Technical Cheap-Ass Radiators - yes or no

Thoughts about cheap radiators like this?

 

Maybe not this particular brand but in general a cheap radiator
sounds like a good way to ruin your vacation!

 

Where’s the mount for the grille at the top? I’d bet it’s a “close counts” fit, so you might need to do some more fab and welding on it to make it work.

 

I'm not a fan of aluminum radiators, if you plan on keeping the car why not invest in a copper br***, that's what Henry used and they were meant to last. HRP

 

Most cheap radiators for the 28-29 A's don't fill the shell opening to the edges which I find looks dumb. How much do you have into your engine? Do you feel comfortable gambling that away on a cheap rad?

 

They offer a 12 month warranty with a lot of strings attached. HRP

 

Agreed with all of you. Thx!

 

Your answer is NO !!!

 

Same time we have been using aluminum radiators in our daily drivers for how many decades?

Just saying ..... I have one and painted it black ..... works for me.

 

....Yeah I get it,but that's because they are lighweight and basically a throw-away part.

 

I use aluminum radiators, and will be using one in my A. Just not a cheap one that is too narrow for the opening and haphazardly glued together.

 

I have a Champion aluminum radiator in my Buick for about 10 trouble free years now.

 

In my case, to have my original radiator re-cored would be over $1k ..... If I could find a radiator shop that could do the job. ....... Radiator shops are becoming extinct.

I think it is important to get a radiator large enough ... mine is a 3 core and same physical dimensions as my original .... It is thicker though since it is 3 core .....3.5" at the core .... original br*** is 2" thick?

 

The vast majority of cars on the road run aluminum rads. They put a lot more miles on em than most people here do.
Aluminum doesn’t have use the same “flu” numbers as copper to work properly.
My aluminum 2 row cools better than the 3 row copper did. The core is slightly wider for the 2 row.
I do prefer the look of stamped tanks.
I vote whatever gets the ride back on the road.

 

I bought “cheap ***” radiator to fit behind a chopped 32 grille that came with a 16” fan. I made a shroud from a cookie sheet and installed a 7” fan all for my race car and it works great. Champion list them by size. There is a 3 gallon fuel tank that mounts on the right side of the radiator.

 

Well, yes, they are a throw away part. I had to throw away the one on my OT 31 year, 80,000 mile Buick. A whopping $150 or so to replace the cheap rascal.

Ben

 

I ran a Champion in my BBF unibody truck. It finally got clogged up after 13 years and 3 engine swaps.

 

Notwithstanding that the O/P answered his own question in his post, the web page given looks pretty good to me. I particularly like "furnace brazed" and "no epoxy".

I'd try one.

 

I've had a champion radiator in my 49 Chevy pickup for 12 years now, never any issues

 

I bought this aluminum radiator for my 48 a couple of years ago and it wasn't spendy at about 250. If I sprayed it with Radiator black it could p*** except for the welding on the seam. It's way heavier than any aluminum radiator that has been on one of my cars and I have had a number with aluminum radiators and it was never the aluminum that failed but the plastic tanks. That was on both Cadillac and BMW.






This one is a beast and should cool my 292 fine. I've got two 1-1/2 51 Chevy truck radiators that may or may not be good but I wouldn't trust either on a 5000 mile road trip.
I'm on other boards besides this one and on FB and have not seen actual posts of a Champion failing or not being up to the task even though the negative nannies badmouth them. Those negative nannies always seem to be the ones with a junk used original radiator for sale at a very inflated price.

 

How long do they need to last to be considered something other than a throw away part , 5 ,10,20 years , more ??

 

Company Name: Shanghai Tingyue Auto Parts Co., Ltd.
I looked it up.
So, do you feel lucky?

(or patriotic)

 

.....Depending on usage and care, I would be setting aside money to replace at 10.

 

Not to start this debate all over again (but guess I am), Copper/ Br*** transfers heat better than Aluminum. OK, there we go.

 

At the time that Henry started putting copper-br*** radiators in cars, aluminum was expensive to refine. At one time in the development of aluminum, it was more expensive than gold. I will guarantee you that if any of the automobile manufacturers had been able to get aluminum more cheaply than copper or br***, they would have used it. Not to get into a political discussion about this, but the U.S. doesn't produce or import these metals in quan***ies anywhere close to several other countries. If anyone is actually interested, I suggest that they read the Wikipedia articles on how these metals are produced and who does it. You'll be surprised, because it's not always who you suspect.

As for me, I have a Champion aluminum radiator in my Merc and a 57-year-old copper-br*** Mustang radiator that I paid a lot of money to have modified to run in front of a flathead. It is going in my 29A RPU. When the Ford product goes bad, I'll replace it with an affordable aluminum unit.

 

Champion is manufactured in California, Great company, Have called several times to have one of there rads , Modified to accommodate different water outlets, Fast delivery as well!
This topic is about as bad as the cowl steering thread...

 

I had a walker in my roadster, now have 3 champion rads in my 31 Flathead powered A sedan, 302 powered 48 tudor, and my daily driver 60 f100 4x4 with a 289 and AOD. I'm sold on champion. The 60 will sit in 100⁰ heat with the AC on full blast and the electric fan will cycle with a 180⁰ on 160⁰ off switch. This fall I've had to block part of the rad for the heater to get warm enough!

 

True, all other things being equal.

Problem is, all other things aren’t necessarily equal. Aluminum fins can be thinner which reduces pressure drop across the core and increases air flow, and the thinner fin transfers heat from the tubes better. In the end, an aluminum radiator, designed properly, does a better job.

 

....So true.

 

Yeah, I don't think that was a mystery.