cheap radiators

[BIG CHEVY]

pinhole in the radiator............shoulda known.  pulled mine out and it felt like real metal. go to buy one and all they sell me are skinny aluminum thinny things that felt like a paper towel compared to mine. plastic tanks. are these any good?  where can a truck lover get himself a real one?   if the auto zone crappers all i got?  does everybody sell little aluminum things? i owned all newer cars for a long time so i have no exp in this.  what are my options?                   THANKS MUCH GUYS..........

[Swims350]

Last time I bought one you can get either, alum/plastic or copper/brass.

As for them holding up, got one in the 84 c10 alum./plastic no problems been in there for like 3 or 4 years now. I bought one for an 86 k10 and one for my 85mcss and they were the same radiator and part number. So if you can't find one for your truck maybe check into the mcss one. I paid $113 a piece for them.

[Psycho71]

Jump on fleabay and look for an all aluminum radiator. I got one of the 2 row models that was the "equivalent" of a copper 4 row, and it cools my '71 just fine. It has aluminum tanks and is all welded (no epoxy). Don't remember exactly how much it cost at the time, but the deal was good enough for me to try it out. They have them figured out to give you the part number that should be a direct fit with trans cooler and all.

[Swims350]

summit has a radiator like that for $180 all alum. 2 row equaul to a 4 core and all welded no epoxy or plastic but it would not fit in my mcss because it has 2 fins on top and 2 fins on bottom like moutning tabs/ears and was too tall.

[Lt.Del]

every big town has its radiator shops.  They'll sell an original for under $200, be it a 3 core, or 4 core or whatever.  Yellow pages: radiator

you could always do what i did as a teenager and solder the pin hole.  That saved me some tight dough when i didn't have any way back when.

[BIG CHEVY]

i could have it fixed.  but id think i smelled antifreeze for the next two years or so even if it was fine. im paranoid.   buying a new one gives me peace of mind. which is highly important to me in the cooling dept.    i have a stock 350 in a k-10 automatic.   weighs bout 5000. just lifted and 36" tires. how many cores did this come factory? how many do i need now? 

[jaredts]

Aluminum radiators are an improvement in many ways to the copper and brass setups of the old days.  The plastic side tanks are the only thing I don't like.  They seem to get brittle and get cracks after a few years.  All in all they hold up well and cool much more efficiently.  Never had one but an all aluminum welded radiator should be very durable.

[Lt.Del]

Go w/ the most cores you can.  Being a truck, you will have plenty of room.  I went from a 3 core to a 4 core ( www.delbridge.net/install ) with no problem.  There is minimal price difference between a 3 core and a 4 core.   As mentioned here, a smaller aluminum radiator will cool comparable to a bigger stock radiator, but I cannot testify to that--never had aluminium (as the English call it) radiator.

 If you have A/C get  atleast a 3 core, if you will ever pull anything, get a 4 core.

[Swims350]

I would agree that you can go with a bigger core/more cores but then again I had a truck cool just as well with a 1 or 2 core rad. as the 3/4 row rad cooled in a car. I don't think it takes much to cool a truck since it has alot of room for air to flow thru and keep it cool. I had the same motor in a 76 truck no fan shroud only a 16 inch flex fan, and it ran fine never overheated, put it in a monte carlo ss and used the same setup and even with another fan correct spacer and shroud it over heated plenty. I ened up buying a huge 7 blade flex fan and 3 core radiator to keep it cool. Right now the same motor is in dad's 84 c10 and has a 2 row alum/plastic rad and it runs just as cool as the 3 row monte carlo with huge fan did.

If you do any wheeling or towing though as they said might want to check into a 3 or 4 core one and if you have ac need a bigger one too.

[beastie_3]

I bought an all aluminum radiator off ebay for 260 and it came with two 12" fans. you can buy it without the fans as well. I love it.

[monkeyspunk79]

I had a similar issue a few years back with an old F150 I had. The cheapest copper / brass 4 core price I got was from my local radiator repair shop, not NAPA or AutoZone, etc. I got a 4 core Modine for $99 without paying shipping. Local shops are so much better than the chains IMO. Your mileage may vary, but I've never had good luck finding "real" truck parts at the local chain stores.

[greatdane]

I bought an all aluminum radiator off ebay for 260 and it came with two 12" fans. you can buy it without the fans as well. I love it.

Which ebay store did you get it from? I'm looking to buy that kind of set up for my 82 C10.

[beastie_3]

It was performance cooling. They, as well as many other stores, sell the champion radiators. http://stores.ebay.com/PERFORMANCE-COOLING?_rdc=1