Radiator Recommendations for cooling a Chevy 350

[Draken]

Need some recommendations on a radiator to replace the aluminum Be Cool unit I have. This is the 2nd leak I've had within a year. The leaks look to be where the cores connect at the bottom tank. I had a radiator shop repair it last time and they recommended that I switch to a 4 core brass unit. Thought they were just trying to upsell me but they said they repair a lot of Aluminum units.

The threads I've searched look to recommend Champion radiators. Any other recommendations for cooling a 350? Any reason to go to a brass core unit? Should I just get it repaired again ($75).

 

[reddingcruiser]

There are plenty of options. I got mine through CFR Performance and it's been in for four years with zero problems. How to you have it mounted? Sometimes folks have them mounted too rigid, which can cause stress and ultimately cracks and leaks.

Though I like my aluminum radiator, I ran a brass cross-flow for years in anther 40 I owed with a SBC 350 with great results.

 

[shelfboy1]

i got one from summit racing that was for dirt track cars works great .

 

[huminajumina]

I just put a 305 in mine with an NV4500, I have had it in low range for a few hours at 80F outside temp, or 5th gear at 80MPH for a few hours at about 80F outside and have had no issues. I got a cheap aluminum radiator off ebay and have no issues so far. I'm running a factory 7 blade flex fan with no shroud.

 

[melvinjo]

I ran an aluminum rad on my 350 conversion, and it did not cool as needed. In fact, I would boil over at times

I finally switched back to the original brass one after I had it cored and cleaned, and installed a hotter, 190 degree thermostat (Was running a 160).

I'm running a cheapo summit eletric fan, and Ill NEVER go back to an aluminum one, period. I now max at 220 degrees while crawling, and 220 is my no means hot for a 350

I went back to brass after an old school radiator guy explained some things to me:

1. Brass will always cool better than aluminum, comparing both types with the same number of rows and size. Lost over the years is that people wanted LIGHT radiators, so most went with aluminum. Brass cools better, period. Yes, brass rads are heavy

2. Most folks when they try to run 30-40 yo brass radiators don't get the cooling effect desired because they are clogged and dirty from corrosion over the years. 50 bucks will get it rodded out and like new again

3. Thermostats: A radiator cools by the coolant spending enough time in the radiator body itself for air to flow thru the radiator rows to bleed of the heat from the coolant before it flows back into the engine. A low temp (160 or so, or no thermostat), opens too soon, and allows the coolant to run back into the engine block before it has had time to bleed of the appropriate amount of heat. So you are better off with a 190 stat or so, than a 160 thermostat

My electric fan is manual, that is, I turn it on if it gets about 210. That typically only happens if I am crawling. If I had a temp actuated fan, I wouldn't even have to worry about it

So combine 2 and 3 above, and you wont get the desired cooling effect

I know, #3 above almost defies logic on the surface. But believe me, I went thru it all. Cleaning out the stock radiator along with going with a hotter thermostat (190) did the job for me

Im not even running a fan shroud.

Sorry to steal the thread if you arent having cooling probs

 

[65swb45]

I have always been a four-core copper kind of guy, and never a fan of aluminum. That said, I was on a run with the Copper State
Cruisers three years ago, and there was a guy running a 350 in ambient 90 degree weather with engine temps at 190. Curious, I asked him what he had. He said he had a custom radiator from Ron Davis, aluminum. I had heard the name before,but had never actually seen one in use. I am no longer completely opposed to aluminum, but still strongly prefer copper.

 

[Downey]

Brass or Aluminum??

Of course the brass radiator mfg will tell you brass cools better, and the aluminum radiator mfg will tell you aluminum cools better. The way it was explained to me by a neutral party is (a) brass is better at lower temps (I.e. It will get 200 degrees down to 190 degrees better than aluminum), but (b) aluminum is better than brass at high temps (I.e. It will get 250 degrees down to 200 degrees better than brass). I'm by no means an expert on this subject, I do know that many of the off shore aluminum radiators are glued together, not welded (poo-poo). I am aware of SAE test results that show that an engine runs cooler if there is a fan shroud, BUT the engine runs coolest when no part of the fan blade is up inside the shroud ( I.e. The shroud should only come back to the front edge of the fan).

 

[Bret]

I am having very good luck with my afco 19x26 aluminum radiator (since 2005). I am running a 190 deg thermostat, hi flow h2o pump, and a 7 blade clutch fan with a shroud. Even under the worst heat of FL I have not seen over 195. I had the same engine temps while running a MKVIII fan, but the underhood temps were high enough to cause carb problems, and the high current draw of the fan at idle was killing the alternators while idling around in the heat, so I switched to the mech fan.

The slightly larger radiator fits between my FJ60 PS and the passenger side head light bucket.

 

[riderjgs]

I've had absolutely no problem cooling the carbed 350 in my Pig for three years now using a stock Toyota radiator. When we put this rig together, I had the radiator professionally cleaned and checked. Installed a new 190-degree thermostat along with a high volume water pump, both from NAPA, along with new belts and hoses. I'm using a stock GM 7 blade fan but installed a heavy duty truck fan clutch, which locks up at about 90% rather than the 60% for passenger cars. I do not have a fan shroud of any sort.
I do have an overdrive, but have run 75-80 mph highway speeds in near 100-degree weather and done long summertime crawls with no temp concerns.

 

[Downey]

Stock Rad

Congrats Jim, back in the day (late 1960's-early 1970's) that's what we all did, used the stock rad with the inlet and outlet swapped at a rad shop.

 

[middlecalf]

Another aspect wrt radiators that doesn't get discussed much, but I believe is your issue, is the mounting of the radiator to avoid flexing. I have a '65 with a 283 conversion, and really the heat dissipation is secondary to the mounting issues I've had. I went through 3 Champion radiators from leaks in the same place you've had leaks. On the last one, I also noticed a crack on the mounting flange. I had tried to mount the radiator using rubber bushings, etc. to prevent frame flex/vibrations from loading up through the radiator. I don't think the Champions are built strong enough to endure the flexing and resultant fatigue. My rig only has (had) one of the radiator support rods - it goes from the right hand side of the radiator to the right hand side of the firewall. I've since added one on the other side, and this provided significant improvement in movement of the radiator setup as a whole. I punted the Champion unit and went with a cool cruisers replacement, much more expensive but so far it's holding up. I think the Champions are good products and priced attractively but being aluminum they need to be installed with more support than the stock (at least older stock) rig support IMHO. The cool cruiser replacement radiator is definitely stouter and heavier. Something to think about. Hope that helps.

 

[B y r o n]

When I did my 350 swap I kept the original radiator. Left it mounted in the stock location and built an aluminum shroud cutting the opening to match the fan. Never had any issue with over heating even in the So. Cal desert heat.