Looking 4 best Fj40 Chevota radiator? (1 Viewer)

My 77 fj40 with a 72 chevy runs a little hot so I'm looking to replace my stock tired inefficient fj40 radiator and could use some suggestions. I really dont want to shell out the bucks for an aluminum radiator as i hear you cant repair them. Has anybody bought the replacement sold on CCOT or Man a fre? Id like to know if they are worth the cost or should i spend more and have mine rebuilt? Im in the Rancho Cucamonga area in Southern Calif. Maybe somebody knows a local radiator shop that can build me a sweet set up?
Thanks for any advise
Jerry

seems like a tig welder could repair that alum radiator pretty easy. there is also some stuff in a tube called liquid aluminum I think MSR makes it for the dirt bike crowd. I have used it before and it is still holding a year later with no leaks. I used it on the clutch cover on a yzf 450 after moab got ahold of it. might be good to keep a tube in the toolbox

I am personally a big fan of Modine radiators. I have a big ol' 4 core in front of my small block. I rigged a shroud around it and use an OEM water pump with a 160 degree thermostat. I also have a 5 blade flex fan, non-electric. I never see hotter than 200 degrees, even in the So Cal desert in October or pulling some really heavy grades. You can usually find Modines for less than the OEM ones. Good luck!

do a search it has been covered alot!

i have the CCOT and it works great, but use a shroud!

try www.radiatorbarn.com i think they have it cheaper

and if all ealse fails do a google search.

Hey there Jerry
Where ya at there in Cucamonga? I was born and raised there. Live up the hill now in the high desert. Inlaws still live there on Hellman. I have used the stocker rad for years with no problem even here in the desert. Maybe you should have it rodded out or run an electric fan. I used a shroud with a flex fan for years. Had to switch to an electric after doing a chevy steering conversion.

Be Cool aluminum does the trick for me.

HawkDriver said:

Be Cool aluminum does the trick for me.

Click to expand...

Me too.

If you don't like Aluminum, I've heard good things about these guys-

http://www.performanceradiator.com/

Radiator

If you go with something that fits the radiator support, make sure it is a 5 row. I did a re-core of my stock radiator and asked for a 5 row. Unknowingly, I got a 4-row and could not keep my SBC 350 cool. I went to a Griffin alum 26" wide.

I'm local if you want to take a peek (Claremont).

Don

Like he said, been covered to death. Ask 10 people that have solved this problem and you will get 7 different opinions that will all conflict each other. However well intended, I would look towards someone who has successfully done this. As with everything on the internet, you have to filter the information. This includes this post as well.

Most people including myself have found the OE-sized radiator to be inadequate with a SBC, whether it be a standard-duty replacement (Radiatorbarn.com, discountradiators.com, CCoT, etc), a high efficiency replacement http://store.yahoo.com/coolfj40/radfj19thru1.html or a spendy 'this will cool your V8' standard footprint radiator like http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessories/aluminumradiators.htm
Having owned multiple 40's with V8's, I have tried just about every trick and have absolutely no idea how people living anywhere the ambient temperature is over 75F using the stock radiator with a V8 keep them cool. I guess it depends on how one defines 'cool'.

Factors like your creativity, fabrication/wiring ability and of course budget will all affect the direction you take.

Most will agree you must increase the cooling area of the radiator. This is not accomplished with any of the direct-fit radiators. I am not saying these won't work, just that they are an expensive alternative and many have reported being disappointed in the results. These gain cooling capacity by different materials, depth or number of cores. Now I know AA, MAF and Ron Davis Racing did or still do offer ones using the standard mounting system but these are spendy. Here's a pretty cool kit that addresses all the issues http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessories/customv8radiator4plusmount.htm
If you have more money than time and ability, I'd go this route.

If it's the other way around you might want to explore using some variation of a generic GM cross-flow design. These are available for usually less then $200 from a number a sources including Summit, Jegs or any of the circle-track suppliers such as:
http://www.daymotorsports.com/product/650/c/14/#
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/aspx/display_id.3541/qx/product.htm
http://www.performancebodies.com/store/dept.asp?dept_id=530
http://www.howeracing.com/Radiators/Index-Radiators-CrossflowChevy.htm
You will have to come up with your own mounting system and shroud as these don't just bolt in.

Good luck and share what you end up with to add to the knowledge base.

You know dgangle is right about differences in radiator cooling. I wonder if
engine location has any if anything to do with engine cooling? I remember reading way back when that when sbc are placed too close to the firewall , often people have a hard time cooling them. I don't really know if that is true, but I have had a sbc in 2 cruisers where the engine was pretty far foward, ran stock rads, shrouds, live in s calif where it is always above 80 during the summer and never had them run over 205 degrees. I always had the rads in good shape, used flex fans. One was a daily driver, stuck in freeway traffic up a grade and never overheated. Maybe I have just been lucky, but that has been my experience.

Aluminum radiators can be repaired in most instances. As with anything else, it depends on how bad you screw it up, and how good of a radiator it is to begin with.

In my case, I run a large Griffin Aluminum radiator with 2 large powerful fans. (I live in Texas...it gets hot here... ) for my TBI 350. I got the biggest one I figured could fit. More volume, more surface area, better thermal conductivity. It stays at around 195 most of the time in very hot conditions with 1 fan on. Off road it can creep up to 210 or so with just the one fan, so I kick on the second one and it stays at 195.

Fans are from a Ford Contour SVO, and are similar to the Taurus fan with very high amounts of air movement. Core support is fabricated. I had Aluminum brackets for the fans and core support welded on by my friendly neighborhood racecar chassis builder, but any decent Aluminum welder can do the same.

Also, I am convinced engine position helps. Mine is as far forward as I can get without major structural changes, and I have a nice gap between the dist. and firewall where air can move around. The serpentine setup I run helps with that.

You can always cut some corners and take your chances. Or you can do it once and never have to worry about it again. Good luck!

Here's a pic