I am replacing the old aftermarket copper radiator in my 36 Ford and want to get the best quality, best cooling aluminum radiator I can get. The engine is a 410 hp 383 chevy so it is not too wild, but the old radiator had poorly made brackets on it and it did not cool very well when moving slow. I would like a radiator from a company who makes aluminum radiators specifically for 36 fords so I know they will fit well. I am talking to Performance Rod and Custom right now, but this would be a custom radiator for them and I would have to supply all the dimensions to make sure it fit. I know about Griffin, Be-Cool, Walker and Afco but I do not know which one would be best or if they make a standard mounting 36 Ford Radiator. I will check intothem next. Any advice on a good 36 Ford aluminum radiator would be appreciated.
I also would like to know too. My aftermarket radiator fits so poorly I gave up on trying to line up the hood.
Aluminum radiators suck. They are less thermally efficient at heat transfer than brass and copper and many of them are cheaply built with epoxied instead of brazed cooling tube - aren't they Griffin? I have thrown three away that have failed....
Me too, the one in my 36 pickup is the stocker recored, after two aluminum failures, I went back to brass and copper, way better now.
Copper is better than aluminum. The only reason people think aluminum is better is because race cars use them because they're lighter. I have an aluminum radiator in my 46 and would like to change to copper someday. Aluminum is more likely to crack
http://www.bricethomasradiator.com/store/category/ford-radiators/page/3/ I bought a '40 Chev rad from these folks, was quite impressed. Multi- generation family biz, American made product, great to deal with. The top tank is a one piece stamping with radiused corners, which I personally like better than a welded tank. At my request they left mounting brackets and filler neck loose in the box, so I could position and weld them as required for my car. Price was right too.
Personally I think it's more of a status symbol than any performance up grade. An original Henry 36 copper radiator will cool most every V8 engine to run at 180*. That is all I care about I don't want to pay for possible potential cooling that I will never need. Aluminum radiators look like shit on traditional cars.
copper/brass radiators are more efficient...but heavy. Aluminum is lighter and stronger and you can have fewer wider tubes with aluminum. There are cheap ones that are stamped and epoxied and there are good ones. The one I have in my 55 Chevy right now is all welded with billet necks and the tanks aren't just stamped rectangles like the cheap ones I've seen. The tanks actually look just like the originals. If I painted it black you couldn't tell the difference. All this and it was $249. This radiator is a work of art.
''Aluminum radiators look like shit on traditional cars'' I agree, there is nothing uglier than seeing an aluminum radiator washing out the grille on a nice car, I see so many nice 55-57 chevy's with them and it just kills the car........If you have one PLEASE paint it black.
I had an aluminum rad in my 36 coupe. I switched to a walker rad after the aluminum rad sprung a leak. If you end up with an aluminum rad be sure to get one that is repairable if it leaks. Mine wasn't and I ended up selling it for $50 The walker rad cools way better and maintains a 180* temp consistently compared to the aluminum
I passed on a 400 dollar aluminum radiator for my 56 and kept looking. FE Ford in a 56. Eventually I found an original for a 100 bucks. I was tempted but the guy would not come down and I really wanted a stocker. being on a fixed income (retired) price is the first consideration for me. some times you have to pay the price for parts that are no longer made. I rationalize that by adding up all the savings from my adroit shopping.
I'll voice an opinion on the other side of the argument. I have had a ton of brass radiators and in recent years have gone to aluminum. I won't go back. I find the aluminum ones more efficient by far as long as you buy a quality brand. I am using PRC exclusively now and they will custom make one to your specs, and it will cool any motor you throw at it. I had a hard time getting the 350 sbc in my 23 to go over 170 degrees on the hottest day here in Florida, and that was with a 192 thermostat. But the OP didn't ask for if he should do it or not, just who makes the best one, so my suggestion is to call PRC and have a talk with them. I know some people hate em, so just put brass in your car and don't worry about what others put in theirs. Don
Sorry but I put a Griffan into my truck and it dropped the temp about 15 degrees and it's still fine after 8 years or so.
I got a griffan aluminum one in my 56 chevy for 15 years. It still cools it but has all these little leaks that make all this anti freeze crust on it. It looks like shit and i hate it. If i didnt have so much other stuff i needed id get a copper brass one for it. One day though. Only new ones ill buy are copper/brass. Scrap is worth more anyways.
U.S. Radiator has a 4 row. I use one of their 4 row triple pass radiators in my '52 Chevy with A/C and it works great. I use a mechanical fan and shroud too.
