i have a 383 stroker on the way and im concerned that cooling may be an issue, i live in FL and the last 383 i had in this car ran hot at 220 most of the time and at idle or slow traffic it ran north of that into 230 and more. the setup was the stock radiator with stock shroud and mech fan, however it wasnt a fan actuated by clutch just strictly RPM driven. and yes i had a 160 degree t-stat. i know for sure i want to swap to an aluminum radiator but im unsure which brand and type has the best reviews for this setup, and the other debate is mech fan or electric fan. opinions on either? and if i used an electric fan would i need a shroud? id also be using a 50/50 mix coolant and water as well as using water weter. and same 160 degree t stat.

 

Well, let me be the first of MANY.........

DeWits

 

Yep ... I have two electric fans....two relays....

 

Dewitt's with dual electric fans. It will cool anything you can throw at it at any outside temp. Simply the best!

 

Get a larger aluminum one longer stroke will always create more heat

 

Dewitt's radiator. Dual electric cooling fans. 180 * thermostat.
You don't need water wetter or any of that kind of stuff with this set up.
Electric fans come with their own shroud.

 

Dewitt's Direct-fit rad and a Taurus 2 speed fan seems to work fine on my 383

 

I run straight water with a additive . I have a be cool radiator with a 160* stat and plastic race fan .I run 170* with a 427 sbc.I have a edelbrock water pump .make sure your cooling system is purged of all air .I use a thermostat housing with a cap on the top of it ,to help bleed the air out .

 

I ran a stock 4 row radiator high volume mechanical pump and stock fan with a 383. Never had a cooling problem. Make sure your seals around the radiator are good. I still run the same radiator and a CSR electric pump and twin Spal fans now with a 434 small block never gets hotter than 190° . I went all electric because I wanted to free up the horse power and not throw belts at 7000 rpm! I have just two short belts to run the alternator and p.s. pump. One fan is always on and the other will come on at 195°

 

I have a big aluminum radiator that actually has welded on tabs that actually make it an exact match to our rubber brackets.

If you only bought one brand of aluminum radiator how can you praise it as the best??????????? I have looked at and used several different models on Vettes

If people would complain and not buy inferior junk it would force the vendor to improve his product. I would even pay more for an improved product.

 

383 stroker, 10.3 static compression: No-brand aluminum rad from 'riadatorsforless', a 2000 Ford Focus dual electric cooling fan, a '94 BMW 91/99 degree (C ) temp switch and some relays, wiring and such. 195F t-stat.

Runs most of the time on the increment before '220'... what temp is that anyway?? Second fan hasn't come on yet, considering switching to 180 t-stat to see if can keep the use of the first fan to a minimum as well

 

I deleted my water pump fan and install duel electric fans. Each fan got it own switch which I control. So if im driving on the highway then only 1 fan runs, if im in traffic ill have both running.

 

Dewitt's, with dual electric fans. No shrowd or fan blade required, you will be glad you did.

 

I have a 383 in mine.

I also installed a Monza front end and true cowl induction.

To cool it down, I simply made sure that all the air coming into the engine went through the radiator. I also installed a six bladed fan and thermostatic fan clutch.

After removing the duel snorkel I went ahead and fabricated insulation that forms around the hood, and sealed all around the radiator.

I run at 190 or so all day long.


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I fitted a dewitts radiator ... baa.
It fitted perfectly on my '68 and the engine runs cool even in our 100 degree plus summers in Australia.
I have the factory shroud installed and run a fixed fan mount ( no viscous coupler) just like the original poster.
I did ensure there is a very good seal between shroud and radiator using a compressible bituminised (waterproof) foam. At idle the fan draws the air efficiently through the rad. No need for electric fans.

I highly recommend the Dewitts radiator.
It fits. It works. It is lighter than original and looks fantastic.

Regards
Tom from downunder Australia.

 

??? I bought a Dewitts slipped it into place and its been good. Perfect fit. If I stick a 160 thermostat - thats where it sits. I put in a 195 - thats where it sits. No electric fan , just a stock pulley fan.

My buddy is on this 3rd Chinese made rad in 2 yrs for his hot rod. No joke. Cracking and leaking.

I do my research and try to buy North American
maybe pay a little more but only buy once.

 

What you really have is a company using the wrong height core to fit the application, so they build it up with 3/8 key stock to make up for the shorter core. While the key might fit better into the cushion they didn't do it for that reason. They did it so they could use one size core for multiple applications and add tabs to correct for height and that doesn't make our radiator inferior. The stock header and end tank is 18.6 and so is ours. Exactly the same as the stock one. The reason you do not have that raise bump for the cushion on ours is because the stock tank is sweat (soldered) welded on with lead and ours has a fillet weld. If I add the tab as you suggest, then the core will be too tall and it won't fit at all.

This cushion fit issue pops up 1-2 times a year while we sell a couple thousand of those radiators. The level of acceptance of aftermarket part fit seems to vary from very tolerant to none at all. I have seen post where the U brackets are located 2" away from the correct mounting spot, like on the tank or over the core and the customer says it fit perfect. Then we have, well, the other end of the spectrum.
Some people are using the old, smashed rubber cushions and this is not really an issue at all on our rads. Some have aftermarket cushions that are higher in durometer (harder) and do not conform to any shape. If we can make the large majority of people happy I guess that should be viewed as a success.

Sorry for the hyjack

 

also look at your pulley sizes to get the proper speed for your water pump.

 

Count me in as another "sheep". I've run a DeWitts rad for a number of years now and with electric fans it cools my big block in the hottest weather/traffic situations. No issues with install either.

 

Could I get somebody with their DeWitt's to measure everything and post it and I will compare it to my two brand X's


I don't buy part of the given explanation. The small blocks that fit right into my 1979 rubber mounting points fit down in the rubbers slot. So it doesn't detract from the core or pan size. But I would like a measurement to be sure.

drivers side top tab



This just near completion of installing my spare motor. This radiator is rated at 1000 hp and I have the dual Spal fans. I've run full on road racing sessions when it was over 100 degrees out.