Hoping for some help. Been finding that there is a divide between which radiator is best to use for a DAILY DRIVER. Have a 54 Cadi that has been outfitted with a 350 and still has the original radiator with an accessory electric fan to help. I live in Southern California, so from time to time, I can find myself in traffic and/or tons of stoplights- brutal. Have a Moon Eyes gauge which I monitor all the time. A couple of times, the temp is gotten to 220, so i pull off and cool the motor just to be safe. Really just want the piece of mind of whats best for my motor.... thoughts?
lots of people on both sides of aluminum vs br***. have you ever had your radiator, and motor, flushed out? pressure tested? elec fan on front of radiator? hooked to manual on/off or have temp controlled switch? have multi metal blade fan and shroud on engine side? good radiator cap, hoses, etc.? engine runs good and tuned properly? what thermostat? what trans running? where is trans cooler mounted?
All an aluminum radiator will do for you is weigh less. A copper/br*** radiator has a better cooling coefficient then aluminum.
For me it was cost. I got my Aluminum Radiator for less than 200 bucks. A copper/br*** radiator for a big block was about 600 bucks. It keeps my 427 cool , better than the old one, and I have a pretty harsh, long hill to climb to get home.
when its hot feel the center of the radiator with your hand. It should be hot....if its cold then your radiator is clogged. You can move your hand around on the core and feel how much of it is plugged up. They start plugging up in the center and work toward the edges. As far as copper verses aluminum....it depends on the brand of radiator. There are some ****py aluminum radiators out there that don't cool very well or last. Then there are really good ones.
I'm a guy that when it comes to radiators I wont cut corners to try to save a few bucks,,in most cases a few hundred bucks. I have been vbuilding hot rods for more than 40 years and have used about all the radiators on the market,,including aluminum radiators. Personally I think the good old fashion copper/br*** radiator is the only choice for me. I have 3 hot rods with walker radiators,,one is now 15 years old and never a problem. If your talking about your '54 Caddy it came with a copper/br*** radiator and a engine driven steel bladed fan,,,stick with it but this is just one mans opinion. HRP
Absolutely correct. However I'm told the advantage to an aluminum radiator is that it is structurally stronger and will handle pressure caps of 28 psi while the copper br*** limit is more near 20 psi. We are talking racing applications here.
I bet your problem is the old radiator is half plugged up and full of scale. This limits the heat transfer ability. You could take your old radiator and have it recored, but it may be more cost than just getting a new radiator. Alum can work fine, and can be a low-cost option. You will most likely have to do some fab work for mounting it, that is where recore of your old one is best for fit. I have alum radiator in a couple of my older vehicles and they work good. Never any heating problems. Most heating problems are due to lack of air flow, and not the radiator capacity itself (***uming radiator is good condition, not scaled up)
Both will do the job. Ive spent 600 on recoring and spent 170 on alluminum radiator. No complaints from either If its about money just price compare. How much to recore to a 3 row or buying a new aluminum 3 row. Once u decide, flush the block. Fill up with your coolant of choice, add water wetter and proper thermostat for that motor.
The bigger advantage to an aluminum radiator is the number of fins per inch. While copper/br*** by itself may cool better than aluminum, c/b radiators usually have far les cooling fins per inch and therefore a lot less surface area and that has a drastic effect on a radiators cooling ability. I prefer aluminum and have cured several cooling issues by switching to them. Add in the fact that I can buy an aluminum radiator and modify it to fit for far less than what it costs to get a copper/br*** radiator core and then having to pay to get it put back together. Your mileage may vary though.
Hours after I posted this and parked it at home, noticed anti-freeze leaking out. Granted, it was over 90 degrees outside when driving home, but the temp gauge never read above 210. Guess this is now more of a pressing issue... So much good advice to take into account here. Not seeing astronomical advantages for the aluminum besides cost, so I think I will see what re-coring the original copper/br*** radiator will cost and go from there. If it's outrageous, I may be asking what are the good brands for aluminum Thanks for all the help so far! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I spent a number of years in the radiator business. Both aluminum and a good cooper radiator will get the job done. Big difference is the fin to tube contact surface. With copper you usually has 2-3 rows of 5/8" tubes, a 3 inch core will have less than 2" of tube to fin surface contact. Many of the aluminum radiators will have a single tube the full depth of the core, this will give you better cooling. I only run single tube aluminum radiator sin my cars.
Good read on the debate: http://www.bricethomasradiator.com/2013/06/27/aluminum-vs-copper-br***-radiator-the-great-debate/
Just be careful with Import Aluminum Radiators that are NOT fully welded but use epoxy to seal some of the tubes. Friends have used these radiators and pulled them out I have good results with Superior Radiator in Mt Clemons MI they sell at a good price , will modify the radiator inlet/outlet positions and are easy to work with at a good price just above the cheapo imports. Just one mans opinion geoford41
I have an aluminum radiator in my roadster and a copper/br*** radiator in my coupe and while I find that the aluminum tends to crack and break around the brackets where they don't handle vibration well, I think they perform pretty well equally. You would probably do well to rod out your original radiator and then use a good shroud with an electric fan combo. If you car tends to heat in slow traffic, it needs more air flow.
I like aluminum because the less dissimilar metals in the system the better. Aluminum and copper-br*** seam to promote electrolysis if you are running aluminum heads or intake.
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