I wonder where the aluminum was smeltered?

 

There is a Dewitts in my brothers 68 and it was not a direct boltup. We had to modify some small things to get it clear. It also has the electric fans included. The driver's side electric fan shroud was actually touching the upper control arm bushing retainer on the driver's side. So in short it wasn't a terrible fit but it definitely didn't just bolt in either.

Something else to note is that 68's are a weird animal with many that year only parts with some parts/components seemly to be a weekly/monthly run thing. So with that said my fitment issues could be a result of the "68" thing going on.

 

Thanks everyone for all of the helpful tips now my second question,can this be done without taking off the hood?

 

Cold Case was a true direct fit for my 74 L-48 with A/C. Stock clutch fan with 7 blades. Appears to be very good quality and had me running between 190-200 with A/C on in the Phoenix summer. If you'll sleep better at night with Dewitts, go that route .

You do not need to remove the hood.

 

I purchased this off ebay. The quality and fit and finish was excellent. I couldn't have asked for anything better. The dimensions were near identical to the original rad. There for fit perfectly in the car. Between that rad and a 160 degrees stat it does an excellent job keeping the engine cool.
​​​​​If you feel u need to spend twice as much for a rad..... more power to ya
Best of luck
Cruise safe
​​​​​

 

op, for reference if it helps
- i use google to search..example “c3 corvette 75 radiator removal” much more info and 90% go back to this forum
- i did not take hood off my 79 and for some reason Willcox starts at 76
http://repairs.willcoxcorvette.com/w...-1976-late.pdf
- i am not aware of any USA made radiators other than dewitts…would love to hear from others if it exists..yes for some it matters and part of your request, and yes many raw materials are imported, of course. I would even try taiwan, or some others over China.
- i learned with others experience that fitment / difficulty experience matters which includes, auto, manual, year, ac, air pump.
- many have done this job with one person. Personally a universal truth is it would be very helpful to have 2 people to gently maneuver in and out YMMV…and place decent cardboard on radiator and condenser if you have.
i would also lean on dewitts as well for support and or advice if they have..

good luck..!

 

I have a BeCool radiator in my 1968 C3 with it's High compression 427. It has been there for close to thirty years now and still works and looks great. The only reason I would stay away from some of the cheaper radiators is that many are glued together and not welded. I believe that my BeCool is one of the Glued types but has held up really well. I polish it every couple years and it still has a great shine to it. I believe that the Dewitt's are welded or brazed together and they are supposed to be of very high quality but the price keeps them more rare. Even with 12% off for Black Friday the Dewitt Radiators they make are expensive.

I would still recommend that you put a bottle of Red Line "Water Wetter" into your coolant as it helps get the heat out a bit more efficiently. Since you appear to be in Arizona you don't need the 50/50 mixture of anti-freeze unless you go somewhere very very cold. I live in Virginia but use a mixture of 70% water and 30% Anti-freeze. This mixture protects against the occasional freeze around here but cools more effectively as it contains more water. Water is better at transferring heat than Anti-freeze so using more water in warmer environments helps a big deal.

When I service my radiator I like to replace the radiator cap as they get old they get weaker and can't hold the pressure anymore. Also replace the hoses and thermostat for the best and most complete cooling system upgrade/maintenance. This will ensure that your cooling system is ready for any action.

For cooling fans be sure to check out the DeRale PWM Electronic Fan Controller, it is a great piece of equipment if you appreciate a little less noise from the cooling fans. It will start the fans at whatever temp you set it for, it starts them at 50% power/speed and will slowly ramp up the speeds if unable to maintain that specific temperature. It is a smart fan control system.

 

Have used Champion 4 core for about 5 yrs now. Holds the temp between 185-195 using the stock fan and clutch. Probably 200 cheaper than DeWitt which is super but $$ count. Look them up and compare.

 

My Dewitt's was a direct bolt in. Don't forget the rubber mount cousions.

 

I've got burned on expensive American garbage too and that hurts worse. But honestly The OP clearly stated he wanted American made so why are so many here attacking for his choice? I say if he can afford it God bless him, his helping keep someone employed. If I had that kind of extra money maybe I could afford the same point of view.

