so i want to buy an origianl raditor for my 49chevy truck, but right just to pricey, i saw some aluminum ones for 1/2 the price and was wondering if anyone used them in there chevy trucks (47-53). Any pro & cons to them?
Just paint it black and don't worry if it's aluminum. I'm using aluminum in all 3 of my hotrods and love them!
Look for a welded radiator as opposed to a glued one. I like them and have used them in the past. A good one will cool like there is no tomorrow and a cheap one will be like anything else that is cheap.
Good way to destroy the efficiency of a new rad is with too thick of a paint job. There is actually paint in spray cans made specifically for radiators, either way lay it on thin, TR
I had planned to paint mine black aswell but when i pulled it out of the box I couldnt bring myself to do it. Pretty good looking radiator even though it was a cheap one.
I hit a deer 2 years ago with my DD dodge van and had to replace the rad. copper/br*** rads were too much $$$$ for this beater so I took a chance on a cheepy welded 1 row aluminum off E bay. it works great! no leaks, fit perfect and cools great even in super hot summer temps.
thank you all so much for the feed back & info. This really helps on me going for an aluminum one for now
If you can use a crossflow universal, (probably not an option for the AD truck Budget Built) Summit has them on sale now for a buck and a half. They work well in corvettes, and late '50s early '60s cars. They don't look correct but you can hide them in a shroud, and paint them and they will blend in from 25 ft.
When the radiator in my '55 Chevy pickup went out last year I bought a 'universal' aluminum radiator off Ebay. I found one nearly identical in size, etc. I only had to drill a few holes in the mounting tabs, bolted in almost like it was NOS. The truck is my daily driver, has a mild SBC in it and A/C. Haven't had any problems whatsoever.
One possible problem is, compared to a Br***/Copper radiator the Aluminium radiator's have a very limited repair-ability. If that is all you can afford now to get the car on the road then you don't have too many options. You can then save up and replace it when you can. Either that or, can you live without the car on the road while you save for the Br***/Copper rad? If you do paint it Traditions Racing advice is VERY good, use the radiator black it also protects the core from corrosion which is a common enemy of all rad's. Doc.
This is what I use gents, Eastwood Radiator Paint # 10040Z is the GLOSS Black # 10340Z is the SATIN Black Both are 12 oz., and retail for $14.99, cases are available for the shop owners, TR
since it's getting hard to find someone who knows how/is willing to fix a br***/copper radiator, this isn't a big issue.
My powdercoat guy had a product that was a spin off from the areospace industry that was colored black, as thin as water and designed to extract the hear from aluminum . We used it on my aluminum radiator , and after 3 years so far there's no problems .
I just got an aluminum radiator for my 34 ford. Was going to paint it but looks pretty good the way it is. I'll see how it looks after I put it in and if I like it or not. If I don't like it I'll have to take it out and paint it.
I have a Griffin aluminum radiator in my '53 Chevy PU. Can't remember, but I don't think it was cheap. Not painted.
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