azblackhemi
Old Man with a Hat
Anyone have experience with cheap aluminum radiators? My 69 Monaco runs too hot so I found a 3 row aluminum radiator for around $150. Can it be any good at that price?
Cheap Aluminum Radiatores
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Probably not. I’m a firm believer in “you get what you pay for”…
57fury440
Well-Known Member
I've used several different ones over the years. I never had a problem with them.
I had one full (difficult!) semester of Heat Transfer in engineering school and I can tell you this: Paint it matte black.
From the web: The rate of heat transfer by emitted radiation is determined by the Stefan-Boltzmann law of radiation: Qt=σeAT4Qt=σeAT4, where σ = 5.67 × 10−8 J/s · m2 · K4 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, A is the surface area of the object, and T is its absolute temperature in kelvin. The symbol e stands for the emissivity of the object, which is a measure of how well it radiates. An ideal jet-black (or black body) radiator has e = 1, whereas a perfect reflector has e = 0. Real objects fall between these two values. Take, for example, tungsten light bulb filaments which have an e of about 0.5, and carbon black (a material used in printer toner), which has the greatest known emissivity of about 0.99.
Mick Jagger and I advise you to "paint it black".
From the web: The rate of heat transfer by emitted radiation is determined by the Stefan-Boltzmann law of radiation: Qt=σeAT4Qt=σeAT4, where σ = 5.67 × 10−8 J/s · m2 · K4 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, A is the surface area of the object, and T is its absolute temperature in kelvin. The symbol e stands for the emissivity of the object, which is a measure of how well it radiates. An ideal jet-black (or black body) radiator has e = 1, whereas a perfect reflector has e = 0. Real objects fall between these two values. Take, for example, tungsten light bulb filaments which have an e of about 0.5, and carbon black (a material used in printer toner), which has the greatest known emissivity of about 0.99.
Mick Jagger and I advise you to "paint it black".
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I certainly agree with that but I had great results with my fairly inexpensive repro Spectra CU332, which is not aluminum and was thoroughly coated in good black paint. Just checked....$326 at Rocky.
I paid $184 for the 4 row with an internal trans cooler in my V10 Fury and it is working great. I did have to "adjust" a couple of the mounting bolt holes but other than that no problems at all. FYI I bought mine from DH Racing Parts on feebay.
If you buy one of the cheaper ones and need to for a auto trans make sure it has a internal trans cooler. When I was shopping I noticed some of them didn't have one.
If you buy one of the cheaper ones and need to for a auto trans make sure it has a internal trans cooler. When I was shopping I noticed some of them didn't have one.
I got a 26" from ECP and have been happy with it. But double the $150 price. I had to modify the mounting holes slightly as my car has a 22" support, so the radiator was not a direct bolt in. And yes, I painted it black. Just because I didn't like the shiny aluminum. I Used Rust oleum BBQ ultra high heat. Its got a little gloss, not true flat like the regular high heat paint is.
ECP 26" Aluminum Big Block Mopar Radiator - Big Cooling Tubes
ECP 26" Aluminum Big Block Mopar Radiator - Big Cooling Tubes
71Polara383
Kid with ballcap
I got a cheapo 26" aluminum radiator off ebay in my 70 wagon. Works great. Way better than junky spectras.
Yogi
New Member
I put one in a 69 Fury 318/auto. For years, no problems. And I have one in a 71 New Yorker 440/auto. I've only had it thru 1 summer out here in Palm Springs area, But I think that is a good test of it's efficiency at 118 degrees f with the A/C on. I would not rule out a radiator just because of price.
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