Time for a new radiator

[73c20jim]

In all of our Corvette road race cars we took out the thermostat, ripped the guts out, put back the stripped piece as a restrictor, took off the fan, removed the fan shroud and ran about 210F for hours.

Never had a problem with any of them in any outside temperature. Nothing to open and close to "regulate" temperature.

Also ran an oil cooler and baffled oversize oil pan.

Finished every race and usually first or second in class. (A Production 575HP L88 12.5 - 1 compression 427 CID openchamber)

Won 2 SCCA Regional Championships.

Maybe I don't know what I am talking about. Who knows.

Until then we must agree to disagree.

By the way, I am NOT wrong, and neither are you. We just disagree.

 

[73c20jim]

By the way, I'm in Tombstone. Come visit some time and I'll give you the grand tour, and tell you the truth and the facts about it.

Professional Tombstone tour guide.

 

[C10MixMaster]

By the way, I'm in Tombstone. Come visit some time and I'll give you the grand tour, and tell you the truth and the facts about it.

Professional Tombstone tour guide.

sounds good might take you up on that some day

 

[Rusty Nail]

Brass sure as heck won't leave you stranded like a plastic one will and I think that's why the General picked that metal over other materials. I think any measurable difference in cooling "efficiency" is negligible when faced off against durability. I'd rather lead with metal over plastic and know after I eave that i'll make it back.

Don't think I am wrong. Watch the attached video.

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Lmfao @ " not like the thermostat in your house."

@Goldie Driver - boy was that a slow night at work! Lol sry to ramble ...

 

[4WDKC]

In all of our Corvette road race cars we took out the thermostat, ripped the guts out, put back the stripped piece as a restrictor, took off the fan, removed the fan shroud and ran about 210F for hours.

Never had a problem with any of them in any outside temperature. Nothing to open and close to "regulate" temperature.

Also ran an oil cooler and baffled oversize oil pan.

Finished every race and usually first or second in class. (A Production 575HP L88 12.5 - 1 compression 427 CID openchamber)

Won 2 SCCA Regional Championships.

Maybe I don't know what I am talking about. Who knows.

Until then we must agree to disagree.

By the way, I am NOT wrong, and neither are you. We just disagree.

ID like to see more details about that car if uyo want to pm me.

 

[4WDKC]

This is a hot topic , no pun intended

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Lots of involvement! Must be a good thread, thank you OP. @Hatchet54

I have answered this question before in my life, and have an answer that i'm certain the readers will fine true in-form with my existing statements because I have always felt one way about this.

It's kind of why WE drive a Squarebody Chevrolet ...in my eyes they are tougher than leather.
Sitting heat transfer well aside for now....lets look back. Ever heard "if you don't know your past " any number of things may or can happen. Right?
Looking back the brass radiator in my truck is....thirty years old, just like the truck. It's f- tough. Right? AND you love it. It's okay man. That radiator is the reason you have every dollar in your wallet. There's no shame. It's been there thru thick and thin, just like the old girl it rides in.
So just like the truck, do you REALLY think buying a plastic and aluminum replacement will be BETTER? Might as well turn in your Squarebody card and go buy a freakin Honda.


Know what i'm sayin?


Sabes digo?


Well wtf lol?

Sure a Honda gets better gas mileage...it's made out of aluminum and plastic!

Wait. I see what I did there...very clever.



Continuing with THAT illustration would be like :


A Semi-precious, metal, factory part, which I believe adds value to the truck.
Do you disagree?

Granted an old part of an old truck!.

Everything from the gas to the tires to even brake pad material to the oil has been "improved upon" in the history of OUR truck's lives.

And yet the trucks remain.
People seek different things and want other function while the world turns and sometimes enough engine modification can demand other cooling, sure.

Does brass or aluminum cool better?
I dunno. I may argue they cool DIFFERENTLY.

Convection vs. Conduction , some ****.
Corrosion?
Duration?
Dissipation?

