MALIBU Champion radiators...anybody used them?

[350Regal]

I swear i read somewhere a 2 row radiator with 1" tubes or 1 1/4" tubes is ideal. I have a northern radiator with dual 11" spals and im happy with it. My 1st aluminum was a 2 row 3/4" tubes wasnt big enough and would run warm. Also make sure you get a v8 radiator, not a v6 as there are different sizes. Josh

 

[SS_Malibu]

In my super slow Regal with an Olds 350, they do just fine. I've done research on these fans and the general consensus is that the radiators are fine, but the fans suck if you have more than general stock motors. If you can upgrade to aftermarket SPAL, DERALE, or some factory Intrepid fans, it seems to cool street motors.

I got the radiator/fan/ shroud kit and yes, the fans do stuck. I had to get higher cfm fans almost immediately. I don't think they are strong enough either.

 

[SS_Malibu]

I originally bought a Champion 3 row for my Regal and I ran it with a new clutch fan set up, the fit was great for the factory shroud but I had to buy larger radiator hoses.
This set up worked well in every condition except for when I got stuck in traffic at an underpass at the Dream Cruise with it being mid 90's and no air movement it climbed to almost 220 until I was able to get to a side street and move again where the temp dropped quickly.
So after that I decided I wanted full control of my cooling and went overkill and bought a 31" x 19" Griffen radiator with 2 rows with 1.25" tubes and then added the Intrepid dual fan set up and also put two 12" fans on my AC condenser, needless to say it never gets hot now.

Original install the Champion 3 row and the 307
View attachment 226253

And the SBC with the Griffen and Intrepid fans
View attachment 226254

What year intrepid are these fans from? I think I'll need to move to those. If looks like they fit well. Probably some modifications I'm sure.

 

[mclellan83]

What year intrepid are these fans from? I think I'll need to move to those. If looks like they fit well. Probably some modifications I'm sure.

This is the specific one I bought, went up a little in price but to be expected these days

Radiator Condenser Fan Assembly For 1998-2004 Dodge Intrepid 3.5L 2.7L 3.2L | eBay

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www.ebay.com

 

[SS_Malibu]

This is the specific one I bought, went up a little in price but to be expected these days

Radiator Condenser Fan Assembly For 1998-2004 Dodge Intrepid 3.5L 2.7L 3.2L | eBay

<p><br></p>

www.ebay.com

After looking at those fans, I now have even more questions but I don't want to high jack this thread.

 

[565bbchevy]

What year intrepid are these fans from? I think I'll need to move to those. If looks like they fit well. Probably some modifications I'm sure.

I have nearly the same set up in both of my cars and the Intrepid fans fit a 26" core with very little trimming, on my Monte I made brackets that mount the fan to the core support and on my Regal I cut off the mounts on the fan and made brackets to mount it directly to the radiator.

The dusty Monte fan mounting set up

The Regal's direct mount set up

 

[SS_Malibu]

I have nearly the same set up in both of my cars and the Intrepid fans fit a 26" core with very little trimming, on my Monte I made brackets that mount the fan to the core support and on my Regal I cut off the mounts on the fan and made brackets to mount it directly to the radiator.

The dusty Monte fan mounting set up
View attachment 226330

The Regal's direct mount set up
View attachment 226327 View attachment 226329

And those keep your BBC cool? I have a 383. And how do the two speed fans work. I work at a fabrication shop so mounting isn't really an issue. I can cut, bend and weld whatever I need. I like the Monte mount you did. I might do something like that with studs for the fan side so it can come off easily.

 

[565bbchevy]

And those keep your BBC cool? I have a 383. And how do the two speed fans work. I work at a fabrication shop so mounting isn't really an issue. I can cut, bend and weld whatever I need. I like the Monte mount you did. I might do something like that with studs for the fan side so it can come off easily.

The combination of the big Griffen radiator and the Intrepid fans keep the 565 BBC cool which I why I chose a similar set up for the Regal except that one has the built in trans cooler.
I do actually like the Monte install better but wanted to try something different on the Regal since that radiator came with the extra 1/2" open channel top and bottom so I used that area to mount them.

 

[SS_Malibu]

I'm using the 3 core aluminum champion radiator and a trans cooler. 383/TH400

 

[mclellan83]

And those keep your BBC cool? I have a 383. And how do the two speed fans work. I work at a fabrication shop so mounting isn't really an issue. I can cut, bend and weld whatever I need. I like the Monte mount you did. I might do something like that with studs for the fan side so it can come off easily.

As I said mine never even gets to the second speed, my Sniper is the control for them. But you manually choose whatever temps you want for them to come on and come off, they are essential low and then high speed for the fans