Hi all

Looking for a radiator for the girls 67' El Camino "Rosie"

After some slight mods and Hot hot Palm Springs Ca weather the (what appears to be) original radiator is letting go.

Summit lists the GRI-6-568AM-BAX Griffin alum radiator at $460 that seems a touch pricey.

The 68' Summit radiator is $319 but does not have mounting tabs or dimention for a 67'

Any advice or pointers in purchasing an upgraded radiator would be helpful.

BTW? How much motor can a copper / brass 3 core down flow radiator support?

TAD

Tad, before my fan through the radiator trick my '65 has a regular 4 core brass/copper downflow. I cannot tell you that the BeCool hijacked from my '67 does any better of a cooling job. Why not get a regular brass/copper replacement - save some money for whatever?

Thomas

Check with Don @ www.chevellecooling.com

Take it to an honest radiator guy who does good work and ask about a recore/recondition. Could save lots of $$$, cool just fine, fit perfectly, and look stock. Do you tow trailers in the summer in the desert with AC on? Stock HD radiator is adequate for that, provided its in good condition.

My $0.02

Well I found some middle ground between the BeCool and the factory replacement.

Summit Extreme Duty radiator
PN SUM-380325 25"L x19"H $169
Page 169 in the newst summit catalog Just weld on some
tabs and your good to go.

County Radiator had the factory replacment radiator
for $169. The main differnce is it will need an external
trans cooler.

So I also ordered a B&M Super Cooler
BMM-70266 28,000lbs. GVW cooler. $59
Page 176 in the newest Summit catalog.

Could have spent les money but I assume I will get
some nice product and Rosie and Crystal will be cool
for years to come.

Sounds like a good solution, trade some fab work for a lower price. You'll need to fab some brackets for the fan shroud too.

Tad, I just now see that Rosie has taken a spin on your dyno wheel - why would you do that to such a tired car?

Thomas

>>why would you do that to such a tired car?<<

Thomas I dyno tired cars all day long! Ok alteast once a week at work. Needed to get some idea of how tired she is. Also found that the 327 makes 190RWTQ but only 100 horse. Also found out that the car losses all power above 4K RPM and thats why freeway milage sucks. Poor old Rosie is giving all shes got to not be a rolling roadblock on the "middle of the desert" 10 freeway. There is a major bottle neck somewere in there. In addition the old Q-jet was producing a 15.5:1 AFR at WOT and merge throttle angles.

http://members.aol.com/factoryplum/images/rosienewenginepaint01.jpg

OK here are some pics of the new radiator.

Funny the cooler I get this tired orld iron motor the better fuel mileage it gets.

http://members.aol.com/factoryplum/images/rosierad01b.jpg

nice little deal for under $200

http://members.aol.com/factoryplum/images/rosiesnewsmile.jpg

Rosie smiles once more.

Okay, so I see you went with an electric fan as well. Does it operate manually or with a toggle switch?

Horsepower is over rated, 190 rear wheel torque is decent for a tired 327/powerglide.

Guessing at 10% converter rpm loss and 26.5" tall tires with 3.08 gears, I come out with ~ 3,200 rpm at 75 mph and ~ 92 mph at 4,000 rpm. Are you really cruising the 10 freeway at 4,000 rpm?

Thomas

OK here are some pics of the new radiator.

Funney the cooler I get this tired orld iron motor the better fuel mileage it gets.



nice little deal for under $200

http://members.aol.com/factoryplum/images/rosiesnewsmile.jpg

Rosie smiles once more.

Are those Hi speed tyraps holding on the front plate!!??? ;) great job on the radiator. looks great

Yes themz aaarrrre high speed tyraps holding them there plates.

"pick your corner go to work"

Bomber '67
Freeway speeds are 75-80 mph says the old speed-o. At 80 MPH I'm just hanging in there with the slow traffic on the 10frwy. That is if the speed-o is correct. Guess I should have paid more atten to that on the dyno. Doh!~ Since the blinker tach needs a refurbish I'm not sure what the RPMS are.

>>~ 92 mph at 4,000 rpm<<

We don't go above 85MPH even down hill I keep it to 80. The front supsention is tired. If a ball joint (insert part of choice) were to give out at that speed some serious carnage would occur so I keep it around 75. Fast enough not to **** off the locals, slow enough to have some control incase Murphy drops in unannounced.

As for the radiator, The mechanical Walmart Special ECT gauge is checking in at 150 in SoCal heat and 160 in the desert heat. No gauges on the Glide but the extra capacity and better cooling has to be good.

The milage is what kills me. We got 200 miles out of 13 gallons! Rosie has never done that in our care, till just now after the radiator swap.

Nick Thanks for the web site. That is just what I've been looking for. However, I do have a burning question regarding tank types

Q: Is there any advantage to a cross flow radiator over a top tank one?

Cardiac,

I would assume that the cross flow setup would be better by design.
But what really matters is the material, core thickness, seal at the high pressure air flow areas, fans, capacity, inlet and outlet size and thermostat.

One of the benefits of the crossflow radiator is that it places the radiator cap on the suction side vs. on the pressure side of a downflow radiator.

The more you talk to radiator people, the less sure you will be about what is good and what is less good.

Single pass vs. multi pass:
Some say that it allows for more cooling time in the radiator.
Others say it leaves coolant in the block for too long.
Still others say it dramatically and negatively changes pressure and flow volume needs.

1" vs. 1.25" tubes in aluminum radiators:
Some say it gives additional cooling area.
Others say that it decreases turbulence and hurts heat transfer.
Still others say those still selling 1.25" tubes do so to get rid of old stock.

Electric vs. clutch fans:
Remind me again why 100% of heavy duty applications call for a thermostatic fan clutch - yes, because a good 7 blade engine driven fan will outflow electric fans. Of course electric fans draw less horsepower overall, eliminating fan drag but increasing alternator load. But explain to me all the different amp draws of similar cfm rated electric fans? And what is really up with the same fans marketed by different companies showing different cfm ratings - what is the true cfms? How do free flow cfms compare against actual flow when placed behing a radiator?

Aluminum vs. copper brass:
Get a couple of thermal engineers going on this and the debate may suprise you.

Well, you get the idea.

Thomas

LOL,

Isn't hot rodding fun and easy?