Is this an ok radiator?

I guess on a $200 radiator my criteria would be, and was; Can I get it hooked up? Will it hold water? and Will it cool?
 
I did have to make an air dam. I made it out of angle iron. Here's a pic
cc3154b2f1e880ce8f3d2341977c7493.jpg
 
drolston said:
I put a Champion aluminum radiator in my '41. It fit perfectly and looks good. But I have had problems with overheating in traffic on hot days. Block was cleaned during overhaul. Timing is advanced. Changed to Dennis Carpenter water pumps which are supposed to flow better at idle; no noticeable improvement. Installed a spacer to get the fan closer to the radiator and put on a (partial) shroud; no help. Fabricated a baffle to keep air from going over the radiator; better on the road but not in traffic. Put in Subaru 170 degree thermostats, which open wider than stock units; no help.

The good news is that they are relatively cheap. Try the Champion and see how it works for your installation.
Click to expand...

Update on my earlier post. Since then I scrapped the Champion and went to a four row brass/copper radiator, which works great under really stressful conditions of high heat and speed. I could never get the Champion to cool well enough on 90+ days. Tried every trick in the book (better pumps, water wetter, shroud, baffles, timing, richer mixture) but it still overheated badly at idle and at speeds over 60, on hot days. Also one of the mounting ears broke off.

It might work for you if your engine is stock and you don't get stuck in traffic or climb long hills on hot days.
 
WABOOM: Your angled piece looks great and will work fine. Good job. Keep us updated on how well the new radiator cools.
 
I don't see that anyone has posted issues with electrolysis... I was losing radiators at the rate of about one per year in a 96 Bronco. Except towards the end of my aluminum experience, when the rate reduced to about one per 3 months. The Bronco went through a LOT of aluminum radiators. Then, I had a custom brass radiator made, and no more problems for several years now.
On the other hand, I have an aluminum radiator in another one of my vehicles, a cheapo from JEGS. It's been there for many years, and has never given any trouble.
 
WABOOM......Good luck , I'm sure glad you painted the rad. Lots of guys run alum but religiously keep an eye on the ph. Most use the orange anti freeze. Today's rads are
all alum with plastic tanks.
Charlie ny
 
As long as the ph stays 7.0, neurtal it can't react with anything. As soon as you add additives, unless they are neutral, things change. Nitrozene tape is the easiest and cheapest way to test fluids. Available at drug stores.
 
Aluminun used for structural applications is mostly 2024-T3 alloy but it doesn't weld well. The 1100 alloy is likely what is used to fabricate these since it is easily welded and it's mostly just aluminum. The magnesium aluminum alloys are better for welding but it takes some processes for normalization that would make it expensive to use for a radiator.

Structurally aluminum has to be pretty thick to form a good beefy structure to take vibrations well. There is also the corrosion factor. It should have coolant that will lessen the corrosion factor as is available for modern aluminum radiators. Aluminum radiators are a one shot deal. You can't easily disassemble one for cleaning or recore since they are not designed to do so. When they don't work you throw them in the recycle pile and buy another one.

The aluminum radiators don't cool any better than the old brass and copper units. They look funky and they don't always fit well. If a person doesn't mind all that then go for it.

JAMCO used to have a good product and they are relatively reasonable. The one I bought for my AV8 is real nice and it's the short 32 Ford type to fit the 32 grill shell on a 29 model A. You might think about that one for a Merc with flathead V8.
https://www.jamcosuspension.com/products/sfID1/13/sfID2/80/productID/2449
 
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