Car was a 307. I am getting ready to dump in a 496 stroker that I purchased from wolfplace. Money is gone and completely forgot about the radiator. NO WAY that radiator is going to keep this car running cool. What is the best budget way to replace radiator? Not worrying too much about originality.

A radiator shop here in town said they can make a "widened" two row for a $180 that will keep it cool. Does anyone have any information on this or heard of it.

If you search this site I am sure you can find a 3 row or 4 row core to work with. If not what does that rad shop want for a 4 core

Aluminum or copper/brass? 2 row aluminum might do pretty well.

You spent how many thousands of dollars on a new engine and you want to do a "budget" radiator? Save up a few bucks and buy a good, new radiator up to the task of the engine you have. $450-$600 for an adequate, appropriate radiator is a drop in the bucket for what you paid for that engine, 'twould be a shame to roast the engine and your investment by trying to save a few bucks.....

Both Alumitech and Howe aluminum radiators get rave reviews and aren't outrageously expensive and are available from folks who frequent this site (Alumitech and SC&C).

You spent how many thousands of dollars on a new engine and you want to do a "budget" radiator? Save up a few bucks and buy a good, new radiator up to the task of the engine you have. $450-$600 for an adequate, appropriate radiator is a drop in the bucket for what you paid for that engine, 'twould be a shame to roast the engine and your investment by trying to save a few bucks.....


X2 on what he said!! :yes:

just save your money and get a new aluminum rad. Then you'll have to invest in sticky tires, proper fuel line setup and make sure you have a good trans, and rear if you don't have it. An expensive hobby.

Big block chevys and 2nd rate rads just create aggravation. BB's like to make heat.
If you don't want to have eyes fixated on the temp gage then find a few extra bucks before ya fire the beast up.
Good advice from Rich.

Question - why not try what you have?

My 2 core stock radiator with unknown fan clutch and shroud keep my BB nice and cool. HP is around the 525 range. Doing some upgrades now, hope to be in the 575-600 range. I'm trying the stock cooling to see how it works.

What about a stock BB 4 core copper/brass??? I think they go for about $250-300.

We had the rad for our 455 Lemans recored with a high density 3 core unit. Worked excellent on that size engine.

I went with a summit direct fit aluminum rad, really made by northern. It is $250 I think and keeps my 468 under 190 at all times.

Hey... easy guys. I said "budget." The whole point is to not ruin my soon to be awesome engine. I just no the be cool radiators and such are around $550-$600 that isn't cheap. Frankencrate had a good idea, maybe the stock will work. Car only had 38,000 miles on it. However, I don't want to take a chance. Then Brett chimed in about the summit replacement for $250 and said it worked. Now I would say that $250 would fit the "budget" question vs $550-$600 for a radiator if they both work as well. Therefore, I ordered the summit one this morning. Thanks Brett, you saved over $300.

Don't be so quick to shoot people down. I started this build with a $1000 in mind and now am around 4grand. Budget doesn't mean junk! It means the best bang for buck!

Thanks for all the input.

Well at least you had the good sense to go aluminum ... the Summit rad built by Northern is not a perfect fit .. you may have to do some grinding on the lower rad cradle driver side as the tank is too wide .. there mig welded .. not the prettiest girl at the dance but she may know how to move ...paint it black if you don’t like the looks .. and some folks may think you have a brass copper rad .

I know everybody has a budget... so ...I always say buy what you can afford ... it should keep you cool

Don

Thanks, I plan to paint it black. Want that sleeper stock 427 look. Also thanks for the input on where it won't fit. I would have been losing my mind trying to put that thing in all day.

I went with a summit direct fit aluminum rad, really made by northern. It is $250 I think and keeps my 468 under 190 at all times.

x2 heard they fit pretty good with a little adjustment... and you cant beat that price

Stock is fine for stock or very mild smalled cube bbc but when you have a 500cid perf bbc the stock radiator is margianl in most cases and you cant chince out on cooling even with a mild perf 500 cid motor as already mentioned.

Spend some money to do it right the 1st timeand dont look back after spending 3k-5k+ building the motor.

For 500 cube bbc an alumitech rad & dual fan setup gets my vote along with a hi flow water pump and hi flow 180 stat too.

Remember,more cubes and higher power output = more cooling capacity required,end of story.

Scott

I just recieved my Summit Aluminum Radiator, it is 2 rows but very wide. The radiator seems as wide as a 4 row. Couldn't believe how excited I got about a radiator. I am going to put a fan on it also. Thanks.

When painting this thing...do you just wipe it down with thinner, let dry and then paint a few light coats. Do I need to worry about clogging the fins or anything? I would hate to ruin my brand new radiator but I do want to paint it black.

x2 heard they fit pretty good with a little adjustment... and you cant beat that price

x3 The only part that didn't quite fit was the top plate rubber insulator. Fixed that with a dremel and never had a problem with getting too hot even in California traffic!