I'm just a firm believer that you get what you pay for. I have the DeWitts radiator and love it, quality piece, yes it is expensive, but what if your motor overheated, really how much would that cost. My boss has a 59 El Camino with a 396 BB and had a Champion Radiator that lasted one season. It leaked. Then he got another with dual fans and the radiator failed in a diferent spot and started to leak. He has his third Champion now let's see what happens. Now another guy I know was looking for a new radiator for his 67 coupe and when he called, Tom DeWitt actually answered the phone and took the order, he also answered all his questions. He wanted it black with date coding. He has had that radiator 2 years now and always tells me how happy he is for telling him about that radiator. My engine runs 180 degrees no matter how hard I run it.

 

I have a 3 core Champion I wish I took a pic of it. It was very well put together. Even looked amazing the Aluminum tanks are polished to a mirror .

I run a 427 small block and it cools me perfectly

 

I did a 3 core Champion in my 75 three years ago with a/c and Texas heat. It never gets over 190 and the fit was perfect.

 

This is the radiator I bought in 2013 for my '79:
http://www.amazon.com/Shepherd-Perfo.../dp/B0073MEQPI

It has some issues with seepage around the radiator cap. The way it was designed just doens't seal very well. It has otherwise treated me well.

3-core, all aluminum, paid around $180 shipped at the time:
Attachment 48362478

 

Get the 3 core, it fits your budget and you won't have any cooling issues -

Just an FYI - I've read that the brass copper radiators are actually better cooling then the aluminum counter part. I don't have the link but if I find it I will post it. Maybe someone else cab chime in as well. I know you want the aluminum look and I get that.

I had a 3 core (rows of tubes) (brass) in my '77 for 5 years, no issues, when I swapped in the LS1 I used the radiator and electric fan from the donor car.

Happy Motoring,
Frank

 

How many cores does the radiator that's in the car now have?

 

No radiator has more than one core.

http://www.dewitts.com/blogs/news/11...-core-radiator

 

To avoid confusion, I used the OP's terminology. It appears everyone understands and doesn't have a problem except for you. Sorry to read that.

 

I wasn't calling you out for anything. Just trying to educate people so when they do talk with a radiator company they know what they are talking about.

 

seems most people post about radiators when they have cooling issues but the simple fact is if your car is stock or close a stock a b/c radiator will cool your car the thing about aluminum isnt they cool better it's they are lighter and look cool,

As far as champion vs dewitts it happens every time a radiator thread pops up, there are a lot of people here who have great luck going the budget route and buying champion even ecklers sells them or did,
And a lot of people have great luck with the dewitts,
Some things to consider,
"get what you pay for" use to mean nice stuff costs more now it can also be a coddling term for overpaying for something that one could have got something that did the same thing cheaper.

dewitts, a trusted name, supporting vender and offers his opinions on cooling tech on the forum help is a call or email away.
dewitts, made very well in a special furnace, it is a work of art and fit seems to be right on, do get the special dewitts rubbers. ( I need those )
champion, not car people or vette people but sales people who sell radiators.
champion, when I tried to call their tech line the fellow was clueless.
champion does NOT have the quality control of dewitts, meaning one batch might be really nice and the next batch not so much so, you can count on each dewitts being nice.
Price, if a builder is on a budget then I guess champion wins and like one fellow said he could buy 3 champions for one dewitts,
but he doesn't have to swap out the dewitts 3 times,
The dual 11" spals can be found at great prices so no need to pay up for them unless you dig wasting toad pelts,
I have a 454 bb and live in fl I plan ac so I need good cooling, would champion have done it? likely, will dewitts do it for me, defiantly, I did go a different way with fans, the reasons I would have bought champion if I had to do over are personal and really have zero reason to come up in these threads...sorry.

So a builder has to decide from many aspects which way they wanna go.

 

On another note my car has the original Harrison. When it was cored (only 1 core) the guy put the original tags back on. Cools the original 427 just fine. I use a Flow Kooler pump, HD thermo clutch and AC type steel fan.
My Dad worked at Harrison Radiator in Lockport, NY. He had some kinda invention or something for the company. That was in the early 1950's, I believe.

 

Before you pull the trigger, you may want to price the Dewitt radiator through one of the resellers with their discounts. I purchased a Dewitt radiator through Willcox two weeks ago and got it at a much better price that purchasing it straight off of Dewitt's site.
I had been fighting a 4 core radiator that I had purchased from a local shop - it simply would not fit. The Dewitt fit perfectly.

 

I wanted to suggest just have your original recored. Mine was pretty cheap and was supposed to be a 4 core (what ever that means now). Well all the rad shop does is solder the stock end caps on whole new core. Like a 100 bucks. Don't know what 4 core means now but the recored rad is really thick and heavy.

U may find a original at a bone yard that stocks them - some do and some dont.

Good luck and hope this can help.

 

For $40.00 more go 3 core. Remember to use distilled water!, Mark

 

The Champion will work fine - I'm running a Champion 3 row with a mild 427 SBC stroker. It runs 185/190 all day and has done so for the last 2 years.

Like Jebby said, you will need to trim the rubber mounts, they wont be a "perfect" fit between the rad and support. It should drop right in otherwise. And it's a much more cost effective approach than dropping $500 on a rad the may not need the rubber bushings trimmed.

I'm not snubbing Dewitt's just saying this is a very minor issue given a potential $300 price difference. The quality of the Champion Rad I bought is pretty good - no ugly/bad welds, no fitment issues other that trimming rubber bushings. It is no more likely to fail than any other radiator I have priced and considered.

 

FYI - There are 2, 3 or 4 rows (or tubes, I believe). The core is the body of the radiator that the tanks are welded to. At least that's how I learned it.

 

Who cares. 4 core / 4 row, anyone who knows radiators at all would know what you mean.

 

Without any tech or super knowledge if it was me I would go with a three core just because it buys a little more cooling area. Even though your old radiator is working fine with a leak, I would go with three core over the two just to be sure it was the same. But I have no facts to back that up - just a gut call. Let us know what you do and how it comes out.

 

Radiators Vs Larger than stock diameter wheels.....I'm trying to decide which is more polarizing. Do Dewitt's radiators work? Yes. Are there alternatives? Yes. At the end of the day it's a personal choice influenced by performance expectations and budget. Carry on.

 

As mentioned, if on a budget, just take your original rad to a reputable rad shop. They can either repair or re-core your original for less than a new one. I've had that done for another vehicle and my old rad looked brand new when I got it back. And it fit perfect.
Just my $.02.

Cheers.