has anyone bought one of these aluminum radiators from china on ebay?

And just for the record if I can get a champion with the support rods they will be my first choice. Never heard of them until now.

 

I can't even afford a cheap chinese radiator, I keep patching my busted up old brass one, lol.

 

i got a radiator off ebay. probably from china. paid about 100 for it. the same thing from speedway or summitt or any other site was about 500. its a good looking well performing part. the welds on the aluminum tank look great. i have no complaints. if the item is located in china then shipping will take alot longer.

 

Shop here in Tulsa that my sons have used for OT (Mustangs) cars..

http://www.northernfactory.com/

 

Got one in my 62, fits well and looks great =165 dollars at my door.......
I think of it this way-made in china ,sold to me by an American retailer,so in my mind I am buying American,and supporting another bussiness here as well as saving money.
If we all could afford a hi dollar[quality] brass works-Walker or the like, radiator and were convinced they were worth it we probably would.
I gottaa buy what I can pay for.......

 

Thank you...

 

I will second this, bought one for my 71 Custom 500.... not an issue in 2 years.

 

i ve bought 2 from summit with no problems nthe name on them is NORTHERN

 

I have a champion I got off ebay for 159$ shipped to Hawaii. I don't like China stuff but this pretty well made .The local guy wanted 247$ to do the old one I took a chance and feel that I did ok.

 

Buy the quality you can afford. It's a "world wide economy", the same one that brings you the internet.. Even Henry Ford "outsourced" beyond the United States... Zenith Carbs on Model A's for example. Get Her Done, I say!

 

Yep!

 

Somebody once quoted "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten"

It was Benjamin Franklin. [ he must have seen it coming many many years ago ]

 

I learned a long time ago that when it comes to brakes, steering and cooling you buy the best. There's a reason ChiCom radiators are so cheap.

 

True.

The (copper-core) radiator that was in my F100 when I bought the truck in 1974 is still going strong, had it flushed out and a top-tank seam resoldered once but that's it.

 

Whenever I buy cheap china stuff, I don't have to wonder why I have all the Bad Luck! So hard as it is, I reach for my wallet and buy the best I can afford and then I feel better when I'm on the road with the finished rod.

 

a friend bought a Champion....was ok but it looks cheap. I recently bought a radiator from an ebayer called engineered-products for my 55 Chevy truck. It was a little more than champion....but I figured I would give it a shot. That thing is a work of art! I liked it so much I ordered one for my BB 69 Camaro. The also have a website....I think its www.speedcooling.com
American made radiators.

 

It's important to support your country rather than the very country which will sink your own country. But, that only applies to people who "can afford" to do so. If you "can't afford" it, then it's OK to stab your own country in the back. After all, if you buy a Chinese radiator, that will ensure you have plenty of money left over to buy what's really important - beer, cigarettes, and your monthly cable TV subscription.

Here's why Americans are so stupid - they'll buy products from China knowing it will someday come back to bite their ass. But suggest to a Steelers fan that he wear a Cowboys jersey and he'll be willing to fight you to the death over it.

 

Buy the best ya can afford, simply.

 

Try whiteperformance1 very nice street rod radiator

 

I saw on of these Chinese radiators a few weeks ago at a local shop that sales on ebay and started a local store. Had a radiator on the wall for a 32 ford for $175. I think. Had mine built in Gainsville Georgia by "Autorad". Shure, I paid about $650 for mine, but the quality was the best ever. I even bought a fan at Summit on the way to pick it up, and he made mounts for me while I waited. I was shocked at the amount of work that he had and the orders that were waiting to be filled.
While it is important for a street car to run cool, In a race car that has to go rounds and keep the same temp. round after round, I do not have to worry about if I bought the right radiator. Yes I paid a lot for the radiator, but I got quality for the price. I would recomend Autorad to anyone. You do get what you pay for.
Mike

 

I've bought several ebay elcheapo radiators for different off topic cars. I've had better luck with them than the name brands I've used, but I don't have alot of high horsepower rides.
The elcheapo's were so much cheaper than even a stock parts store replacement I couldn't pass it up...

