2,3 or 4 core radiator for BBC?

[82sbshortbed]

Ok, I'm looking for a radiator upgrade for my square. 454 with no fan shroud in it right now is not good. I have a perfectly good fan shroud that came out when swapped out the 305. It's too big for the 454.

It looks like I'll be going aluminum with electric fans. Then I can remove the fan on it now(that's really not doing any good at a stop) and take a little load off the motor.

I called American radiator yesterday and talked to the guy about it. I asked if he had a 4 core that would fit. I even said a 3 core would probably work too. He said he had a 2 core that would fit it.

I said a 2 core? It's a bbc and I think that's too small. He then told me his are 1" tubes where most are 1/2" tubes. So it should cool better with the bigger tubes. So 4 1/2"(or 3) vs 2 1" tubes.

I've never heard if this. Does anyone know anything about this?

What radiator are you using for your BBC?

I'm figuring anything with fans to keep the air flowing will be better than what I have. Also he quoted me 400 bucks. I've seen them cheaper but, don't want a cheaper one that I won't be happy with.

Any information on this will be appreciated. I don't mind spending money for something good that will last either.

 

[dvdswan]

Remember, the radiators that came in the truck were steel radiators. Aluminum radiators have pretty much taken over.

As far as the 2-1" rows compared to the 3 or 4-1/2" rows I can see it cooling a little better as there are not as many rows stacked behind each other.

The key thing in my mind is the fan shroud for the fans. You want to use the whole radiator when idling not just the area of the fan.

 

[QBuff02]

When it comes to cooling, bigger is always better. Even with aluminum. Most companies claim an aluminum 2 core is the equivalent to a factory 3 or even 4 core. If you want to sell me a 2 core aluminum great, i'll take a 3! More cores means more capacity and more surface cooling area. I disagree with aluminum radiators and electric fans as I've seen too many people have problems with the electrical, or keeping the engine cool after the swap. But, on the other side, I've seen many people have really good luck with aluminum radiators and electric fans when done correctly. There is a difference between just throwing something in there vs planning it out and purchasing accordingly. What is too big about the shroud that you have? Or does it not fit the fan placement of the engine? I'm running a factory 4 core with shroud and a mechanical fan on my 454 with a 190 thermostat and it runs 195-200 all day long and it doesn't matter how hot it is or how hard or fast I drive.

In my friends '84 he put in a two core aluminum with electric fans in front of a 355 that the place he got them from said would work great, sold him the radiator, wiring, sensors, relays and all, was a nice kit, but, you can watch the temp swing wildly on the gauge on hot days. We went ahead and wired a switch through the trigger on the relays so he can turn the fans on manually when sitting in traffic, otherwise the temp will creep up on hot days. Maybe that's why i'm not a fan (no pun intended) because i've seen his engine temps fluctuate a lot for what he has to cool and I can be next to him with way more power and cubic inches in stop and go traffic and my temp gauge never moves. So I say if you're going to do it, do it right the first time so you don't have to worry about it.

 

[wanderinthru]

When it comes to cooling, bigger is always better. Even with aluminum. Most companies claim an aluminum 2 core is the equivalent to a factory 3 or even 4 core. If you want to sell me a 2 core aluminum great, i'll take a 3! More cores means more capacity and more surface cooling area. I disagree with aluminum radiators and electric fans as I've seen too many people have problems with the electrical, or keeping the engine cool after the swap. But, on the other side, I've seen many people have really good luck with aluminum radiators and electric fans when done correctly. There is a difference between just throwing something in there vs planning it out and purchasing accordingly. What is too big about the shroud that you have? Or does it not fit the fan placement of the engine? I'm running a factory 4 core with shroud and a mechanical fan on my 454 with a 190 thermostat and it runs 195-200 all day long and it doesn't matter how hot it is or how hard or fast I drive.

In my friends '84 he put in a two core aluminum with electric fans in front of a 355 that the place he got them from said would work great, sold him the radiator, wiring, sensors, relays and all, was a nice kit, but, you can watch the temp swing wildly on the gauge on hot days. We went ahead and wired a switch through the trigger on the relays so he can turn the fans on manually when sitting in traffic, otherwise the temp will creep up on hot days. Maybe that's why i'm not a fan (no pun intended) because i've seen his engine temps fluctuate a lot for what he has to cool and I can be next to him with way more power and cubic inches in stop and go traffic and my temp gauge never moves. So I say if you're going to do it, do it right the first time so you don't have to worry about it.

I agree with this. And wires suck and normally cause more issues than they fix.

 

[Bextreme04]

I'm running a factory Radiator from a 1997 K2500 454 truck. I also got dual electric fans from a 2010 K2500 with HD cooling that are the perfect size for the bigger radiator. It is the biggest radiator and fan combo you can possibly fit on a square without SERIOUS modification. I still needed to cut out the factory lower radiator mounting surface from the donor truck and weld(or you could bolt it) in place. It clears the factory AC lines and intake tube, but just barely. I'm currently using a dedicated temp switch in the passenger side block to trigger the fans, but they will eventually be ran by the LS style ECU for my 454.