A good aluminum radiator will beat a shitty brass one. A good brass one will beat a good aluminum one. A GREAT brass one is unbeatable. (Except on the track) All that being said I have a little mustang 3 row brass unit in my model A cooling a '59 Caddy 390.
Thanks for all the feedback. Thats great that you guys all had such rotten luck with aluminum, but that does not help me steer clear of the bad ones. For all I know you are all talking about the same mfg that went out of business 5 years ago. I would appreciate some detail, like who made the radiator, how long did you run it and what went wrong. Did it just start leaking one day? did you get a cheap aluminum one that didn't work, then switch to a really nice brass one? fill me in a little. To get the ball rolling I will tell you my story. I finished the 36 10 years ago. I had heard that Custom Auto Radiator made a nice combination Radiator/Condensor for a good price so that is what I used. I probably should have known not to use the thing in the first place because the mounting brackets were much thinner than the original Ford radiator. But I wanted to get the car done and it fit well so I just moved forward. About a year after finishing the car I had to take the radiator out to get a small leak fixed. Nothing happened, it just started leaking from using the car. last year I noticed that the bracket on my top tank was about 1/2 unsoldered from the tank. this bracket holds my hood on and it would not be fun if it flew off. After that I decided to get a new radiator that was made better. Since I was looking I figured I would look for one that cooled better than my current one as well. I have heard that because of the structural differences, aluminum radiators can actually cool better than brass or copper even if the material itself has lower efficiency. If I can find a good quality aluminum radiator that few people complain about, then I will get one. Otherwise I may look for a better quality brass radiator. PS: I agree I do not like the looks of an aluminum radiator, but I was planning to paint the tanks and just fog the front and back of the core just so it is not bright aluminum
had trouble with two walkers...top and bottom tanks leaked,and mounting points were not welded securely.....changed to afco aluminum and have been running for 12 years with no problems. recently bought a brice-thomas aluminum for a model a coupe,but have yet to try it.the people there are great to deal with.....they have been making radiators for semi's for years and in the last several years branched out to the antique cars
This is what I have heard about aluminum as well. Where did you get your radiator. That is the kind of place I am looking for.
Where did you buy the aluminum radiator that leaked? where did it start leaking, how many miles did you have on it. How long have you had the walker?
Thanks for the positive feedback about aluminum. can you tell me what brass copper radiators you were using before and why they failed? Have you ever had cooling problems with a brass rad, replaced it with an aluminum one, didn't change anything else and the problem went away? I would think that is the only way you would know for sure that the aluminum radiator is better. How many PRC's have you used, what did you put them in and how long have you run them? I am talking to PRC now. So far they sent me a very amatuer sketch of a 36 Ford Radiator and said it would bolt right in. However this sketch did not match my current radiator with all the stock mounting brackets. I asked if they would build one to match all my current mounting points and they agreed, but told me I would have to supply the drawing. You are correct that I did not ask if I should use aluminum, but I would say If everyone that responds says do not use aluminum and actually has a good reason behind it, I might have to change my position.
Was the griffin new when you got it? why did you install the griffin in the first place, were you replacing a copper one? Has it leaked since the beginning? if not, how many miles did you have on the car when it started leaking? Sorry for all the questions but it helps to know the whole story.
Griffin sucks a big one - cheapass crap at a high price. Been through a couple of them. Last one the epoxied tubes separated from the tank - non repairable so I bought a Walker....
The aluminum rad I had was a PRC. It started leaking at the bottom where the core met the lower tank. It had about 10,000 miles. The walker now has about 12,000 miles. Even with my a/c on on a hot summer day it won't go above 190. The aluminum rad at 190 and above even without any a/c. I ended up having to run an auxiliary fan
I had an O/T car with walker radiator. Started leaking a couple years after installed. Took to local shop to get fixed. Said it had too much bloom to be fixed. Bought a PRC had no problems. Sold the car about 6-7 years later and radiator was still in it.
Well it was quite some time ago. There were a few reasons. I had an old original one for a 6cyl. It would over heat but i dont think it had a fan or maybe just no shroud. I was 16 and inexperienced and it was 1996 and the aluminum radiator was the hot ticket at the time. It took it a while before it leaked maybe 8-10 thousand miles. Ive only ever put 25000 miles on the car. Maybe leaking is too strong of a word, sweating is more like it. Aluminum may be stronger than copper/brass. But its more brittle and cars flex and move around a lot.
The Jalopy Journal
