Hello All,

I have a 1969 Camaro. The radiator is leaking at the bottom of the drivers side on the tube. :sad: The engine is a SB (350). The radiator core is 21" across. It is a stock looking 4 core copper/brass radiator. The trans is a T10 4 speed. I am thinking of eventually putting a Big Block in this car, and maybe a THM400 with a bigger aftermarket trans cooler. I have some questions:

1) If I put a stock 4 core 23" inch radiator in this car, will it mount up to the existing holes in the radiator support?
2) Should I use the curved neck radiator if I put a 427 or 454 in it?
3a) Will I have to get special upper & lower radiator hoses when putting a 23" Big Block radiator in a car that currently has a small block engine in it?
3b) Or will regular universal flex hoses work?
4) Should I just have it repaired or for $300 buy a new BB radiator?

The car has an electric fan with a shroud on it now. I think the fan is out of a Chevy Van or a 1984 Z28. The fan is hooked up to a toggle switch in the car. I don't have $1,300 right now to do a whole Be Cool Set Up. And you can never have enought cooling capacity.

All comments on these 4 questions would be welcomed!!

P.S. This is a street car.

Thanks!!

Fix it as long as it is in good shape. Cross the big block hurdle if you actually drop on in the car. This radiator may very well work for a big block.

1. either the 21" or 23" replacement radiator will mount to the existing bolt holes on the rad support.
2. Dunno
3. The 23" radiator is only wider on the drivers side, so only the upper hose needs to be longer. I believe a hose for a 68 small block with airconditioning will fit.
4. Depends on the condition... If I was broke and it could be repaired without recoring, maybe, but before I had a brass rad recored, I'd just spend the $300 on a summit/northern alluminum rad, and it will cool anything.

Hello All,

I have a 1969 Camaro. The radiator is leaking at the bottom of the drivers side on the tube. :sad: The engine is a SB (350). The radiator core is 21" across. It is a stock looking 4 core copper/brass radiator. The trans is a T10 4 speed. I am thinking of eventually putting a Big Block in this car, and maybe a THM400 with a bigger aftermarket trans cooler. I have some questions:

1) If I put a stock 4 core 23" inch radiator in this car, will it mount up to the existing holes in the radiator support?
2) Should I use the curved neck radiator if I put a 427 or 454 in it?
3a) Will I have to get special upper & lower radiator hoses when putting a 23" Big Block radiator in a car that currently has a small block engine in it?
3b) Or will regular universal flex hoses work?
4) Should I just have it repaired or for $300 buy a new BB radiator?

The car has an electric fan with a shroud on it now. I think the fan is out of a Chevy Van or a 1984 Z28. The fan is hooked up to a toggle switch in the car. I don't have $1,300 right now to do a whole Be Cool Set Up. And you can never have enought cooling capacity.

All comments on these 4 questions would be welcomed!!

P.S. This is a street car.

Thanks!!
I think you should just repair what you have now if you are cashed strapped.Down the road i would suggest going to a two core aluminum.The dual 1 inch tubes are are strong and light weight and match a 4 core in performance.My 2 core aluminun griffan with shrouded dual flex-lites cool my 560 hp 427 easily.I have a painless wiring coolant sensor in the intake manifold that grounds a 30 amp relay that feeds the fans.I did all this for $600.I use a 360 swivel t-stat housing and always stay away from universal hoses because I believe that they hinder flow and tax solder or weld joints at the rad.

Hello All,

Thanks for the responses. I tried to get the 4 core 21" repaired. It cost me only $45 since I worked in conjuction with this shop in the mid to late 1990's. They cautioned me another leak could rear it's ugly head once I installed it in the car. It did.......No reason now to throw good money after bad. I'm going to put a 23" big block radiatior in it.

Question: Is there an advantage to a curved neck vs regular neck?

On another note, Here is an interesting article I saw on aluminum vs copper & brass radiators.

http://www.copper.org/applications/a...s/no_flux.html (http://www.copper.org/applications/automotive/radiators/no_flux.html)

You will also like this one http://www.usradiator.com/testing.htm


Looks like aluminum may not be so great after all other than it's weight.

They cautioned me another leak could rear it's ugly head once I installed it in the car. It did

Did they say why....
It is very important that all the supports around the radiator are attached tight, in particular the one at the bottom.
I dont know if u have seen the diff between on that has well attached supports and on that hasnt...
It is amazing to watch, even under lower presures of 8 psi, the whole radiator curve with bad supports, and how much.
If these supports are not atached it doesnt take long before leaks appear both at the core/header area and a few mms in from the headers.

Steptoe,

It's leaking from what looks like a weep hole by the tank on the drivers side. I really liked the radiator shop when I worked for another company back in the 1990's. Nice guys, they do great work and the treat their customer's with respect. Their pricing is also good.

RE: The Leak---They said it could leak because the prior owner(s) streched the tanks out to accomodate the four cores. They said it was originally a three core.

I have no idea why anyone would want to stretch the tanks and make a 3 core a 4 core. Why not just buy the 4 core? Man, I hate this car!! Problem is I have to much into it right now to sell it for what it's worth...So I must continue to make it right. After all it is a Camaro!

I wish I could find my old one and buy that one back VIN#124379N530621. No X Code, 10D TR727, 69B...Man I miss that car!! Oh well, live and learn.

On another note, Here is an interesting article I saw on aluminum vs copper & brass radiators.


You will also like this one http://www.usradiator.com/testing.htm


Looks like aluminum may not be so great after all other than it's weight.[/QUOTE]

Funny that U.S.Radiator would down play aluminum .. as there company has a second line of radiators strickly Aluminum ..under a different name ..COOLCRAFT .
but there primary comnpany is US RADIATOR .

There aluminum line is smaller so I guess they dont want to hurt sales at coolcraft .

I was in a similar predicament, but I think my leak was worse than yours... At first I tried the Bars stop leak as a temporary fix, since I figured I'd rather tackle the entire cooling system next rather than simply replace the radiator. Well, that didn't work too well, and I didn't really like the idea of my waterpump pumping that stuff around... So I picked up a used radiator from a guy who just upgraded his system, 45 bucks... a good compromise, and it'll manage in the meantime since I don't yet have $500+ to spend on a new cooling system upgrade

I run aluminum but heard many years ago (in Hotrod magazine) that it didn't transfer heat as well as copper/brass. But that begs the question; who cares? The weight savings alone makes it worth it. (Oh see the adjoining thread on Hitmans other problem for a picture of it.

TheAl /brass heat transfer is a moot point
Sure in the 'lab' one shows better than the other...
But in practical terms, the difference is too small to make a diff.
Dont get messed up with marketing hype.