Is there an alliance vendor that sells Griffin radiators, or has anyone had a good experience with other aluminum radiators. I need one for my 64 Biscayne wagon. LMK good, bad on any brand. Gary
sorry for the non-traditonal information, but seems relevant Friends that I help crew have run dirt IMCA hobby stock for years. They use cheapie griffins and AFCOs, and after seeing firsthand the abuse they'll take, started running aluminum stock car radiators in my street cars. WAY cheaper than direct fit and easy to adapt if you do your research. Also- some measure by core dimensions, some measure by overall dimensions. Make sure before you order. Speedway and JRmotorsports in Iowa are good sources, but finding a dirt track shop in Omaha shouldn't be too hard. I've honestly never heard of a "bad" brand for aluminum radiators, just avoid OEM style plastic side tanks because you can't have a bracket TIG'd on as easily.
hahaha...Shifty beat me to it- I have a pro-tex I am putting in my O/T car this afternoon. (along with my o/t motor) this is the one place where billet is good- the neck. repeated removal and installation of the radiator cap beats the heck out of the stamped necks. a billet one takes the abuse pretty good.
I've been happy with my Howe alum. rad in my Jeep (gets lot's of abuse in slow, hot conditions). It was much cheaper than Griffin.
Griffin ain't cheap, but their quality and customer service are top notch. I designed a custom radiator for my school's Formula SAE team, and Griffin worked with me and really nailed it. And it was done by the time they said it would be. I run a "Summit" brand aluminum radiator in my '57. The first crappy fan I put in it tore pin holes in 3 rows, then my buddy comletely destroyed those rows trying to TIG them shut. I pryed the bad rows open with a screwdriver, filled them with metal epoxy, and 5 years and 30000 miles later, it still works great.
Joe forgot to mention he has the best car ever that is built from common household materials. Soon to change! I run a universal fit Griffin in my daily driver. Cost less than half the price as a direct fit stock radiator. Its a 3 row, cross flow and aside from when I forget to turn my elec. fan on, it stays as cool as the other side of the pillow. Even when I do forget to turn the fan on, the second I get any sort of cool air to flow through it the temperature drops like the prom queens dress on prom night.
Griffin radiators have stamped top tanks for direct-replacement radiators. They're made with the same exact process as their race radiators, but rather than fabricated tanks, they have stamped tanks that look original. No, they aren't cheap, but they are fantastic radiators. I'm saving up for a Griffin in my '57 Chevy, and I won't think twice about dropping that money for it. -Brad
Hey Gary...Speedway shows some cheap race radiators in their roundy-round parts catalogue. Lemme know if you're gonna run down there..I'd like to bum a ride to buy some stuff for my 40.
Check out Summit's house brand, as it's really a Northern in a different box. Good construction and they cool real well too. Mine dropped the temps in my 442 by about 30 degrees.
gary, mines a northern with the billet neck.It's taking a good beating hanging on the back of my truck,no problems. Rob
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