Going aluminum radiator but which one?

Discussion in 'The Big Chill' started by Gulfgears, Apr 6, 2015.

  1. Gulfgears

    Gulfgears Gulfgears

    I have searched the forum posts and read what has been posted, but I still haven't been able to come up a determination as to what radiator will be best for my application.
    Car is a bone stock, except for four barrel and dual exhaust, a/c equipped 300.
    No way is this car going to be a racer, we only use it for cruises and general sightseeing, around 3,000 miles/year.
    I have looked at Champion, American, US Radiator, Griffin, Be Cool and even Eastwood.
    Some (Griffin) say modification may be needed. I don't want to hack up my core support or shroud!
    Some on the board have said that a two row 1" tube is the best solution, and I'm good with that. But I see some of them slipping in 3/4" tubes will that be terrible for my application.
    I don't want to spend $400+ to be able to run the a/c this summer and keep it below 210 degrees, but if that's what it takes.
    Has anybody done specifically a 66 Skylark with this engine???
    Ready to spend the $$ but don't want to have to reengineer the car to make it work.
    (Forgot to add that twice I have had the tubes cleaned out at different shops and it still runs hot, but otherwise is a pretty dependable car)

    Thanks
     
  2. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Gary, 1" tubes ARE THE BARE MINIMUM. Any aluminum radiator with smaller tubes you see, disregard it completely. Any radiator with more than 2 rows, it's garbage, disregard it. The only way you can be sure it will fit perfectly is to get one that is built as a drop in. That's more money. You may be able to get a universal one that will fit with a minimum of hassle. I can't be sure. My Griffin was a drop in and it was built to be so. I have not heard anything good about Griffin in a long time. From what I read, their quality has slipped big time. My radiator is now 14 years old, and it is spotless inside and works as good as ever. I hope it stays that way because I'm not sure who I would use to replace it. My radiator has 2 rows of 1 1/4" tubes.
     
  3. Gulfgears

    Gulfgears Gulfgears

    Larry opinion was what I was basing my requirements on.
    I value your input as I know very little about this stuff.
    I have found a radiator company in Birmingham, Alabama (found them at Crusing the Coast) that can make me a drop in fit, so unless I find something else that may be how I go.

    Thank again.
     
  4. 70staged

    70staged Well-Known Member

    T/A Performance has radiators on their website but I don't know any details about it. Says direct fit for Buick
     
  5. redsixty9

    redsixty9 Platinum Level Contributor

    I bought a pretty nice Aluminum radiator from Auto City Classics in Minnesota for my 69 GS400. I haven't installed it yet so I can't really tell if it leaks or cools well. All I know it was shipped the next day and was really cheap. I think it was $274.00 shipped. It has two 1 1/8" high flow tubes stamped and welded construction and original style ribbed tanks 1 1/2" inlet and outlet plus a trans cooler it's for a 68-72 chevelle. What really shocked me was it's a pretty nice piece. For the money I was really impressed on what I received. I'll let you know how it works soon as I get the car fired up. Probably this weekend if all goes well.
     
  6. rkammer

    rkammer Gold Level Contributor

    This is the radiator I put in my '71 GS and I'm very happy with it. It was also for a 68-72 Chevelle and has two 1 inch tubes. My 450 HP 455 runs about 175 deg going down the road and only runs up to about 195 at a long traffic light. My car also has A/C.
     
  7. Ken Mild

    Ken Mild King of 18 Year Resto's

    I have an Alumitech with stock stamped tanks and 2 1" tubes. Unfortunately they went out of business. Now I'd be hard pressed to decide as since I purchased that there are so many more options it's like a Chinese food menu.
     
  8. Nothingface5384

    Nothingface5384 Detail To Oil - Car Care

    Rnd fabrication
     
  9. regal81455

    regal81455 Well-Known Member

    Not going to say much as of yet BUT Ive been waiting on a drop-in for my car now since January, made the mistake of paying them in full upfront too....:rolleyes::rolleyes:
     
  10. GS455Coupe

    GS455Coupe Silver Level contributor

    I have installed their radiators in my 70GS455 and my 68 Wildcat (same radiator). Both have worked well - zero problems. Just need an adaptor for the transmission cooling lines (trivial - even NAPA has them).
     
  11. Gulfgears

    Gulfgears Gulfgears

    Well, finally went and done it!
    Got a two row 1 1/8" aluminum radiator from Auto City Classic.
    Background: Larry70GS, was adamant about the need for larger tubes for the radiator to cool effectively and this unit has those, but I found out that the term "drop in fit" is extremely over used and subject to doubt.

    Auto City is somewhat difficult to deal with as they don't have good communication skills and this required frequent calls to determine where the unit was.
    First call was 10 days after ordered it, only to be told they were out of stock and should have told me that in the beginning. But they had units "on the boat" and should be here at a date yet to be determined.
    Second call was to find out if they had figured out when it would get here, turns out at least 30 days. But they had a chevelle unit that would fit right in. At this point, as it turns out maybe I should have waited!

    Anyway told them to ship the chevelle unit and we'd see if it might work. Got the unit and it had ears on it for mounting to a core support, not like a Buick uses. Called them and was told to cut them off and it will fit right in. If you ever want to experience high heart rate, try cutting off the ears on your brand new radiator with a cutoff wheel. One slip and it's not gonna be good.

    Got that done and then had to make new brackets to hold the homemade isolators for the bottom of the radiator and make new isolators to work with the hold down plate on the top of the radiator. But, I was able to make the fan shroud fit properly.

    Had to drill out the cross member below the radiator to get to the drain plug as it's in a different location. From previous posts I knew the lower radiator would be a tight fit on the 1/4" larger outlet, but it fit finally.

    Transmission cooler lines, one fit and one had to be cut and a hose barb used.

    End results: Took the car for a 60 mile shake down run today, 90 degrees out, on the interstate at 70 mph. Ran the a/c the whole time and never saw the temp go above 180 degrees. This is a car that normally ran at 200-210 without a/c!

    In stop n go traffic it dropped down to below 180. I have 165 degree thermostat in and at idle it will pull down to 165 in a flash. Using a 50/50 anti freeze mix with one bottle of royal purple water wetter. (16# radiator cap)

    The end results were worth the hours spent trying to make it fit. In hind sight, I think I will wait for the correct radiator if I ever do this again.

    Thanks to all who gave me insight on this project and I hope the above helps anyone who may be thinking about doing a change.
     

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