Well, my plan of buying a champion aluminum radiator for my 72 has hit a little snag. Went to pick it up, but upon measuring the new with my old, it was quite a bit smaller. My old radiator is a 4 core for an automatic. The issue was whether or not the radiator supports could be modified or if there are any aftermarket supports that will work. Has anyone installed a Champion into a 72 and run into this problem?

I may have to break down and buy a DeWitts. If I do, I can only afford the radiator only. Are all DeWitts made so that if I buy the spal fans later, I can just install the sending unit on the radiator in the pre-fabbed location? I think a call to DeWitts is in order.

First choice would be to get the Champion installed (properly) due to cost. Let's hear what the experts have for ideas.

Thanks in advance

 

Get the Dewitt's 3" HD unit.... Cheap buys twice.... It really is worth the $200 or so more... And yes, I have been down this road... A Crown Victoria and a C7 will both get you down the road and to work... Just one is a little more refined. Get what you pay for in this case...
Good luck.....p

 

I had a champion 4 row in mine you have to show a little love to make it fit like take off the rubber things in bottom. DeWitts is str8 drop in. And you can buy radiator now and fans later. The DeWitts is manufactured like original the other has same dimensions but squared off. I personally liked the look of DeWitts it looks like it belongs. But champion was good until my lines got clogged. They do same job different finish. Good luck.

 

I just installed a champion 3core in my car..... You do know the aluminum champion 3row is more efficient than the stock 4 row right?
The champion fit fine in my stock mounts with new rubber in them... I was actually impressed with the build quality. It does not look stock since its polished aluminum and not stamped brass but neither does the the rest of my engine compartment.... if I was going for stock look the OEM or DeWitt would be the way to go.

 

A corvette c3 is anything but refined.... I don't know anything about the aftermarket DeWitt Rad I'm sure its nice but the original radiator was not a work of art.... nor was it expensive by any means... my cheap locally made Harrison OEM unit lasted 40 years and I just replaced it because of corrosion and the fact that I was replacing the mounts and everything around it.
Fyi Harrison radiator became Delphi and they are still owned by GM .... currently they have a 400% markup on all aftermarket radiators they sell..... that's 400% has nothing to do with "Quality" just profit.
For me something that cost double in price has to perform better to justify that. If the dewitts looks like a cheap oem stamped radiator than for me I dont see the value over a heavier built welded unit? I wonder what the 4 row DeWitt weighs compared to the champion? Some may see that differently and that's fine. To each his own... I'm not going to comment more on the DeWitt because honestly I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH IT and obviously you must have first hand experience with the new champion units (they merged with another company recently) to have such strong feelings against it. Then again you also claimed your cold air intake adds 200hp :-) (remember that?)

The 4 row DeWitt might very well fit better than a 4 row champion but your statement about quality is not really fair. As stated by many the 3 row fits in the stock mounts fine and still outperforms the OEM 4 row. That is the important factor here... you are comparing apples to oranges when comparing brass to aluminum.

 

If the tanks of your original radiator are good, consider having it recored by a reputable, local shop. You'll end up with a radiator that fits, still has the original tanks/numbers, and if there's an issue you don't have to ship radiators all over the place.

My 70 454 A/C car needed a "new" radiator. First I bought a new aluminum "drop in" radiator (not DeWitts). The hose inlets were just a few degrees off in orientation, just enough to prevent the shroud from fitting. So I had to pack and ship my new radiator back for a refund. That cost me the frustration of removing the radiator a second time (not a fun job on these cars), and two weeks.

Realizing that my original radiator fit just fine, I had a local shop install my tanks and headers on a new 4 row core. Fits great and looks original.

 

No I did not .... Please quoit this statement and thread to me and the others .... If you make accusations like that, why ask for help..... You have your mind made up... Your just looking for people to support your thought...

I have only said that any good cai will increase hp over a under hood open element filter..... I also gave hard test numbers such as temp difference and air pressure in the bowl... To hard to comprehend for you?

The DeWitts is better unit in every way... Period.... Now go get yourself a china king and feel proud

Out of here

 

I have a 2 row American Eagle which Champion makes. I would have bought the 3 or 4 row but hey we're out of stock everywhere.
The 2 row out cools my recored Harrison everyday in 100 degree Southern CA temperatures. My Harrison despite recoding developed leaks about every 5 years over a 15 year period
I'm sure the DeWitts is a superior product but for us who don't have a money laying around the Champions are an excellent compromise. It fit perfectly but I had to change the ripper spacers to latter model ones which fit a narrower radiator.
I've had it for a year and am very happy with it
I run dual fans that I built myself do a $100 bucks so there were no shroud issues. Once again my home built fans were dictated by my lack of funds
So buy what fits your budget not what the rich people feel you should have.

 

Pauldana, it appears your beef is with Auggie, but your response seems to be directed at me. Just wanted to clarify things. I appreciate any advice I can get on hear. At this point, I'm leaning towards a DeWitt, the cost is what's giving me some heartache.