 

I bought a aluminum radiator off a guy on e-bay, he purchased it but never installed it. I was disappointed when it showed up in a box that said "Made in China" and thought it would be junk. I changed my mind after I opened the box and removed the packing material. The radiator was really nice and the workmanship was just as good as the $700 one that was in my 31'. I installed it (64' Dodge Dart wagon) and it worked great, looked great, and only put me back $100 including shipping. I do try to buy american anytime I can but I also can't say anything bad about the workmanship of the poor 12 year old chinese kid that welded up that radiator.

 

Use Brice Thomas Radiator in AL. Made to order in the USA and on my doorstep in one week. They sell on ebay also.

 

Ive used nothing but US name brand Alum radiators. Most of the failures were on the bottom rad mount for a hot rod. The 1/8" alum rad mount was welded to the lower tank and after road vibration, would fatigue the alum. and the lower tank would develop a leak. I see some of the latter ones now have a gusset. That should help. I repaired a few and put gussets on them. We will see how they survive.

P.S. The US. rad builders stood behind there product: AFCO, PRC.


Ago

 

This is absolutely correct MR Dre has hit the nail on the head.

I don't know what the fella is charging on Ebay bit as far as how wonderful the radiator is according to him you have to remember he is the salesman, his is going to be the best on the market regardless.

The last aluminum radiator I bought I bought from Summit racing for 150 and 6 dollars got it to me 3 days guaranteed. It is American made and not just the box but the radiator has Made in USA stamped on it. They are really quite reasonable on a lot of their Summit branded stuff, and even if you don't like them it keeps your cash in our failing economy.

 

I'm not knocking anyone's decision to buy China or any other country's import products but, as for me, I will always look for an American product first. We used to be a country that demanded quailty first and price second. Value for the money we spent was our concern. Now, it seems, we look at initial price first and hope it will last, if not, we'll thow it away and buy another cheap part with the same expectations. We don't demand quality so why should the manufacturers supply quality. We've become a throw away society. Now don't get me wrong, there are some very good import products out there from some countries that do make quality products such as Germany, Belgium, Sweden, etc. but countries like Japan, China, India and so on have been known as the "knock off" or "imitator" countries trying to steal designs and make cheap imitations. I will say Japan now does have some innovative design engineers, but most learned from America. Have you ever used a tool made in China or India? They are not even worth throwing in the recycle bin. Stepping off of the soap box now.

 

...someone said buy American, sad thing is, that you really cant anymore...if you have a cell phone in your pocket or tv in your house or any type of modern car with fuel injection whether it is an American company or not, there are components throughout that were made overseas, most likely China and or Japan. It is also true that a lot of American companies have stuff made overseas and a lot of is is good quality....I would love to see manufacturing return to the US but everyone wanted bigger houses, bigger and more cars which drove up the price of houses and big ticket items, so then we all needed our tvs, clothes and everything else to be cheaper and private companies outsourced to other countries...we are in quite the pickle. I try to buy products that are strictly made in America, but that is tough...anyone here that has a house that they have done work on, fixed up....and have bought anything for it from Home Depot, Lowes or the local hardware store...you have foriegn made stuff in your house, most of it from China.

 

yea but they still make radiators here and if you have a choice why would you buy from a product from a country that already has us over a barrel financially. granted if the made here product is low quality than buying a better quality off shore product may send them a message.

 

I have bought two from Ebay seller "suncoast deals" or similar, fully welded and have worked great. I would get another for my caddy but they dont have the right size, have to get a speedway universal one.

Based on input here I checked on champion radiators, they have one the right size so I will try one of them. $168 shipped, cant beat it.

 

I agree porknbeaner and try to buy specifically made American products....are Holley carbs still made here? anyone have a list of companies that truly make hot rod/race car/car stuff in the US?

Be nice to have an American Made Vendor list as a sticky on the forum....