 

[Bextreme04]

I’m currently doing the final mods to the core support. I’ll post some pics of the final result, but it only really cost me $50 for the whole setup, and it will let me run the factory engine oil cooler and trans cooler setup from the donor truck as well. Here’s the radiator and fans when I brought them home.

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The core of this radiator is the same thickness and size of the entire 4-core stock radiator including the tanks. It is a 34x19 CORE, where the OEM 4-core is a 29x19 core with 34” total width including the side tanks.

 

[nvrenuf]

I have a Blazer with a 454, I run a factory large 4 row from a 6.2 truck with a shroud. I've converted to a serpentine belt set up so I use a 9 blade fan from a '99 C3500 with a fan clutch, it cools great as is but at some point I want to find a "severe duty" clutch from a medium duty truck just so it's as good as it can get.

 

[Blue Ox]

My diesel came with a 4 core copper/brass radiator. GM later superseded it to an aluminum/plastic composite and I want to say it's either one row or two. I'd have to look. I have zero issues with it, no difference in cooling or anything else for that matter. Except it doesn't spring a leak every other year.

Of course, that's a stock application and I rarely do any towing with it. YMMV.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I've read a good awful lot of **** regarding radiators. The short version is that aluminum does not transfer heat quite as well as copper / brass, but by making the cores larger there is more surface area, so a good 2 core aluminum radiator with wide cores should out perform the old 4 core. The reason the copper / brass radiators has such small cores is because the metal had to be thin to transfer the heat so the size was limited in order to be strong a durable.

My personal taste is to keep the brass / copper radiator if at all possible because they are the tried and true thing. I'd search out a fan shroud in

 

[shiftpro]

I've read a good awful lot of **** regarding radiators. The short version is that aluminum does not transfer heat quite as well as copper / brass, but by making the cores larger there is more surface area, so a good 2 core aluminum radiator with wide cores should out perform the old 4 core. The reason the copper / brass radiators has such small cores is because the metal had to be thin to transfer the heat so the size was limited in order to be strong a durable.

My personal taste is to keep the brass / copper radiator if at all possible because they are the tried and true thing. I'd search out a fan shroud in

You're very correct here... and if you drive like Ken Block (high speed drifting on gravel roads) you may find gravel has 'splashed' up inside your engine compartment, hit the fan and made holes in the aluminum rad. I actually did this... it was fun until green came out. Also, hard core 4 wheeling or even just normal bush wheeling will stick a branch into the rad and the aluminum doesn't take the hit like the orange metal will.

 

[sirweesarunch]

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Went to a real radiator shop in Socal , one of the handful still in business . They built me a 4 row core 34”x19” radiator for $350 + another $50 for an engine oil cooler , the largest they could fit in the passenger tank. Then I bought the shroud brand new for $29. At Classic Industries in Huntington Beach . The shroud is the 73-81 Big block one piece unit. If you want exact # I can get it for you . The Big Block radiator covers are on back order but you can trust that they’ll fit right. I couldnt wait so I bent one up outta 18 ga. Sheet.


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[82sbshortbed]

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Went to a real radiator shop in Socal , one of the handful still in business . They built me a 4 row core 34”x19” radiator for $350 + another $50 for an engine oil cooler , the largest they could fit in the passenger tank. Then I bought the shroud brand new for $29. At Classic Industries in Huntington Beach . The shroud is the 73-81 Big block one piece unit. If you want exact # I can get it for you . The Big Block radiator covers are on back order but you can trust that they’ll fit right. I couldnt wait so I bent one up outta 18 ga. Sheet.


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Yesir I would Love the number for the fan shroud. I want tontry that first because I think that will make a big difference.

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This is what I mean by to Big. It hits the pully system.

The old sbc radiator is 21 high x 2.5 thick x 33 wide. How do I tell how many rows it has?

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I like to keep it in there if I can get it to cool right being it's the copper/brass one.

Do I have the correct bottom hose? It looks like it will interfere with the shroud.

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Seems a bit bendy. Lol

Sorry for my ignorance on this.

 

[82sbshortbed]

Found this one fir 20 bucks. Measurement looks right.

https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1982/chevrolet/truck/parts/t70432.html

 

[AKguy]

I put an Engineered Cooling Products radiator in the daughter’s 69 SS396 Chevelle, works great. In my project here I used my existing 4-row from the 1981 454 C20, but could not use the shroud after I mounted the 454 in the 1980 K30 frame as the fan ended up to high for the shroud. When I fabbed up a way to raise the shroud the hood would not close. So, ordered a shroud from Tejas Metal designed for the truck and takes two 13” SPAL fans (30102044). Just got them installed last night, triggered by the Sniper, holds the temp right at 192. Shroud fit perfectly.

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[dsteelejr]

I had an aluminum radiator, it sprung a leak a week ago. I dropped in a 4 row copper/brass OEM style radiator from Summit. Runs noticeably cooler than the aluminum. And yes, this is for a 454.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-382018