Champion (CU526) or Spectra (CU526) Radiator?

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DartGTDan

DartGTDan

'71 Dart GT Fan
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Looking to buy a new radiator, for my '71 Dart GT, for more road trips next summer. The car has ~116,000 miles on it. It has a 318 (Cloyes double roller timing chain and gears ~1500 miles ago), console shifted A904, LD4B intake with 1406 carburetor (Lokar throttle and trans "kickdown" cables), dual exhaust (FlowMaster 40s using factory exhaust manifolds and 2 1/4" pipes), PS, manual front discs (SSBC kit), 3.23:1 sure-grip 8 3/4" rear end with P215-75R14 rear tires. Mopar Performance viscous fan kit ~10 years (5,000 miles) ago.

Both radiators are comparable in price. Which would you choose, and why?

Thanks for your input!
 
jimjimjimmy said:
I bet they are the very same rad just re boxed .
Click to expand...

You'd be wrong. The Spectra CU526 is a copper/brass 2 row with stamped tanks. The Champion is an aluminum 3 row with welded tanks. Although technically the part # on the Champion is CC526, the CU526 # is the interchange part number.

Spectra Premium Radiators CU526

Champion 3 Row Aluminum Radiator CC526 For Dodge Dart Plymouth Duster Valiant | eBay

DartGTDan said:
Looking to buy a new radiator, for my '71 Dart GT, for more road trips next summer. The car has ~116,000 miles on it. It has a 318 (Cloyes double roller timing chain and gears ~1500 miles ago), console shifted A904, LD4B intake with 1406 carburetor (Lokar throttle and trans "kickdown" cables), dual exhaust (FlowMaster 40s using factory exhaust manifolds and 2 1/4" pipes), PS, manual front discs (SSBC kit), 3.23:1 sure-grip 8 3/4" rear end with P215-75R14 rear tires. Mopar Performance viscous fan kit ~10 years (5,000 miles) ago.

Both radiators are comparable in price. Which would you choose, and why?

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...

The Spectra radiator is basically a stock replacement. If you don't currently have any cooling issues, it should work just like the original. It will look more original than the Champion, and should fit without any modification. I don't personally have any of their radiators, but I've used their fuel tanks and a few other pieces and they've all been quality parts.

The Champion 3 core will likely be a little thicker, I don't see a core dimension listed on it but I know that my Champion 26" 3 core is thicker than the original 2 cores. If your current fan set up is tight it's something to think about. I love my Champion 3 core, it's been in my Duster for like 5 years now and I've had no issues with it at all. I did have to drill a different set of mounting holes in it, but that was really easy.

To throw further confusion at you, there's also the KKS526 radiator. Aluminum 3 core with stamped tanks, looks a little more original than the fabricated tanks of the Champion. Same basic dimensions, it lists the core thickness as 2 1/4", which is pretty similar to the Champion. I measured mine between 2 1/8" and 2 1/4", probably a metric number anyway. The Spectra is listed at 1.25", so, that's a full inch of space you lose. Assuming the different manufacturers are measuring the same way, which they may not be. Worth measuring your current radiator for sure.

KKS 3 ROWS 1970 1971 1972 Dodge Dart W/V8 ENGINE ALUMINUM RADIATOR | eBay
 
I like the champions, but like 72 said you may have fan issues, I had to pull out my clutch fan for an aftermarket
 
scott657 said:
I like the champions, but like 72 said you may have fan issues, I had to pull out my clutch fan for an aftermarket
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There are plenty of people running 3 cores with a mechanical fan and one of the shorter, aftermarket fan clutches. I ran a mechanical fan on my Duster for a while with the Champion 3 core without any clearance problems, although I wasn't running a fan clutch just the straight direct drive fan.

It's just worth taking a look at before hand so you know ahead of time if you need to change something. But even with the 3 cores a mechanical fan with a clutch can be done, there's that "jaguar" fan clutch people used before, as well as the new Hayden clutch

Hayden Fan Clutches 2947

More info on the short fan clutches New SHORT muscle car fan clutch!!
 
2017-07-03-2017-07-03-001-003-jpg-jpg.jpg
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three row with factory fan and clutch
 
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