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I've got a '67 Cutlass Supreme with a 330 that was rebuilt about 4 years ago. When I rebuilt it I replaced the radiator (which was pretty beat) with an aluminum radiator. Now that radiator is leaking badly. I've had some folks tell me you're not meant to run an aluminum radiator in these older cars. Is this true?
What do you all have for recommendations on a new radiator? Doing the labour myself.
People have been using aluminum radiators in these car for some time with no issues. What brand radiator was installed that cracked. Could it have been installed wrong or perhaps poor quality welds.
Any ideas on why the last one has gone bad so quickly?
Some just do, do you know which brand? I have a 2 core aluminum rad that leaked between the cores, basically unfixable, started maybe a year later. Cooled great but leaked. I used stop leak and a 7 psi cap, which does help a lot. No leaks now but barely cools an Olds 260 on the highway. The Griffin rads can be hit or miss for leaks but cool extremely well due to dual 1.25" cores. I had my Champion 3 core rad for years until it burnt in a fire with no leakage issues, a few others also had good luck. Their 3 core was marginal cooling with an Olds 403 in a G body, 195 to 205. Another member has a 10 to 1 403 with a Champion 4 core, never gets above 180, which why I recommend the large 2 core or 4 core. The 4 core is a very thick radiator.
The brand is an ECP (Engineered Cooling Products) with a 16 psi cap. I don't recall the exact specs of it but it wasn't much thicker than my old copper-brass core, I was able to fit it in the old mounts. The engine was rebuilt with a hot cam and bored/stroked to a 339.9 so it runs a bit hotter than it used to but nothing crazy.
I used an AFCO aluminum radiator in my 69 GTO for years and never had a problem. It cooled my 671 blown 427 chevy just fine for over 15 years with nary a problem. They also make custom fan setups to fit.
I just put an aluminum radiator in my Vista Cruiser. Its the Summit house brand (Northern) It cools great and a good price $294.00) I had to do a few minor mods to make fit correctly.
I actually just spoke to one of our members; cdrod, about the Champion radiator in his Olds. He is currently building it so he didn't have much to say about the performance. He did mention that they had good customer service though.
Dune 67:
I have a brand new Champion radiator for sale part# CC161 if you can't get a replacement from ECP. I'm very happy with the construction of this radiator, the welds look good, the filler neck and hose tube are very strong. I can't comment on the cooling performance because my car is not running just yet, but I did a lot of research and read many posts and reviews from people who had good luck with this brand. Champion radiators have an extra port where you can screw in a sacrificial anode to help control electrolysis, which can destroy a radiator from the inside out in just a few years time. This is probably what happened to your ECP radiator. Here's pic and a link to my for sale thread:
Just an update on this (after 2 years). ECP sent a new radiator that has already started leaking again. Is there anything I could've done wrong to install it? Also, I found out that the previous ECP radiator that I replaced leaked coolant into the transmission lines and ruined the seals on my transmission which was a huge drag.
At this point I'm likely going to buy a copper/brass radiator from US Radiator.
Just an update on this (after 2 years). ECP sent a new radiator that has already started leaking again. Is there anything I could've done wrong to install it?
While it's possible, I don't think it's very likely. Where is it leaking?
I also had a trans cooler spring a leak but on mine apparently the trans was higher pressure than the radiator as trans fluid got into the coolant but no coolant got into the trans fluid. I think I was using a 7 psi radiator cap at that time. Boy did that stuff make a mess in the cooling system - lots of sludge that was difficult to remove.
as with everything else on our car, nothing was stock or "drop-in".....
We used a 4 core brass/copper radiator from a chevy truck that has a 28" wide core and is ~17.5" tall. This fits the factory height requirement, and it is slightly wider than stock at the tank mount saddles being 28", but, it gave the ability to get an affordable 4 core at the time. This required cutting and re-welding the steel rubber saddle mounts welded to the core support and the upper radiator shroud/top plate to be moved over, and also adding steel in the center of them to extend to fit the wider chevy truck rubber U saddles that support the tanks/cores.
We had aftermarket Griffin aluminum 2 core radiators in 2 other cars and they didn't ever cool as well as this brass/copper 4 core. I have had this Modine Brass/copper radiator for 26 years now, and it was the one mounted in my 1980 Delta 88 when I had my 455 in it. I remember ordering and buying it from Western Auto when I was 16 years old.... It cooled my 455 well in my old Delta with a Clutch fan.
Going to be running an electric setup pushing 3500cfm plus this time.... another huge key to actually making a radiator work.
I will share my experience and recommendations for the cooling fans I find effective once I have proved them out.
Problem with a Copper Brass rad is finding one as well designed as stock that isn't very expensive. Also how many rad shops are still around to recore one, very few. I am surprised your Griffin rads didn't leak, a lot of issues from them. Were they the dual 1 1/4" cores? A lot of aftermarket fans are very optimistic in their ratings. Factory fans from modern cars usually draw big amps and move a lot of air.
For what its worth, I remember listening to a podcast Under the hood and the topic was radiator leaks. They talked about electrolysis of engine components due to improper engine/chassis grounds. Possible avenue for you to check?
March 2nd, 2018, 04:43 PM
