Attempting to drain coolant for other repairs... drain **** bung in lower radiator broke out of the tank. What a f'n mess.

What's the accepted replacement radiator these days... '73 C3 L48 with automatic and air.

Seems there are many choices... Champion has a decent looking aluminum one on Amazon for 250.00ish... but pricing is all over the
map. Anywhere from 149.00 to 700.00

What are y'all using on your cars?

Comments and thoughts appreciated.

mardyn

 

Radiator shop can fix it.

 

Probably can ... but have shop check entire rad well ... before any repairs $. If it's solid, it may pay you as well to have shop boil it out too ... only if it's solid.

Rad shop at Manning SC has this on their sign

"Best Place In Town To Take A Leak!"

 

yeah, I'm gonna have the local rad shop evaluate it and see what it would cost for repairs...

I haven't had any other overheating issues or leaks prior to the big self inflicted problem of this morning.

mardyn

Edit: just found the Radiator thread sticky above... lots of info in there.

 

Radiator shop can fix it.....IF you can find a 'radiator shop'. Most of them are out of business because of the easy availability of relatively inexpensive aluminum replacements.

Just for input, I put a Champion radiator in my 1965 Pontiac Grand Prix, It dropped in with very little issue, was very affordable and does the job well. If you go that route, I highly recommend that you purchase a 3 or 4 row version with plenty of capacity to handle A/C and extra power, should you do upgrades.

 

It's been a few years. .I got an AC Delco for my 73 at Advance Auto Parts. They ordered it for me...price wasn't bad. The fit was perfect. I would advise getting the foam seal kit that surrounds the radiator. If yours is original it's probably toast. These things just don't "drop" in, it takes some maneuvering and new foam is more forgiving.

 

Okay... here it is 24 hours later:

I finally gave up yesterday as I could not get the fan shroud out, much less the radiator. Tried all the tricks, loosen this, tweak that,
push here, pull there... there is just not enough clearance on my car to get the shroud past the control arm bushing/bolts.

Finally saw in another thread where someone in a similar situation actually removed the upper control arms to provide clearance.
I removed the drivers side UCA and that allowed just enough wiggle room to pull the shroud... the radiator came out easily after that.

Radiator previously has had a major repair to the core in the front that I was unaware of... and there is an old Sacremento California radiator shop sticker
on the side tank indicating repairs were done at some time, but the date has faded away. (btw...I'm in N.E. Texas)

Control arms need bushing replacement as the (likely) originals are somewhat deteriorated and have aged out of service... it was on the list to do at some point, so this side
will get done while I've got it out this time.

Thanks for all the comments and help so far.... I'll update the thread as progress continues over the next several days (weeks).

mardyn

 

propane torch, liquid flux and solder. 5 minute repair. copper radiators solder up easy.

 

I'm embarrassed to admit this but.....I cant solder. As basic as it is I've never been good at it.

As mentioned earlier, get a new seal kit and if the radiaotrs replaced make sure the new core's the same thickness. If not you'll have gaps between the seals

 

anybody can solder copper radiators. heat flux solder done.

 

If that's the original rad and it has already had at least one repair and it's now 46 years old, I wouldn't even consider another repair even if its the drain ****. I'd put the biggest aluminium rad I could find that would fit. You'll never have another cooling problem as long as everything else is working in the system.

 

My 74 was not up to task for using the AC.
I went from a 3 core to a 4 core and no more problems!

JMHO

R

 

Radiator shop this morning said $30.00 to repair the petcock bung but said they wouldn't suggest any further repairs as
the potential for leakage on the aged core/tanks would be a problem...

I'm exploring options at this point...
Dewitt's is likely the best option but also $600.00, Champion and KKS are other "import" versions
that are more affordable and have decent reviews...

In hindsight, I probably could have re-soldered the bung without removing the radiator from the car... Doh!

mardyn

 

I just put one of these in my resent rebuild and had very good results as of now. Runs 185 deg to 195 deg all day long. The only thing i had to buy extra was the wiring kit - Got that from amazon for 30 bucks



73-76 Chevy Corvette V8 MT Aluminum Tri Core 3-Row Bolt-on Cooling Radiator W/ Fan Shroud - 3rd gen

RA+FS-CCV873-3

1

241.99

Subtotal

241.99

Shipping

0.00

Tax

0.00

Grand Total

241.99

 

Generally Champion or Cold Case seem to be the winners.

 

Just to update this thread:

Here it is a few weeks later and I'm still working on my Corvette.... it's hot over here in NE Texas this time of year so progress
is slow as I'm only working a few hours per week on the car.

I have completed the Champion radiator installation and although I have not driven the car yet, here are a few observations:
1. the new radiator arrived quickly and was priced at only 190.00
2. I opted for the two rows of 1" tubes version which seems equal to or better than the OEM 4 rows of 1/2" tubes.
3. New radiator is aluminum vs copper/brass/what ever...and it appears to be well made. Decent weld quality.
4. New radiator has fabricated square end tanks (as opposed to the OEM stamped radiused end tanks), it looks OK but doesn't fit in the mounting saddles like the OEM.
5. I had to fab up some rubber '"shims" to supplement the OEM rubber insulators for the mounts. While they're essentially hidden,
they were still kinda' a PITA to put in there and make it fit better.
6. I didn't like the polished (shiny) finish on the end tanks, so I primed and painted 'em satin black.
7. If I had it to do over, I would have purchased an aluminum version with the stamped style end tanks that more closely resembles the OEM part.
8. Even with the Driver's side UCA removed, it was still a very tight fit to get the one piece shroud back in place.

Still doing other reassembly at this point.

I'm now on to the passenger side, replacing UCA bushings, the fuel pump, and maybe A/C compressor... for every one thing I fix or repair,
I find two more items that need attention.

I hope my notes and observations assist some future reader as they search for info to help repair their own C3s.

More later...maybe.

mardyn

 

I put one just like this into my 74 about 5 years ago and have never had an issue since... it fit ok despite being a 4 core.. had to bend a couple brackets I believe but its been awhile.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1966-1967-1...AAAOSwMKpUZP09