Guess I should first explain that I still own my first car when I turned 16, a lime green '71 SX with white interior with pretty much every option available. Anyhow I bought it in 1984 from the original owner and through the years kept fixing it up doing shows and made it into Muscle Car Review in 1988? The Car's magazine article is on ebay right now. In about 1993 I put the car away and stopped driving it. The engine needs gone through again and now I am in the process of getting her back on the road. Engine and Trans are out and I wanted to have the radiator flushed and flow tested. The car still has a Harrison radiator in it but I have not checked the numbers to see if I replaced it over the years or if it is still original radiator. The Radiator shop I took it to says there is so much calcium in it that they recommend having it re-cored and keeping the body a Harrison. It is extremely plugged up. To do that it's going to be about $700.00. My plans for the car is to drive and enjoy it again. I may do a local show but the paint being about 32 years old, she looks good but not a show queen anymore. Does anyone have any experience with some of the aftermarket radiators? Pretty sure mine is a 3 core, most I see are 2 cores in aftermarket. Thanks.

 

Do a search of past threads and you'll pull up much info on aftermarket drop-in replacements.

Cold Case and Auto City Radiator are 2 reasonably priced options for drop-in GM A-body aluminum replacements, both offer 2-core large diameter tube (1 to 1-1/4") rads which offer all the cooling you should possibly need for most conditions. They each run about $300 and have tanks that closely resemble the factory design. If you were paint either of them with black radiator paint, many people would assume it's a factory part. You'll probably want to replace your thermostat and water pump at this point in the engine's life as well just to maximize your cooling system's potential.

 

Just had an original Harrison four core radiator re-cored this week by a reputable shop. Including refurbishing the original Harrison side cans, the charge was $495. Shop around as you may be able to do better than $700.

 

I would re-core the original radiator. I had one for a '64 Olds Starfire done for about $450 here. When its done, its "plug and play" re-installation.

 

Keep the Original.
Keep as many parts original as you can.
You will be glad you did later down the road. Maybe an aftermarket for now, but definitely keep the original set aside.

 

^^This^^

 

BTW, great looking Cutlass!!!