Neither will rust but only one conducts.

Both materials were widely used in cars and trucks at the time but the General chose neither.

For why?

I don't know if one cools better than the other but I know which one I like better.. The one that won't die!

AND I don't have a 500hp smallblock that runs hot.

Speaking of, my Camaro will operate at 225-235° ALL DAY with a 190° and never even so much as hiccups.
(not 500hp lol)

I too run a 195° t-stat in the k5 and my truck runs around 205-210° sometimes but I don't worry about it..it's prolly the gage. Whatever.the fans are computer controlled!
Wait..

CHEVROLET says the L98s get better gas mileage AND run cleaner
@235°

We aren't talking Camaros but the science applies? and seems to be from a good source?



If I think up something else to add later I will.

It's fail-proof . I don't know what's nof to like.

When reconditioning OUR trucks thirty years later, swapping out was never an option. Why is the radiator exempt? It is a very intimate piece of the whole.

My brass radiator will kick your aluminum radiator's ass!

Not a fair fight huh?
One belongs in my truck but one does not.
Good luck buying a thirty year plastic- anything.
'Nuff said!

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yes a hot engien will operate and get better mileage because it is using less gas, we know this, it also produces less emissions. As stated many time one here who cars about mileage in a squarebody? Heres the other side GM isnt telling you those same engines make more power around the 180 temp.

Who said anything about plastic end cap radiators? Those are replacement you buy at the parts stores, not aluminium radiators you buy to solve over heating issues like these.

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I have one similar with a 2 core that cools my vette better than the brass 4 core that was in it ever did and its lighter making the car faster.

 

[MikeB]

I follow your logic, but I mainly agree cuz I'm a stubborn old SOB, and our trucks came with metal radiators, so that is what I wanted back in.

Our trucks also came with a restrictive air intake system, tiny cast iron exhaust manifolds with single exhaust pipe, and skinny tires. Also, most of them had very crude emission controls systems that relied heavily on EGR, super-lean air/fuel mixture, and nowhere near enough spark advance. A lot of those systems didn't work well even when new, and caused sluggish performance, lean surge, and pre-ignition. Ah, those were the days.

 

[MikeB]

Just read where the tanks are not plastic at all, but glass-filled nylon with a melting temperature of 425 degrees F.

I've never seen an aluminum/plastic radiator fail in any of my daily drivers, some with well over 100K hot Texas miles. But I'll be the first to let you all know if/when my Square's 4-1/2 year old radiator fails. Then I'll go pick up a free replacement from O'Reilly Auto Parts.

 

[4WDKC]

Just read where the tanks are not plastic at all, but glass-filled nylon with a melting temperature of 425 degrees F.

I've never seen an aluminum/plastic radiator fail in any of my daily drivers, some with well over 100K hot Texas miles. But I'll be the first to let you all know if/when my Square's 4-1/2 year old radiator fails. Then I'll go pick up a free replacement from O'Reilly Auto Parts.

the one that was in my s10 started leaking at the seam for the tank, not the actual plastic melting.

 

[Goldie Driver]

Our trucks also came with a restrictive air intake system, tiny cast iron exhaust manifolds with single exhaust pipe, and skinny tires. Also, most of them had very crude emission controls systems that relied heavily on EGR, super-lean air/fuel mixture, and nowhere near enough spark advance. A lot of those systems didn't work well even when new, and caused sluggish performance, lean surge, and pre-ignition. Ah, those were the days.

LOL - all valid points !

The mid 70s to mid 80s were somewhat dark times for automotive performance while the industry struggled with emissions standards as well as fuel economy standards .

And, typically the cheapest fixes were what was tried first , and once warranty was up - Who are you?

But, that is also the vehicles I had in my formative years, and they had metal radiators ...



Too bad SEFI and strong overdrive transmissions weren't around in the 70's.

It is what it is, or maybe I should say it was what it was.

