What I am getting out of this:

The OP is just looking for self justification to buy a new Radiator.

TCT

 

The aluminum radiator I bought 2 years ago is part # B0073MEQPI from a popular online retailer, just google the part #.

It cost me $156 at the time, shipped to my door. 3-core, seems like a solid unit. I was pleased with what I saw when I unboxed it:

Attachment 48362478

Definitely not made in the US. Works fine for me. The one I bought seems to not be listed, but it was sold from Shepherd Auto Parts and they have others listed on their website. Right now they only have one with a plastic tank on the site but their inventory changes relatively frequently.

 

How to very likely temporarily survive a coolant system leak..particularly if the leak is in the top of the coolant system.

As the water based coolant leaks out, replace it with 100% ethylene glycol. When all the coolant is replaced with 100% ethylene glycol, the glycol won't boil until you reach about 350 degrees F. This means that for radiator temps in the 200 degree range..you will have a unpressurized cooling system. With no cooling system pressure, the coolant doesn't squirt out due to engine heat. Drove my 97 Tbird with a coolant leak about a year...just added ethylene glycol every now and then to top up the cooling system. When I put my ZZ4 in my 68, as soon as I got the engine in, I wanted to take it for a test drive. Some of the coolant hoses on the top of the engine didn't have clamps on them...got too smart for myself. I had all ethylene glycol in the engine and I knew it wouldn't pressurize...so I decided to drive it around the block with no hose clamps. Mistake...the water pump pressure blew off the coolant hose to the water pump and made a big mess.

 

FWIW Those alu welds do not look good to me. At least not very professional.

 

Is it sloppy, or do you think they might not hold? I'm not a welder at all so it all looks the same to me.

 

Sloppy especially around the tube and where the sides attach to the core.

I received an alu fuel accumulator from an English guy. Top notch welding when you compare it to that.

Doesn't mean it will start leaking, but I expect it usually means that something in their technique was not as it should be. Alu is difficult to weld. It takes away a lot of heat. Sometimes to get a good weld you need to heat it first. Means additional costs and time however.

 

does it leak 2 years later? or is it doing the job correctly?

For the cost you mention I wouldnt expect a work of art.... a radiators job is to cool the engine not provide bling. If your looking for both expect to pay for both.
I read so much negative stuff about the champion rads here it wasnt funny, yet somehow I didnt experience any of those fitment or quality issues and my engine temps are good.... Moral of the story is everyone has different expectations and skill level. No manufacturer has a 100% defect free success rate. dewitts likely makes a superior product but is it really needed or worth it here? depends on your goals I guess... is it a driver or a showpiece. Delphi harrison is still in business and still making raditators in my back yard... if I were really concerned about staying true to the cars roots I would think that would be the first choice? They also have a 400% markup over cost when it comes to direct retail so the prices are right on par with the other top brands being mentioned although theres nothing fancy or heavy duty about them.
Either way in reality Its like arguing over $200 toilets vs $1,000 toilets in your guest bathroom.... Does it really make a difference where it counts? Depends on your intentions I guess. I look at how inexpesively Gm built my vette and cant help but think theres a lot of other areas that could use updated quality more effectively than a radiator myself.

 

No it doesn't leak, its fine. I was just curious about the feedback.

 

Wow, I am surprised I miss this post.
Anyhooooo, So even Dewitt has a defect everyso often.

I am not knocking Dewitt, their Radiators look great and also perform great. Well so does Champion. I am not here to complain or bust *****, just saying that whether it be a $500 Radiator or a $200 Radiator, there will be defects. In my case, I am fine with the $200 one.

Hey there Dewitt , " A thread is worth a thousand words "

 

Scrappy,
I think it's partly changing times,
I'm not anti American but I simply can not always afford to buy American made especially when the Import version is just as good and costs less.

Dewitts to me is like Levi jeans, are they well made? you bet, do they cost more? you bet.
But for others Rustler jeans will do just fine at a fraction of the price.

 

I always and I do mean always look for american brand before I buy anything. But on my bologna budget I shop for the best product I can get for whats in my wallet. You say levis, thats funny, I love the 501's, Just cannot afford the $30 price tag. So I settled for the $15 wranglers.

I would definately buy a Dewitt Radiator, just cant afford the price tag. Champion makes a great product, and I can afford the price.

 

What I'm going to write doesn't apply to the radiator but cheap parts in general :

It has bitten me in the *** more than once.
It's not just the crappy parts, but it's also you labor and the pia of having to redo things that's a problem.

Last example : I needed some blue anodized bolts to go with my painted airboxes. Happens to be that anodizing is only possible on alu or titanium. Since alu was to weak, I opted for titanium.
The ones readily available were rediculously expensive. Found some Chinese ones and so for once I convinced myself that it was worth the try, reasoning : 'would could go wrong with a set of anodized bolts'.

When I got them, the blue so called anodizing just rubs of with my fingers. Even though I arranged payment through PayPal and filed a complaint, I'm still out of 100 us$ because they require me to resend them, which costs about 50 us$ and nobody is going to pay for the costs of resending them.

So this was the first and last time.

PS : don't think I haven't been bitten by bad parts coming from the us either. Too many people advertising cheap knockoffs for good parts and a steep price...It has become one of the reasons that this vette is the last car I will have restored/modified.

 

Here is the question as I look at changing the radiator. If I go with DeWitt or Champion and for now stay with the stock clutch fan (cost of electrics fans + alternator and wiring) will the stock shroud still be needed?

 

I gotcha brother. I have bought a couple things on the cheaper level and the product stunk. But I have bought a bunch of stuff that was less expensive and have done awesome. 100 to 1 odds, I will go with less expensive.

 

Definitely use all your shroud parts and insulation. The Dewitt and the Champion Rads cool great, but they need the shroud and insulation just like the stock Rad.

 

Those welds are 10x better than my BeCool radiator I just pulled out due to leaking and disintegration of the lower hose and filler neck...was so surprised at how bad the $600 radiator looked and held up I will be glad to pay for welds that look like that. Actually cut myself on the sharp pieces sticking up where the tank was welded on...BTW, 2 radiator shops refused to weld new neck and hose bib saying the aluminum was poor quality and would likely not hold up...it;s in the scrap pile now...

 

I'm building a blown 540 with A/C, I've talked with several radiator manufactures and have had quotes from $500 to $2000. These all include aluminum radiators with fan's and shrouds. I've chosen the one I'm going with because of their customer support and clientele. If they can build a radiator that will cool 800hp at wide open for 500 miles....then they should be able to handle it. The last thing I want is a heating issue while trying to have fun. In my opinion....you get what you pay for.

 

I am interested in finding out where you are going to be running a blown 540 with a/c with 800 h/p wide open for 500 miles ? I am also interested in seeing the radiator that will cool this motor which is wide open for 500 miles with the a/c on.

 

Might want to re-read my post. I didn't say I was going to be running a blown 540 with the a/c on for 500 miles.

 

oops. Sorry. But still curious who would be running 800 h/p wide open for 500 miles.