-Core it would be about the same amount of money I was told or more to get it done. My mechanic told me there is no one in this town or immediate area that does that work except for a small business that is not trustworthy and often does less than stellar work. Most of that type business he sends 35 miles away to Des Moines Iowa. I'm in Ames, about 50,000 people. The few people my mechanic has dealt with there have done some good and some fair work. That's not good enough for me so to Re-Core does not make sense from a money standpoint, quality of workmanship, and the fact that it can not be done very soon. All things I don't want. That explains fixing I think too.
I don't want to revisit this problem anytime soon. Those items mentioned mostly apply to fixing, not just the Re-Core.

I got a very good price on this radiator as I mentioned and it is the Summit brand. I don't think they would knowingly sell crap quality under their own name but I'll find out soon. If it is all a disaster then I'm out less than $300 or I can exercise the warranty.

Answer it okay 7T1vette? Again, great questions and I think at least some of that was also asked by some others. This turned in to a very interesting thread with varied viewpoints that are founded by people's first hand use, literature, & other experience.

I'm guessing that most of these radiators are fairly good with some being excellent standouts. I'm anxious to try mine, should be here on Wednesday roughly. Might be a few days until it gets put in. It is a direct fit so it should go in easily; should that is. I'll report the experience back in this thread possibly.

Of course not too much will be known until it's really been driven on some really hot days with the new air conditioner blasting for a few hours straight on a trip somewhere.......

Greg

 

It sounds like you want to have a guarantee that the radiator will work as expected for a long time...and that there isn't any reliable repair shop anywhere near you. Certainly a DeWitt's unit will do that job. Find out exactly what you need to do to fit it to your car without difficulty. Also consider replacing the foam seals on the radiator shroud prior to installing the radiator; they are important to assure that good airflow is passing through the radiator to rid the engine of heat. Good luck.

 

As I said earlier in the thread, I bought an aluminum one from Summit. I assume reasonable quality at least and will know by Wednesday or so next week.

Yes, I want this vehicle to be as maintenance free as can be expected with a Corvette. Most of the rest of the car is new, newer, reconditioned, or inspected and cleaned. I doubt DeWitt is the only good brand so I'm trying Summit's own brand. Money is a bit tight right now but I don't believe that I have sacrificed anything on this "direct fit" application for my vehicle.