Aluminum radiator advice for 65 Special with 455?

Dear V-8 Buick cool-cats . . . .

:grin: Would anybody happen to have a copy of the Consumer Reports where they review aluminum radiators for 65 Buick Specials? . . . I can seem to locate one! ou:

Ahem! :laugh:

Given that objective information on such things is hard to come by, I sure could use some advice on radiators to go with the big-block engine Jim Weise is getting ready for my trusty wagon. The car is intended as a vacation and tow vehicle, so it might have some long stretches of sustained pulling. I can't imagine going with anything but aluminum, but - which one?

Searching around I've found 4 possible choices (mostly thanks to Summit Racing):

1. Spectra Premium 434-CU161 (very inexpensive, . . . or being made of aluminum/plastic - shall we say cheap!)
2. Griffin Dominator (8-70008)
3. TA-Performance (TA_2055C)
4. Be Cool (62019)

Putting Google on the case, I find a slew of smaller manufacturers - further muddying the waters. Now the prices vary from under $200 to over $600 :eek2:. That's a lot of dough and quite a range of variation.

My instincts are to reject the bottom entirely and worry about the quality at the lower end. However, a number of fellows have reported on V-8 Buick that they are very happy with the Griffin Dominator which seems at the low end of the acceptable range.

What are the experiences of big-block Buick cruisers? Anyone have recommendations either from this list or something else? Are there any Chebby parts masquerading as Buicks that I should be on-guard for? Any lemon products or companies that I must avoid like the plague? Any 65 A-body installation issues that I should worry about?

As usual, any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!! :Smarty:

Cheers, Edouard :beer

 

I would have someone bulid you a nice copper rad. I had an issue with a BBC in a 69 Camaro running hot in the summer tried several Aluminum ones and went back to Copper on problems.

 

You omitted maybe the best choice:


http://www.alumitechreproductions.com/

 

How do you get a 65 radiator from them? (Re: Aluminum radiator for 65 Special)

Hi Jim and V-8 Buick cool-cats

Well, no I didn't omit it exactly - I couldn't figure out how to get from them the right 65 Buick radiator. I had gone through the threads on V-8 Buick and spotted the company. However, they only list Buick products for 66-74 Grand Sport. Can you wiggle out of them a radiator for a "plain" but hard working 65 Special?

Cheers, Edouard :beer

 

Although my 64 Skylark has a sbb 350 and not a 455....damn.

I had mine custom made by Alumitech to match the dimensions of the original copper Harrison. Dual fans w/Spal Dual Fan Controller and the 350 barley breaks a sweat. 2 core w/ 1" tubes. Top quality product and great service to boot. :TU:

 

Griffin has good specs. (Re: Aluminum radiator for 65 Special)

Dear Engie, Jim, Mark, and V-8 Buick cool-cats . . .

Thanks for all the helpful thoughts. Thanks especially Larry for giving me some specifications to try to compare these radiators with. I'm still aiming for an aluminum radiator since elsewhere on V-8 Buick SilverBuick noted that one core of aluminum is worth 3 of copper.

Well, I went back and looked at my 4 base models. TA-Performance doesn't list the width of their tubes, but Be Cool is only 1". Griffin on the other hand has 1.25" tubes. Their darn website doesn't provide a way to bookmark search results so here is a screen snapshot:



Griffin claims it can handle 600 hp. Obviously that's probably for no more than 30 seconds, but perhaps it can handle 200-400 hp in a steady state and my engine should top at 400 hp.

So what do you'all think? Where are all the satisfied Griffin owners? Sure hope you aren't all on the side of the road with radiators boiling over!! :eek2:

Thanks again for all helpful advice!! :TU:

Cheers, Edouard :beer

 

:gp: Amen.

I've been extremely happy with a two row (1" each) aluminum radiator from BeCool. Have proper shrouding on the fan and call it good. I don't even bat an eye at the temp gauge rolling through Las Vegas or the Mojave Desert when the temps are 110+*F.


Those HP ratings only apply when doing autocross, or towing so many tons that you're actually using 400+HP continuously. Even drag racing doesn't last long enough to heat soak all the coolant in a radiator.

 

Re: How do you get a 65 radiator from them? (Re: Aluminum radiator for 65 Special)

Ask Donald Kyte at Alumitechreproduction, he may custom build a radiator for you. e-mail to Don : dwkserv@msn.com

 

You want an aluminum radiator that would fit a 1967 GS400. You don't need that 90 turn on the radiator inlet like they had on the OEM radiator. You can use a hose for that. The chassis and radiator setup are basically identical once you stuff the 455 into the '65. Been there done that and I ended up using the generic Griffin one(back then that was about all that was available) with the correct sizing although it has been so many years I've long since lost the info on which one. Any of the name brand radiators will do the job and one sized exactly to fit wouldn't hurt. Just don't get the old school radiator that was pictured. You want a crossflow radiator which works better.

 

I had be cool build the one in my 65. Very nice piece!

 

I have a Griffin dual 1.25" core radiator in my '64 with a pretty stout 455. I am running a dual Spal fan setup I got from E-bay. The radiator fit in my '64 core support with some minor mods using '65 radiator mounts for a crossflow style radiator. I am running a high flow 160 degree thermostat and a fan temp switch that turns them on at about 180ish and off in the 160's. Never had an overheat with this setup, but I may change the fan switch since at times it has trouble getting into the 160's to shut the fans off. It has never gotten over 190 no matter how hot and humid it gets and how much I push the car. It will run steady in the 170's all day.

 

Thanks again - chasing other items (Re: Aluminum radiator for 65 Special)

Dear SilverBuick, Eivind, Mike, Jim, BBBB64lark, and V-8 Buick cool-cats

I'm trying to solve some other issues in making sure the new engine has a suitable "welcome home" when Jim finishes up. So I'm putting the radiator on the back burner for a bit. However, all the feedback has been very helpful!!

If anyone else has some good thoughts on this question, please share'em!!

Cheers, Edouard :beer

 

I bought the "universal" radiator from Jegs that had the correct dimensions. They are like $150, and people actually speak very highly of them. I have not run my engine enough to report on performance, but the appearance is nice, all aluminum construction, and the fit was pretty great for a universal product. I was able to use stock isolators, stock radiator top plate, etc. They do have a little Chebby in them though... the lower outlet is oversized, 1.75" I believe. Had to do some creative plumbing to make it step down properly. Be aware of inlet and outlet sizes, on whatever you buy.

 

Re: Griffin has good specs. (Re: Aluminum radiator for 65 Special)

I installed the 8-70019 in my '64 since it's the widest that will fit in the '64 core support. Since the car originally came with a downflow I had to use aftermarket top and bottom supports. I had them build a shroud for my existing 16" Spal fan. Got the radiator, shroud and brackets for less then $500 directly from Griffin. It does have a 1-3/4" outlet that requires a dual diameter lower hose. Haven't run it so I can't comment on it's effectiveness but I don't foresee any problems.

 

I too used the Summit version of this "universal" radiator in my 64 and it worked just fine (it might have actually said be-cool on it somewhere). The radiator outlet is at a funny angle and it took some slightly creative hose selection but I got it done. I also had to fabricate lower mounts from some borrowed junkyard parts and used a top from a 67 cross-flow along with a repro 67 fan shroud. Temp consistently runs 15 degrees cooler than it did with a rebuilt 4-core cross-flow.