I was wondering if anyone knew of a place to get a decent aluminum radiator without being killed by the price. I have a 454 with 509 to 519 hp and well I decided I best not use the orignal cooling setup because it ran hot when it was stock. As everyone here knows this thing is killing my pocket book any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

DeWitts. Do it right the first time, you won't be sorry.

 

I also vote Dewitts.

 

Yup Dewitts. No question.

 

Call Dewitt for a perfect fit. (sorry) I had to do that.

 

DeWitts is the best, but Griffin or BeCool ~may~ be cheaper. Not sure, I've got the DeWitt.

 

My "things" have been killing my pocketbook since '88, but by now I'm kinda used to it.

 

I'm been running a direct fit BeCool for 4 years without any problems. I've never seen a comparison of aluminum radiators to say one is better than the other. Rod

 

Thanks folks for the advice.

 

I understand that it is even more critical for big blocks to have the foam shrouds in place along with the air dam to scoop the air. If your 73 ran hot when stock, you may want to check and ensure you've got all the pieces in place.

 

Actually they are a little more than ours. One of the things that we do for C3 that no one else does is include a "hood relief" to insure proper hood clearance. Because all bodies and hoods are shimmed, this doesn't always come into play. But if it does, you'll be glad you have it. All the stock GM radiators had it so we do it to.

Griffin uses epoxy to seal the tube/header joints and Be-cool uses fabricated box tanks. Be-cool is more of a universal than an exact fit as they offer one model fits all for 1969-82. Here we make four models. Here's the 73

 

Tom,

That is one nice looking radiator! My '73 is in storage until I return next summer. I have fought hot running since I bought the car. It has never actually overheated but it sure seems hot on a summer day - with or without the a/c running. Even hot out on the open road. To start dealing with this, I pulled the original radiator out and had it serviced courtesy of my local CarQuest store. 2 of the cores were plugged. The radiator shop rodded it out, painted it and I reinstalled along with Dr Rebuild's shroud and seals. Of course I made sure the fan clutch and fan were proper for the car as well - new water pump too! All that effort netted me maybe 15 degrees cooler running. Where the guage would read ~245 on the hottest days, it was down to maybe 230 or so. Still seems hot to me!

When I return I am considering pulling the engine to rebuild. I will also go throught the heater plenum and replace seals (more Dr Rebuild) heater core and a/c evaporator. Obviously the stock radiator will be laying up against the wall in my garage. If I went with yours, what could I expect? I assume that I could use all the other stock parts - maybe have to buy a new seal kit from Dr Rebuild...

Thanks!

 

Typically we hear people say they dropped about 30 degrees when changing from a standard 4 row to a aluminum radiator. That's an average number and no one can guarantee anything. Sometimes we see as much as 45 degrees and sometimes we see as little as 20 degrees with problem eingines but those are extreme cases. If you're running at 220 I'd say you have a good chance it will drop down to the thermostat setting, say 190.