 

I liked the fact that when I had a question, I called and spoke to someone who was actually knowledgeable about the product. I didn't realize I needed the rubber mount cushions and I was able to get some in time to install my radiator on a free weekend, when I had help planned for the job.

 

Got a Dewitt's,very nice piece.

 

You know when you purchase a radiator modified with electric fans it becomes a aftermarket add-on and a lot of things change. You eliminated the shroud and probably the engine driven fan, Custom electric wiring and fans controls are required. Fitting the fans between the control arms varies from car to car. I know DeWitts mounts them to the radiator where they fit 90% of the cars but sometimes they need to be adjusted to the right or left depending on core support shims and A-arm shims. The point I am trying to make is no custom radiator with electric fans is a "bolt in"

 

I've got to agree but the U shaped rubber insulator pads gave me a hard time on the driver side brackets. Had to cut away a lot of rubber material to get the bracket to bolt up and that was with using a come along to get the bracket to line up with the bolt holes in the core support. When the time comes I'll look into a Dewitt's radiator for my Z.

 

Some great tips.
Water cools way better than propylene glycol or ethylene glycol! For anyone considering running > 50% anti-freeze, I have found this online calculator useful for estimating to what temperature a certain blend of water and propylene glycol or ethylene glycol will provide "Freeze protection" (slush starting to form) and "burst protection" (actual hard freezing and popping out freeze plugs / causing damage): http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...-2#post-105626

Your recommendation to add more water wetter product is also a good one when running > 50% water, as you need the extra anti-corrosion agents that you also get with most water wetter products.

A smart PWM controller also makes sense and makes the move to an electric fan just seem more modern and definitely a more efficient use of our Vette's old electrical systems. (No reason to run dual fans at 100% when its not needed and all the extra noise that comes along with it.)

I'm running a 75%/25% water to coolant blend in Seattle in my 79 as my car stays in my garage that never gets below 50F in the winter. For the water portion of the blend I use the VP Stay Frosty racing coolant which is just a pre-mixed blend of distilled water, water wetter and anti-corrosive additive; mixing it myself would be cheaper...

To the op: Don't forget to buy new radiator to core seals and radiator support to hood seals and possibly radiator AC condensor seals to make sure that the air actually flows through the radiator, too! There's a gazillion different support to hood seal combinations over the years and if your car came with a CAI but you're not running the stock CAI then buy a version of the support to hood seal that is for non-CAI cars. (I'm trying to make a C5 CAI bridge work, so I needed to cut up a non-CAI top seal to work...)

I went with a Champion Radiator and didn't bother to measure the thickness of my HD01 cooling optioned 79 L82 auto radiator. I just looked at the Champ 3 Row option and decided it was more than enough for a 400-and-some-change HP small bock and bought it, not understanding that it's way thinner than the stock radiator. I had to modify some rubber cushions to fit and then come up with a solution to force the radiator to the front of the core support due to my mistake.

There's lots of different upper rad hose options on C3s across the years and various options, too so pay attention to that or collect multiple upper hoses you don't need... UGH.



Adam

 

I didn't know water cooled better. Down here in Texas I should probably use a different mix, Hell it's 75 degrees today!

 

Griffin here, ten years + no issues.

Griffin "High Capacity" 2-Row Aluminum Radiator..
Griffin Custom Aluminum Fan Shroud w/Two Electric Cooling Fans

 

I purchased my radiator and dual fan set up from DeWitt's and couldn't be happier.
I was looking to replace the plastic overflow reservoir for something nicer and worked with DeWitts.
We designed an aluminum overflow reservoir that looks just like their 68-72 pressurized expansion tanks.
These overflow reservoirs are now available from DeWitts for 61-82 Corvettes and are non-pressurized so they work just like our ugly plastic ones.
The mounting plate and straps are the same as the 68-72 tanks are are available through most vendors.
Here is the link to the thread I posted regarding the reservoir: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...hlight=Dewitts
Special Thank You To Dewitt's, New Custom Part

 

It does, but reducing the amount of anti-freeze also lowers the boiling point, increasing your likelihood of a boil-over or steam forming in the heads in those stupid SBC center paired exhaust ports. This is where a high-pressure radiator cap comes in handy to increase the boiling point and gain you safety margin on the boiling side and why fast flow through the system is good.

Adam