Stupid questions from me about radiators.

[Powertechn2]

So, after sucking something loose during a combustion gas test, I need a new radiator. Leaking now.

I have seen the Alradco, which I like. But then I did just a general google search for 87 gn radiator.

Found a company called Champion Cooling Systems.

Anyone heard of them?

Anyway, now I am questioning if I need a 2 row, or 3 row rad, and what the fin count per inch matters when used with a fmic.

I planned on adding dual fans, likely without a shroud. I found a kit with a shroud, but I think this might affect low speed air flow through the i/c. The company for the fans did list that the shroud leaves enough opened room for highway cooling, but none the less, it is a much larger shroud than the stocker.

The company I send all the rad's from work to quoted me $96 min to repair, or $350 to re-core the stocker.

@ $350, I would likely just replace with aluminum, but there are so many options that I am left with the questions I stated.

Is the stock a 2 or 3 row?

The one in the car is a stocker, which was re-cored before per my buddy that had the car for 12 years.

Here is the Champion link. http://shop.championcooling.com/Per...-1983-1984-1985-1986-1987-Buick-Regal-SKU-162

I have spent about $1400 in the last 2 weeks on the car and trying to maintain some form of budget. I am not necessarily trying to be cheap, but trying to at least maintain some form of a budget for now, so Be Cool is out of the question. Car needs floor pans, rear quarter work, she's kind of a rusturbucket atm.

Oil cooler adapter is not being used right now, have a trans cooler mounted by itself, but it is only about 8"x10", so I plan on using whatever radiator I swap with's internal cooler, and the stand alone. I know you can drop an fbody rad in, and though about that till I found the Champion with lifetime warranty.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[Powertechn2]

Fwiw, I did try searching. Mainly came up with everyone aiming towards Alradco, or the F body...

All posts are old. Really wish when you searched here it would come up with newest post or thread dates first. A lot of the links are so old that they go to domain sellers. I don't want to comment on threads from 2004 lol.

 

[~JM~]

Try the actual "Search Forums" feature on the left side of the screen.

Or buy an ALRADCO.

PS. These are not Budget friendly cars.

 

[DR BOOST]

my car came with a champion radiator...it seems to work great. with the trans cooler being used , a/c on and a large front mount, the hottest it got was 190 in 80 degree stop and go traffic.

 

[Steve]

I have always used the F body radiator in turbo Buicks. Its cheap(~$90) and works very well. The downside is that it does not have an oil cooler like the stock radiator, but I haven't run an oil cooler on a turbo Buick in 25 years without any problems so I am fine with that.

 

[John Larkin]

I had mine recorded in brass for $250-ish seven years ago and it runs plenty cool. And the cooler connections fit for sure.

 

[captflash]

I put an Alradco in with the dual fans they sell too and end of cooling problems. I never see over 180 even on an August 90*+ day. And their customer service is exceptional

 

[m3x1c0]

Since you are getting the dual fans I'd say it's not necessary to go for the high dollar radiators. Get the Fbody rad and put the money into your rust problem or you wont have any car left to fix in a few years. I'm not sure of it's cooling capacity with a front mount but on mine with a single stock fan it works really well. Others can comment on experience with an FMIC.

 

[achalmersman]

RJC 315 front mount here with ALRADCO and stock fan. 90° days with AC off it stays 165ish

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

 

[DR BOOST]

i guess i should of added that I run a 180 deg. thermostat.

 

[TurboTnZ06]

I run the fbody one, at advance auto, get a $20 off coupon and the 99 rad will be 79. part number should end in 3918. I run separate external trans cooler and no oil cooler, just the precision remote oil filter kit.

 

[Coelacanth]

I put a Champion 3-core rad in my '70 Charger and it works great. I did the F-body rad swap in my GN and added a B & M engine oil cooler following a procedure documented at www.gnttype.org. It all went in with few issues, but reconnecting the tranny cooler lines to the new locations in the F-body rad presented some challenges. It's a bit of work but if you're on a budget, and live in Canada, it saves a big wad of cash. If I went with an Alradco, after shipping and exchange rates were factored in, it would've cost in the neighborhood of $800 CAD. With the F-body swap, including the fittings, hoses, external oil cooler and everything, I was into it for only about $250 CAD.

Had a few summer days here approaching 30*C (about 86*F) and the highest it got was 183*C.

 

[Ttype6]

The radiator with the best cooling ability will have one row of 2" wide tubes,but it will be custom made and will cost over $1,000.00.
There are 3 reasons that this type of radiator cools better.
!. Since there is only one row of cooling tubes,there is no unusual turbulence created by the spaces between the tubes as the air passes through the core and because of this,the air passes through the core at a greater rate.
2. Since there is only one row of wide tubes,more area of the cooling fins contact the tube removing more heat.
3.Since there are no spaces between several rows of tube,the core is as thin as possible.

The only reasonably priced radiator for our cars,that also has the trans and oil coolers,the petcock in the stock location,and the same size diameter inlet and outlet tubes,and the second most efficient cooling ability (two rows of 1" wide tubes) is the Alradco.

