The Ron Davis is probably the " best radiator you can buy". With a 2f I wouldn't even bother though. I flogged my 2f up to the mountains all the time here in the Arizona summer with the a/c on and stock radiator and never had cooling issues. The stock radiator now cools my 5.7 TBI When it is 114 up hills with A/C at 75mph. When it finally goes or I build the motor for more power I'll switch but I defiantly wouldn't spend $700 for a radiator on a 2f when the stock does the job perfectly and can be had for under 300$ from a variety of sources. I really beat on my 2f and It never overheated.
I'll offer up my experience with a Ron Davis rad in my 62, for what it's worth. I don't generally like to voice bad experiences on forums but I'll make an except given my experience with Ron Davis.
I sent them my stock 62 rad to copy while my 2FE was being built. The rad they sent me in return didn't fit (the core support holes didn't line up; they weren't just off the way they designed their replacement made it impossible to for them to align correctly).
Called them up. Well, we could have made a mistake (it happens, I understand). How long will it take (it took them 3 weeks longer then their 6-8 week estimate to get it to me in the first place - 11 weeks total)? Well, assuming that we messed up probably 2-4 weeks. Seriously? If they drop the ball and sent something that isn't correct they won't bump me to the front of the line? Well, they'd see what they could do but no promises. James at Over the Hill 4x4, who were building my motor, made what they sent work with a little creativity on his part.
Fast forward 2 years (maybe 15,000 miles). Rad is cracked in the top corners on both sides. Call up Ron Davis. Yeah, we've found that you often can't retrofit these into a location that had a brass OEM rad. The mounts are too stiff and it may crack. You need at least a 1/2"-1" of movement in the mounts. But we'll make you another or try to repair what you've got.
Given that I never noticed any cooling improvement from my Ron Davis I went with a good quality brass replacement. I do believe that aluminum cools better, and would consider it again in the future, but definitely not from Ron Davis.
This was only last summer and OEM was available then. Has the OEM really been discontinued and sold out in the last 12 months? Have you tried CDan?