 

[RecklessWOT]

Just read where the tanks are not plastic at all, but glass-filled nylon with a melting temperature of 425 degrees F.

Nylon IS a form of plastic.

I've never seen an aluminum/plastic radiator fail in any of my daily drivers, some with well over 100K hot Texas miles.

Nobody said the plastic was going to melt, they said it will FAIL. I've seen plastic tanks straight up fail or crack at least 4 times. Maybe not during normal use, but god forbid you overheat once or if it gets just a little too cold outside, boom that cheap **** will break. Not saying that aluminum doesn't cool well, it sure does, arguably better than brass/copper, but if you're gonna use it then you gotta get a full aluminum radiator with welded tanks, not that crimped onto plastic garbage. Sometimes the tank just cracks, sometimes it will seep at the seam or blow out completely - neither is acceptable. I have never had an old brass/copper radiator fail except on ONE extremely poorly maintained box truck at work that had well over a half million miles on it and was abused every day of its long tired life, and even then the tanks didn't fail, the fins simply corroded away so it had no real way to transfer heat

But I'll be the first to let you all know if/when my Square's 4-1/2 year old radiator fails. Then I'll go pick up a free replacement from O'Reilly Auto Parts.

4 1/2 years... some of the trucks on this forum have more than 40 years on that. Come back in the year 2060 and tell us how that cheap oreileys radiator is working out for you.

Plus, a plastic tank radiator has gotta look pretty damn lame under the hood. Might as well get a plastic intake manifold, and some plastic body color matched bumper covers while you're at it. Wouldn't want anyone thinking you drive a real truck built out of metal or anything. Hell, just go buy a brand new car with Bluetooth and parking assist while you're at it

 

[Frankenchevy]

I’ve had two radiators with plastic end caps develop pin hole leaks. Both were over 150k and weren’t catastrophic. I noticed the residue and replaced shortly thereafter.

Edit: point of this comment was that many oems have plastic ends on them and that any failure of them has been manageable/not catastrophic. If my radiator weren’t rebuildable I don’t think I’d worry about using a good quality aluminum one. Also, you can find aluminum radiators in black so they can look more oem.

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[Nonstop]

I have had plenty of copper/brass radiators **** the bed. I took the 4 core out of my truck when it started leaking. I put in an oreilly radiator. Well **** - it cools a lot better than the 4 core did! The Champion ones I run in my other cars gave me the same results!

As for the oreilly one - if/when it takes a ****, warranty it out and have the new one in later that day or the next.

In this area, most of the radiator shops have gone under. Finding one, driving some distance to drop it off, have it repaired a few days later, then drive back out to pick it up. Oh yeah, plus I can drive my truck to oreilly to pick up the radiator before replacing it! Can not take out the radiator that needs repair and then drive the truck to drop it off! Makes NO sense to keep the copper/brass unless to restore a vehicle.

To each his own, but I am over the copper/brass radiators, especially when I see how efficient the new ones are!

 

[Hatchet54]

I'm pulling the plug on a Champion this weekend.

3 row or 4 row?

 

[75gmck25]

I wish we could cut off the debate about plastic tanks, since most new aluminum radiators sold for the squarebody are like the one pictured in post #36 - note that there are no plastic parts in that radiator! This is not a Honda or Toyota.

I used the Champion 3 row for my '75 truck and the brackets and hoses all fit the same as stock. IIRC, the upper hose fitting is stepped so it can handle 2 different sizes of hose - a little odd, but it sealed well.

I am using a high flow 195 degree thermostat (which appears to be a little off in calibration), and it lets the engine get up to a little over 190, then opens and the temp moves down to 185. It stays at that temp regardless of driving conditions. Its been about 90 degrees outside lately, and I could let the truck idle with the A/C on, run at 60 mph traffic, etc., and its always at 185. The temp is measured with a Stewart Warner mechanical guage, tapped into the cylinder head sensor port.

Bruce