You can find an aluminum radiator on ebay that will fit and have 2 rows of 1" wide cooling tubes,but it won't have an oil cooler and it won't have the exact same diameter inlet and outlet tubes and it won't have the petcock in the stock location. I don't know if Champion is one of the companies that make one,but you can call them.

The third option is the F body radiator. It has 1 row of 1" wide cooling tubes and works very well,but you will have to move the fan shroud toward the radiator because the core is thinner and farther away from the fan. It won't work well if you don't get the fan shroud up against the thinner F body radiator core.

The number of rows of cooling tubes is not the important thing to look for. In fact,the more rows the less efficiency.
The important thing is the width of the cooling tubes.

To sum up,there are two options.
1. 1 row of 1" wide cooling tubs (F body)
2. 2 rows of 1" wide cooling tubes (Alradco and ebay).

 

[m3x1c0]

The third option is the F body radiator. It has 1 row of 1" wide cooling tubes and works very well,but you will have to move the fan shroud toward the radiator because the core is thinner and farther away from the fan. It won't work well if you don't get the fan shroud up against the thinner F body radiator core.

I agree with what you say till this point. Mine is not up against the rad and keeps it cool just fine. If there was an issue you could box it in with some weatherstripping. Easy peasy, no need to modify anything

 

[TurboTGuy]

I have a GN1 SUPER EXTREME ALUMINIM HIGH FLOW 3 INCH 3 ROW RADIATOR AND DUAL SPAL FANS COMBO KIT, a 160* thermostat and run a Precision Front Mount IC.

I live in Phoenix where temps regularly go above the 100* mark. When I do drive it in those temperatures my car runs 180*-190* max in stop and go traffic. If I run the A/C, it's a completely different story but I would say that's probably the same story for any TR with a large front mount.

In the non summer months, it's hard to get it to run above 170*,

 

[Ttype6]

I have a GN1 SUPER EXTREME ALUMINIM HIGH FLOW 3 INCH 3 ROW RADIATOR AND DUAL SPAL FANS COMBO KIT, a 160* thermostat and run a Precision Front Mount IC.

I live in Phoenix where temps regularly go above the 100* mark. When I do drive it in those temperatures my car runs 180*-190* max in stop and go traffic. If I run the A/C, it's a completely different story but I would say that's probably the same story for any TR with a large front mount.

In the non summer months, it's hard to get it to run above 170*,

How wide are the cooling tubes in your radiator?

 

[Ttype6]

If there was an issue you could box it in with some weatherstripping. Easy peasy, no need to modify anything

Which one will cool better,the shroud up against the radiator or the shroud 1" away from the radiator.

 

[TurboTGuy]

How wide are the cooling tubes in your radiator?

BTW, I do not use the oil cooler but the connections are there. I also run a separate trans cooler.

I'm not certain of the dimensions of the cooling tubes and no offence, but that's not my home work to do. Call GN1.

I just know the combo works, and it works well, so I thought I would tell you about it.

The dimensions on my set up are different than the Champion, too. 31x18x3. For a direct drop in combo the price is right too, at least in my opinion.

Good luck!

 

[TurboTGuy]

One more thing..... I run distilled water and RMI-25 coolant system treatment at the recommended mixture.

It has proven (to me) to be worth at least 10* cooler than a 50/50 antifreeze-water mix under any circumstance

If you have a leak or weak spot in your cooling system, this stuff will find it and expose that it's a problem.

 

[Powertechn2]

Since you are getting the dual fans I'd say it's not necessary to go for the high dollar radiators. Get the Fbody rad and put the money into your rust problem or you wont have any car left to fix in a few years. I'm not sure of it's cooling capacity with a front mount but on mine with a single stock fan it works really well. Others can comment on experience with an FMIC.

Yea, the rust is the main reason for trying to stay on some form of budget.

In theory I could spend as much as I want on the car, no kids, gf can bitch all she wants, but I seem to have selective hearing when the B-mode kicks in hahaha.
However, spending can reach a point where I would be better off just selling it and buying a nicer car to re-begin the process, which I am trying to avoid.

The car belonged to a buddy. Him and his late brother did the work on it, so it has a form of sentimental value I guess. The brother was a great friend, died in a m/c accident, then 2 years later or so my buddy has his knee broken off when it broke the handlebars off his m/c on the same road... It was about that time that he lost interest and just left the car sitting outside.


Ahh, I digress.

I ordered the Champion with fans, no shroud. We will see how it goes/works. The shroud covered the entire backside of the rad, which I think would have affected airflow through the fmic. I could have gotten the shroud and then swiss cheesed it like a few other buddies have, but then it is a waste.

The money saved from not buying an Alradco, or a Be Cool will be put towards the body/floors, and the now blown apart mufflers.

They offer a 60 day money back guarantee, which I hope to not have to use.

Will swap to the 160° t-stat and install the new Bosch water pump that I had purchased a while back while the rad is out. Also new hoses should be in order I guess.


Thanks for all the assistance and input fellas.