Aluminum vs original radiator

[Hosehead]

Hey guys, I have a 65 belvedere that has a us radiator in it(aluminum). I also recently acquired a two row 65 radiator with a nos fan shroud. The aluminum us radiator has no shroud or provisions for one. It runs at 185 when moving but goes over 200 sitting in traffic. I have a guy that will convert the original radiator to a four row and the shroud fits on it. I'm wondering if you guys think the aluminum without a shroud would run cooler than the brass radiator 4 row with a shroud. Motor is basically stock. I have a clutch fan, milodon water pump and a 165 degree milodon thermostat. Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[5.7 hemi]

If originality is what your after, then go with the brass/copper. Or stick with the aluminum and get a shroud, your engine will thank you.

 

[HT413]

Depends on the quality of the aluminum rad, but my guess is that new 4 row copper will cool just as well or better than a new el Cheapo aluminum. Once you get either setup functioning correctly, you won't be able to tell the difference unless you have a monster stroker, etc.

 

[mopar12372]

copper does cool better than aluminum . its the solder used to fuse everything together that causes the radiator not to be very good/ after you do a rebuild and take the cylinder bores too far 60 over and up/ modify the engine to a level that dosent have very good street manners , have a trans connected to it for cooling, would need a good stacked plate cooler for the trans (not connected directly to the radiator).
aluminum radiators are ok you will want to up grade to a 3 row

 

[themechanic]

Food for thought: US Radiator I have has 2 rows with 1" tubes. Stock 4 row copper tubes are a lot smaller.

Since you just need about 10 to 20 degrees cooler at stop why not get a pusher fan for idling in traffic?

 

[HT413]

Before we swap parts and add pusher fans, what motor are ya running and when was it last looked over? That alum rad is probably doing just fine, but it doesn't matter what material the rad is, a rad with a shroud will out perform a rad without a shroud when idling around town.

You need to decide on the rad not based on cooling, because they will both perform adequately when the cooling system is setup properly.

 

[Cranky]

Also, a 4 row isn't going to help very much if any over a 3 row. By the time the cool air gets to the 4th row, it's hot. Also, large tubes are more efficient than smaller tubes. There's lots of info on aluminum vs brass/copper on the net if you want to sift through it all. Recently, I stuck in a used but good single row aluminum with large tubes radiator in my 95 V6 Dakota that always seemed to have heating issues with the stock 2 row brass/copper unit and now it runs cooler than ever in all conditions. My dad bought this truck new and I've had it since 98 when he passed away and have done nothing but beat the shot out of it. The difference between the aluminum is you can have larger tubes and it will take the stress vs the copper/brass having to use smaller tubes to do the same job....but yeah, the copper/brass does transfer heat more efficiently but the larger tubes that can be used with aluminum units does a better job mainly because it can be built with much larger tubes. Did I just repeat myself?? Probably

 

[monaco66coupe]

something to check, I rebuilt my 340 dart, stock. had what I thought was a good clutch fan, and a shroud. it ran hotter than I liked, all the time. I got mad and took the standard fan off of my 318 dart parts car and put it on, and it doesn't overheat at all any more. Maybe a new clutch fan, or get rid of it. Just my experience, keep in mind I'm in nebraksa, not Texas. I wouldn't use one of those aftermarket clutch fans that have the blades riveted on either. Last year a guy in this area was tuning his car up and revving the engine up here in town, and one blade came off. He was Dead instantly, and a terrible sight for the wife to see.

 

[Hosehead]

Wow, thanks for all the responses, guys! I appreciate all the info. I have to admit that I do like the way the original stuff looks a lot better. I think I'm going to go ahead and have the original radiator altered and do a comparison. When I added a real fan and water pump the temp dropped noticeably. I am guessing the addition of the shroud would do the same. The motor is high mile but it was babied and runs great, is super clean, etc. I guess I'll see which one works better. The n.o.s. Shroud is pretty cool looking too. I'll keep you posted. Thanks guys!

 

[A383Wing]

on yer aluminum rad, how wide are the tubes in there that hold water?

 

[Don A]

If the car runs cool at freeway speeds under a load then your radiator has adequate heat transfer for the engine under horse power. If it tends to heat up at low speeds or idle it's not your radiator and would suspect air-flow or coolant flow. Build a shroud or come up with a way to mount your existing shroud and I think your problem will go away.