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New radiators have aluminum cores and plastic tanks. The only reason you shouldn't consider having the OE radiator recored with aluminum is if you are doing a concours restoration. Is the $800 quote to have it recored with copper & brass?
Yeah there are all aluminum units and they are about the right size for these and intended for these vintage GM cars. They cool great owing to the heat transfer properties of AL -BUT- they work harden and crack pretty fast. And not just on the mountings, all over. $800 seems a wee bit high for a factory recore job, like $6-700 around here in Ohio. Lucky if you can find some one who has original Modine or Harrison heavy core material, a lot of shops use the stuff made in Mexico today which does work, but you can collapse the tubes with a thumbnail. Any of the newer units AL or CU fatigue fast if you hang a big heavy fan on the core, not supported from the sides.
I had my re-cored for my 1955 ‘98, I went OEM style because it’s an AC car and has the tabs for the fan shroud and the price between the two styles was not huge so I decided to make it look stock, not cheap that’s for sure, I did do some shopping around before I pulled the trigger, and champion radiators has a website and they give dimensions, there were at least 3-4 that would have fit with minimal modifications and less than 300$.