 

I went to the radiator shop to have my radiator made into a 4 core. It worked great and it was a little over $200 but that was over 10 years ago.

 

Good for you.... I have purchased so many things for my Vette twice... Because I went cheap the first time... And yea... The Dewitt's is my second buy .. The first was a champion ..... It's not a "bad" unit... And yes it will "work". But if I could have all the money back I waste buying twice... Wow.... I taught my 3 boys, better to have less and good then more and fair.. Or less.... I hate to look back and say... "I wish I would have......."

 

So what was the problem with it?

 

I had a big problem with a Champion rad. It didn't fit and wasn't even close. When I complained they told me to cut the curved supports off the rad support in my original 69 big block and bolt in some square ones... See pic below and then decide where you want to go....


I cut my losses and called Dewitt. What looks like crap in a pic looks even worse in real life and I still have it here to look at.... The lower supports are the same and are not bolt on but welded to the support. They actually told me to cut up my car to make their crappy rad fit. I still have their rad. I still have their emails and I would rather not see either of them again. Go from there.....

 

I owe you an apology I'm sorry I misquoted your claims made earlier. I remebered that completely incorrectly and had to go back and find the thread and reread.
In reality you actually stated it could easily produce 20-30hp gains now that I went back and searched the original thread but I find these numbers to be equally unrealistic since every bit of real worlds testing I found showed a max of about half that and in most cases much less....(5-7hp) that being said it is what it is and I will take the lumps for it.

But as far as your statement about "You have your mind made up... Your just looking for people to support your thought..." how were your comments any different?
I used a champion radiator which is built more like a performance raditator just like a "BeCool" radiator and you used a dewitts which is stamped like stock to be made cheaper as far as I can tell so why would the champion be so inferior.... especially at half the cost of a stamped model which should be cheaper to produce!
Lets please keep geography and politics out of it because you and I both know you rely on some foriegn made product every day the difference is I accept that our economy is disfunctional and it wont change until the rules of the game change.

The fact is I am biased against those who make biased comments about products and bring UNRELATED information to support thier OPINIONS.. I mererly presented what info I had to the contrary to the thread that pertains to the actual performance of the products mentioned not who and where they were made and in the process I made a huge error in referencing (and am eating crow for it) another comment that I also felt was biased because you claimed the cold air intake you were making and selling could produce hp gains of 30hp over a stock air cleaner. I asked for real world proof and you danced around it with articles about math and physics...

 

Is that a 3 or 4 row? im curious because mine seemed to fit the same way into the brackets until I found I didnt have the brackets lined up on the weld lines correctly once I moved it over 1/4 they fit snug but perfect and it dropped right into place.
I have the three row so I cannot comment on the 4row.

FYI the rad in the pic above is completely different than my champion 3 row radiator... that looks just like pics of the $170 ebay special there... mine has curved hoses and different shape angles all together... how long ago was this taken? champion merged / partnered with another company and some of the champion models are made by the other company now.

 

I bought a Dewitt's unit for my '73. Haven't installed it yet, but will when the new motor arrives. Yes, it's pricey. But the piece of mind is WORTH IT.

 

Exactly my point! what of the "piece of mind" comes from over exaggeration and just plain biased comments because the Dewitts is a replica of the original stock unit in looks and is assembled in the USA for twice the price.

I'm just trting to keep facts straight here...which Is why I made comment about my installation and not having any issues with the mounts or new rubber or the shroud all fitting the way it should.

 

The problem I had with the Champion when I went to go purchase was the fitment. For my 72, my lower water outlet is dimpled to account for the front sway bar. The Champion radiator was not only thinner, 2 core (that he showed me), but if I modified the brackets to hold it in place, the Champion did not have the dimple in the lower outlet to clear the sway bar. He even took pictures of my stock radiator so that he could address it with Champion. It appears the Champion 3-4 core radiator made for 73 and up would fit without much modifications. For my 72, it looked like it was going to be a nightmare to install the Champion and have it done right. That's my assessment of Champion vs. DeWitt from my perspective. Trust me, if the Champion would have fit, I would use it from a cost perspective. Now, I will be buying a DeWitt's combo package that includes the Spal fans. Can't wait to purchase it.

 

I can't speak to the Champion radiator but I can the Dewitts. I was having cooling issues and decided I had thrown enough money at the old radiator/fan setup and gave the Dewitts a chance after doing lots of reading on here about their product. I can say that my heat issues here in the HOT Texas summers are no longer an issue

 

I'm hoping mine runs cool too... the car still had the original radiator in it when I bought it but there is a lot of corrosion inside so I figured since I was replacing everything else around it I would upgrade to the aluminum one....

There seems to be a lot of conflicting info about the brass vs aluminum here... I can find people stating the brass is more efficient as well as those saying the aluminum is better...