Need a better radiator.

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Corrupt_Reverend

Corrupt_Reverend

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The radiator in my dart just 'aint cutting it. Cruising on the freeway in this triple digit heat gives me an almost guarantee that she'll overheat.


I thought about doing an electric fan as well, but if replacing the radiator does the trick, I'll probably keep the clutch fan.

Anybody have any suggestions? Ideally I want a drop-in unit. If need be, I can fab something up, but I'd rather take the lazy route.

Thanks,
~Rev
 
Get a hold of Champion Rads. Good rads at VERY good prices. Challengergary is the member name of the person on this board that sells them, and he is a good guy to deal with.
 
X2 on the champion radiators. Great customer service and an exact fit. I even went back to a 195 degree thermostat after putting the Champion and no problems eve idling in traffic
 

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Corrupt_Reverend said:
The radiator in my dart just 'aint cutting it. Cruising on the freeway in this triple digit heat gives me an almost guarantee that she'll overheat.


I thought about doing an electric fan as well, but if replacing the radiator does the trick, I'll probably keep the clutch fan.

Anybody have any suggestions? Ideally I want a drop-in unit. If need be, I can fab something up, but I'd rather take the lazy route.

Thanks,
~Rev
Click to expand...
What radiator is in there now ? Do you have the shroud on ? I run the stock rad shroud and clutch fan and have never run hot . 98 degrees sitting in traffic , running on the highway or on the track .
 
I run a 1966 273 22" radiator in my 400 HP 340 and it never gets hot, I run a stock 4 blade fan and no shroud, had the radiator re-cored in a "high flow efficiency" 2 core for better flow....works great while looking original :glasses7:
 
Hey Rev, is this in an auto trans car? If so, do you have a high stall speed torque converter? If so, it dumps a lot of heat into the radiator at high speeds. Do you have an auxiliary trans cooler for it?
 
I have the same problem in my '73 318. New 26" stock style radiator with factory shroud & clutch fan. Works perfectly 97.62% (approx.) of the time. Was driving in 105* heat on the freeway & got a little too hot to be comfortable with. It was the only time I've ever seen it heat up that much. That said, I still want a radiator that can handle anything thrown at it. Iv'e looked at the thread about the Champion radiators & the pricing looks good...
 
68gtxman said:
Hey Rev, is this in an auto trans car? If so, do you have a high stall speed torque converter? If so, it dumps a lot of heat into the radiator at high speeds. Do you have an auxiliary trans cooler for it?
Click to expand...


It's an auto. I don't know if it's got a high-stall TC, but I don't think so. Is there a way to find out without pulling the trans?

And no aux cooler.

I'm wondering if you may be onto something with the trans thing. on cool days (mid 90s and below) it's perfectly happy cruising at 65, but if I go faster, the temp increases.

Also, I don't have a fan shroud but the heat issue is bad enough to where it doesn't seem like adding one would fix the problem.

Thanks for the input so far guys.
 
If champion radiators fit good now they've changed a lot since year before last. As for me I'll never take a chance on one again after getting one that was crooked as a dogs hind leg, didn't bolt up to my car as advertised and the factory fan shroud didn't fit AS ADVERTISED. Spent 2+ hrs. trying to make it fit and when it didn't I got to box it all back up and drive it to the post office and pay $30 to send it back just so I could get something back for the piece of GARBAGE!

I will say a buddy of mine bought one for his 66 B-body and it fit properly. A-bodies are hit and miss.
 
A direct bolt in radiator of good quality (Champion radiators excluded) will cost you quite a bit. I went the cheap route and bought a Summit universal radiator and shroud for $200 and paid a radiator shop $30 to weld on mounts and a drain plug bung. Works fantastic. No it wasn't a direct install but it was at $200 cheaper. I've known numerous guys who went the universal route and are very happy.
 
I just got a champion radiator it's being shipped now I gave 220 when it gets here and I install it ill let you know how hard it was to install and how good it works
 
Corrupt_Reverend said:
It's an auto. I don't know if it's got a high-stall TC, but I don't think so. Is there a way to find out without pulling the trans?

And no aux cooler.

I'm wondering if you may be onto something with the trans thing. on cool days (mid 90s and below) it's perfectly happy cruising at 65, but if I go faster, the temp increases.

Also, I don't have a fan shroud but the heat issue is bad enough to where it doesn't seem like adding one would fix the problem.

Thanks for the input so far guys.
Click to expand...

If your car has a high stall converter they don't dump a lot of heat rolling down the highway. The time they build heat is on take off. If it's running hot down the hwy. it's the radiator isn't up to par or there's a restriction in the system not allowing coolant to flow properly. Have you checked the thermostat?
 
I just bought a two row---1 inch tube American Eagle.
I works ok......I said it would cool 600 horse....I don't think so.

I need more Test driving to be sure.......I am in the middle of rebuilding my 904.
It looks good and was built good......The cooling fins dent easy though.
+++++aluminum+++++
 
Just installed the champion so far so good easy install I'm gonna drive I this week in the heat and see what he temp says ill keep u posted
 
I run champion in my 67 barracuda bolted right up its 22 inch I run 180 stat it goes up to about 187 on hot 90 degree day if im crossing the mountain or long hard pull, cools down to 180 in town. Im very happy with champion and would buy again, I probably would get there electric fans and schroud to go with the next one.
 
Corrupt_Reverend said:
The radiator in my dart just 'aint cutting it. Cruising on the freeway in this triple digit heat gives me an almost guarantee that she'll overheat.


I thought about doing an electric fan as well, but if replacing the radiator does the trick, I'll probably keep the clutch fan.

Anybody have any suggestions? Ideally I want a drop-in unit. If need be, I can fab something up, but I'd rather take the lazy route.

Thanks,
~Rev
Click to expand...

If it's overheating on the freeway it's not an airflow issue (fan or shroud) unless something is actually blocking the radiator. You don't need a fan above about 40 mph.

Flow, capacity or tuning is where your problem is. All may be solved by a new radiator.
 
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