Aluminum radiators & fans, which ones fit right???

Status
Not open for further replies.

V6UnderPressure

Greasemonkey
Jul 7, 2008
202
8
18
New Lenox, IL
Ok, I have had a handful of aluminum radiators in my hand, from a BeCool to an Alradco, to a fbody. The fbody fit the best but I am looking for something a little bigger. Anyhow, the becool fitment was horrible. And I didn't like the fan brackets. The thing would slide back and forth all over the place. The alradco is a decent radiator, but the fan kit for it does not mount correctly in my opinion, and if you use the 4 bolt holes, your radiator top plate won't fit. :wtf: Anyhow, I was wondering what you all are using. I'm looking for something that stays in place, cools good, fits right, and has fans that can bolt on without issue. Anyone?
 

GhettoRacingKid

G-Body Guru
Jul 15, 2010
775
6
18
Re: Aluminum radiators & fans, which ones fit right???

I was running a 4 core aluminum rad from champion with dual 13" fans. It was heavy and a pain to install at first.

I was running really cool at 150 at the track and 170 cruising.

I run a proform electric water pump with a moroso restrictor. The middle one.


Switched to an fbody radiator and a mustang cobra fan from a 96. Running actually a little cooler at the track. Im at 130 at the track. Still 165 to 170 cruising in the dead of summer

Brackets for both are just a z bracket from aluminum flat stock that i just bent up and used factory top plate holes.

I dont think i have any pics currently of the new set up.
 

84cutspreme

Royal Smart Person
Jun 4, 2009
1,143
151
63
I had an issue with becool as well...they kept telling me about it being built off a print. I went back and forth but by the 4th time they sent me one that fit almost perfect. They also did right by me, paid shipping, gave me a nice becool radiator cap, and gave me a deal on dual 13" qualifier S-blade fans with everything I needed(sender, wiring harness, relay's etc.).
As far as the fan shroud I snugged mine up and haven't had any issues with it sliding around and it fits radiator perfect, there is like a 1/4' of core showing on the sides. They even sent me a 5-gallon bucket of their super coolant for free since they felt bad after the month and half long process of getting everything right.
 

G_Body_Enthusiast

Royal Smart Person
Supporting Member
Feb 28, 2005
1,056
16
38
Louisville, kentucky
i'm using a b-body plastic tank/aluminum core radiator (like the f-body modine 951 but with the trans cooler lines in the same locations as g-body radiators) and the fan i'm using is a black magic fan with their universal brackets. i am also using a top plate out of a cutlass and got it all to fit by trimming the underside of the top plate (the back part that bends down) so it would not interfere with the fan bracket. the radiator support needed the same trimming to fit the bottom fan bracket. the trimming was very minor and only took a few minutes. i had the whole thing done from taking the old radiator and shroud out, removing the belt driven fan, changing the rubber mount to the V8 radiator location on the core support and putting in the new radiator, mounting the fan then wiring it, connecting the hoses and filling the cooling system back up in less than 2 hours. i took my time too. i had the fan and radiator put together the day before and dropped it in as a single unit into the car.

the entire set up after installing it has never given me a problem. nothing has come loose, fallen apart or anything. the fan works flawlessly. today i would use the black magic extreme fan, it covers almost the entire core, but they hadn't made that when i upgraded my cooling system. the fan keeps the engine cool at 180 degrees even on the hottest days of summer.

today you can get composite V8 radiators for g-bodies as stock replacements but at the time i got my radiator they only had the b-body composite radiator. the b-body radiator does have an outlet below the cap opening and has a 1/8 NPT plug that came with it. i even did an article for it complete with pictures way back then for a monte carlo mailing list i was with. i can always get more pics if you need them to see how mine is put together. it's very straight forward and everything went together easily. aside from the minor trimming and wiring needed, everything was drop in and go.
 

DoubleV

Royal Smart Person
Feb 25, 2011
2,156
406
83
Medina Ohio
V6UnderPressure said:
The alradco is a decent radiator, but the fan kit for it does not mount correctly in my opinion, and if you use the 4 bolt holes, your radiator top plate won't fit. :wtf:

That's pretty lame. Why can't even the high dollor aftermarket stuff be designed to fit properly? Geez...

Anyhow, I was wondering what you all are using. I'm looking for something that stays in place, cools good, fits right, and has fans that can bolt on without issue. Anyone?

The only quality aluminum radiator I know of that are actually made to fit a G-Body correctly ( not like one of those Champion radiators :puke: ) are the ones by Alumitech. You could even get them with electric fans but don't know anything about them though. I myself have one of these radiators ( without the electric fans ). Cost wasn't cheap ( about $450 I think ) but they actually fit correctly, are made to a very high standard, cool like a sumbitch, and even look like an OEM Harrison radiator. Only problem.... I heard the guy who owns Alumitech closed up shop temporarily due to a family illness, so I don't even think the website/contact info is even available anymore.
 

tobyp

Royal Smart Person
Jun 12, 2011
1,708
39
48
Cincinnati, Ohio
run a generic healthy dpi 562 with a set of 97 dodge intrepid cooling fans, no issues at all. And cheap.
 

pontiacgp

blank
Mar 31, 2006
29,270
20,391
113
Kitchener, Ontario
No transmission coolers on the Allstar rads. We ran a separate cooler when we used an automatic
 

cashmoneyspeed

Greasemonkey
Mar 2, 2009
163
6
18
Chicago
I'm running a Northern brand 31" x 19" dual 1" core all aluminum radiator. I had to grind down the tabs on the bottom of the radiator support and remove the factory rubbers on the bottom and replace with some rubber mat material. The radiator plate holds it tight and honestly, without cutting and welding the radiator, I don't see how a larger one could fit. I have a single 16" fan with full shroud. It's running a lil higher than I'd like currently but I have a feeling its the water pump going out. I may it some holes in the shroud and make some flaps so they open when the car os moving and/or try out a dual 12" fan setup to see how well that does for next summer.

image_zpsecbf9017.jpg


null_zpsdcd4afc4.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please support GBodyForum Sponsors

Classic Truck Consoles Dixie Restoration Depot UMI Performance

Contact [email protected] for info on becoming a sponsor