I am about to purchase a new radiator.

I planned on buying a 4 core 21" from Ricks which I can go and pick up for $219. However, I see Summit offers an aluminum direct fit for $288 plus shipping.

Is the aluminum radiator so much better that it is worth an extra 70 plus shipping? Which one should I buy?

I am not worried about a stock look. I don't have a clue what horsepower I am looking at so I am not sure how much of a cooling issue I will have. Here is some infor about the motor:

No air
383 stroker
Camel Hump Heads - 194 valves with 62 CC heads - 3782461
Comp High Energy Dual Energy Cam - High Energy Cam Dur Int. 268 Exh. 268 Lift Int. .454 Lift Exh. .454
Edelbrock Perfomer - High Rise
Roller Rockers
Holley Street Avenger - 770
Dynomax Headers
OC Nodular iron crank
5.7 OC re-con rods with ARP bolts
Hypereutectuc TRW flat top pistons
Moly rings & bearings
Balanced, Including new flexplate & balancer

I run the stock-type 4-Core on a 406 which typically run hotter than 383's.

I also have a good Edelbrock High-Flow alum water pump, a high-flow 180 degree thermostat, and the stock-type Eaton clutch-fan with the 7-blade fan.

No A/C,..4-speed car (auto trannies can raise the engine temps),

My guage never strays far from 180, even in Texas summers, even in chrome-to-chrome traffic.

Hope this helps.

check this out before you jump

https://secure.wf-api.com/www.chevellecooling.com/46.html?psid=IEt-uSP.HotA23ug1McF&sm=8856

In my ever so humble opinion the aluminum radiator is worth the difference in price. It saves on front end weight and cools better than the brass four core. This is from a man who thinks a 406 is a small displacement engine from the sunny south.

I own both a Be-Cool radiator as well as two Griffins, happy with both. recommend the Griffin over the Be-Cool only because of it's stock appearance.

Larger Dave

Go with the aluminum rad. It saves weight and cools better.

I have a 454 with a/c /69 . Be cool aluminum, never 1 Problem in 4 years. Lots of cruzin. It's a two row with 1.5 tubes.
Good Luck.

if you want a reasonable priced aluminum radiator check out http://www.hotrodsusa.com I bought mine from here and its the best price I have found (about $280) and keeps my car SUPER cool! after going to web site then go to hot rod parts then cool-usa check it out!

Berry that same radiator (CoolUsa/Northern) sold by hotrodsusa is now cheaper to buy from Summit Racing. I bought mine from Hotrodsusa and find it to be an excellent quality unit but now their shipping cost + radiator is higher than Summit's.

If I may offer my humble opinion, why don't you look into the Alumitech radiator. They are AWESOME quality, and look dynamite. I am looking into it myself, due to the fact I have a 468 with A/C, so I have to be as careful as possible. They are a bit pricey, but I feel it is going to be money well spent. As an added plus, we get to patronize a fellow board member. JMHO..

amp tech, i think everyones reason for looking into the summit/coolusa/Hotrodusa radiator it that it is about 1/2 the cost of the alumitech
and everyone (myself included) is very happy with the cool usa piece

i am sure that the alumitech is very nice, and very well made

If I may offer my humble opinion, why don't you look into the Alumitech radiator. They are AWESOME quality, and look dynamite. I am looking into it myself, due to the fact I have a 468 with A/C, so I have to be as careful as possible. They are a bit pricey, but I feel it is going to be money well spent. As an added plus, we get to patronize a fellow board member. JMHO..

Thanks for the kind words fellow member

I will be the first to agree if you’re a true enthusiast and want to keep the car bone stock with Harrison tanks on your b/c core ... by all means stick with brass copper or get a re-cored with a 4 row ,providing your not having over heat conditions .

The differences between the original brass copper 3 row ..keep in mind 3 rows of 1/2 inch tubes equal only 1.5 inches of fin to tube contact of cooling surface ...then in a 4 row configuration the tubes get even smaller 4 rows of 3/8 tubes
Still less then 2 inches of tube to fin contact .. not to mention the original radiators has 1/2 inch space between the tubes in height ...less tubes in stack height top to bottom then today's radiators ...and less fins per inch about 10 to 12 in a original Harrison ... ok now to a aluminum core 2 rows of 1 inch tubes .. a full 2 inches if tube to fin contact .. core thickness 2.25 of fin ...
15 fins per inch of tube more cooling contact surface ...3/8 inch of stack height .. this means more tubes per header height .... also the tube to fin bond is (not lead) ... a poor conductor of heat transfer.

There are many companies offering other products as replacements in brass copper and aluminum ...my thoughts were if you can build a copper brass replacement (re-pop) in brass copper ... why couldn’t you do the same thing in aluminum ...and have it fit and look like the original unit !!!!

This is why we put so much effort into the design of our radiator ... to replicate the original fit and style of the Harrison rad
No modifications Required ...we are here to provide a radiator that looks so close to stock .. painted black you would have to take a second look .
For the guys that this dose not matter to... and shop by price alone ,I have no objection ...It is not our place in the market to fill that void ....I truly understand .. it comes down to cost in many cases ... I am only here to offer a different product .

I hope this brief synopsis helps people understand the difference between the brass copper units and aluminum configurations
thanks Don

very nice comparison, and i never before noticed how much like original your radiators look (unlike the coolusa)

Thanks for the info Don, that gives me the info that I wanted to know.

I guess it all boild down to the price/ performance vs. the quality and apperance, I myself love my cool usa radiator but thats just my .02??

Thanks for keeping it civil guys! :thumbsup:

Dano:beers: