I've got a '66 Elky which is under body repair which trashed my original radiator and I am trying to decide whether to get a new/used original for the 396 or go to an Aluminum which will cut some weight of the front end. the car is about 80-90% original with matching #'s and I don't want to screw up the value. Any help on this issue would be great. Also any Radiators that any of you may have gone to would be helpful.
Thanks in advance.

Clay - '66 Elky

For a numbers car there is no choice, get a original. Since your car is 90% or so, an alumimum wouldn't hurt the value. It is one of those changes that is easy to return to original. The only major change is the placement of the trans cooling line. With the original both lines go to the bottom of the radiator. With an aluminum crossflow the lines attach on the side one above the other. Of course, if this is a stick car this is moot.