New Aluminum Radiator

[mbstude]

Thought I'd followup on this. This morning I installed the new radiator from CGJ into my '51 Commander. The fit is perfect and the temp gauge needle reads a little lower now.

I could've painted it black and it would look "stock" at a quick glance.. But the Sanden compressor isn't stock either. Regardless, it looks just fine when driving down the road.

[Ron Dame]

I have just had an Avanti re-cored, with a heavy duty, US made core (not very light,fragile core) for $550. I looked at some far less expensive aluminum ones, but they are very light gauge. A good heavy gauge is almost as much as a good copper/brass re-core.

[sals54]

The main reason I went with the cheaper version is the fact that I'm not driving any of my Studes like I used to. Occasional jaunts on several weekends per year. Perhaps as many as several dozen times. So... that means the radiator is not going to "cycle" that many times in its life. When we drove these cars regularly, the radiator would "cycle" between hot and cold as many as 20 times a week. This is what eventually weakens the connection points in the soldered joints. Well, that and eventual rot. I have no intention of spending tons of money unnecessarily for someone else to enjoy, well after I'm dead and cold. They can do that for themselves when the car is worth much more than it ever will be in my lifetime. But that's just me.

[cbabfat]

Anyone with low cost radiators want to say WHERE they bought them? Just getting started on a 58 Commander so keeping the cost down at the moment is my top priority.

[rodnutrandy]

I put a 65 Mustang Aluminum radiator in my M series truck . Is it a two one inch tube radiator , came from Jeggs ! they have a lot to choose from . Mine fits between the radiator mount and gives more room , I replaced a 3 row brass radiator . I also put a high output water pump on and made sure no air could get around radiator. I run a 355 SBC .Before with my 180 stat , it ran about 188-195 and went up quick in town traffic and A/C could only be ran in country, now with same stat , it runs 177 in country and goes up slowly in town . I can run A/C anytime I want , it may get up to 198 in town , but goes right back to 177 when I get moving . when I leave home on startup , I can go in town (3 miles ) thru town ( about 2 miles ) and be on 155 . Very happy with Radiator . think it was about $235 .

[Mrkelly]

Your welcome Ray. Installing a CGJ radiator in my 62 GT Hawk was one of the best modifications to it I have ever done. I think a lot of folks on here don’t understand that living in Texas we drive these cars with AC in 100+ temps about 4 months of the year. We need all the cooling advantages we can get. GGJ is a first class operation, and the old saying is “ You get what you pay for. “

[Jeffry Cassel]

Paying a lot doesn't mean you get a lot; it just means you paid a lot. It might have been true years ago.

[GrumpyOne]

I checked out the CGJ website, and they recommend aluminum, but they also make very nice copper-brass versions. They are custom made, and didn't hint about the cost, but I would bet that they are good quality. I still prefer copper over aluminum, for the fact that I have seen radiators from the 40s and 50s still in service, while many cars 10 - 15 years old, are getting their aluminum (not repairable), radiator, changed out. I had the original radiator from my 60 Hawk, cleaned and pressure tested, and at 58 years old, it is doing great.

When is comes down to basics, the original copper/brass radiators were long lasting efficient cooling devices. Bear in mind that copper is a much better facilitator for heat transfer. I personally had the radiator on my Power Hawk recored a few years ago to a three row upgrade and yes, the core was a US manufactured exact fit and cost $500 at the time, worth every penny!

But that's just me, you're mileage may vary...

[jnormanh]

. Bear in mind that copper is a much better facilitator for heat transfer.

But that's just me, you're mileage may vary...

Yes, mileage will vary about heat transfer:

First off there are no pure copper radiators.

There are many brass (70% copper, 30% zinc) radiators.

The thermal conductivity of brass is 64.

The thermal conductivity of aluminum is 118, nearly twice as great.

Fact is, aluminum conducts heat almost twice as well as brass. An inconvenient truth., eh?

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-metals

[creegster]

Yes, mileage will vary about heat transfer:

First off there are no pure copper radiators.

There are many brass (70% copper, 30% zinc) radiators.

The thermal conductivity of brass is 64.

The thermal conductivity of aluminum is 118, nearly twice as great.

Fact is, aluminum conducts heat almost twice as well as brass. An inconvenient truth., eh?

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/t...ctivity-metals

Im by no means an expert, but I do know that you need a different type of coolant for an aluminum radiator. I wonder if the reason that many newer aluminum radiators are replaced after such a short time has to do with using incorrect coolant?

[jnormanh]

Modern (the past 25+ years) coolants work just fine in either. As far as I know, there is no brand of antifreeze you cannot use in an aluminum radiator.

As far as replacing aluminum after "such a short time", that's not been my experience. Our daily drivers are 22 and 14 years old. Both have the original aluminum radiators.

[bensherb]

As far as replacing aluminum after "such a short time", that's not been my experience. Our daily drivers are 22 and 14 years old. Both have the original aluminum radiators.

The only problems I've had with aluminum radiators has been with those without welded tanks. I've had the plastic tanks crack or leak at their seal several times. I have never had a problem with a core though.

After swapping the four row (re cored) brass radiator, that worked fine but ran on the hot side during the summer, in our '53 coupe (Chevy 350/4L60) for a two row all aluminum welded tank radiator, the temp dropped 40+ degrees during the summer's 102 to 108 temps. It was more than expected so we're thinking of going to a hotter thermostat now.

With the $125 (ebay) three row aluminum, welded tank, radiator I put in my GT (Stude 289 / 4L60) it now takes over 20 minutes to get to running temp when idleing, and that's with no fan. It used to take half that with the stock radiator, fan and shroud. I've been on travel so haven't been around enough to see how it performs on the road but expect similar results to that of the coupe.