Thread: Radiator suggestion

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Who's radiator would you use? Aluminiun vs brass? Internal or external trans cooler?

I am using a Brookville grill shell, radiator support rods. 283 .060 over and 700r trans.

Ed, you're probably gonna get all kinds of opinions on this one, but my vote goes for Griffin copper/brass with tranny cooler.

Griffin copper for me, work great, last a long time. I've switched to the inline coolers and mount them on the frame rails. A car like that probably won't see a lot of time on gravel roads.

Remamber that an internal cooler also warms your trans fluid on a cold start. Up here in the frozen north thats important.

We use brass radiators from US Radiator, with external trans coolers.

I am in the middle of my 32 build. I spent more than 40 hrs over 2 months researching radiators for street rods. Names such as Be Cool, PRC, Walker, AFCO, US Radiator, Griffin and customs like Ron Davis, McCullogh.

Whether you go brass/copper or Aluminum I have concluded boils down to personal preference. As an engineer I can tell you that it is easy to spin technical pro or con in either direction; in the end they are both successful materials for radiators with many many successful applications in each case.

To me the size/capacity of the 32 radiator makes the use of internal cooling tanks undesireable. I live in Texas so cold ain't much of an issue. But then there are also thermostat control external trans cooler circuits available.

I bought an AFCO 32 Roadster Aluminum all welded rad and I am quite pleased with the quality. It also fits my bobbed/pinched front end with its standard lower tank. I am a tad leary of epoxied tanks/tubes. I have gotten advice in here that the upper rod support bracket may need to be reinforced.

Good Luck! Kitz

I used a griffin on mine with a internal tranny cooler.

Thanks for everyone's input on this! Griffin seems to pop-up the most and is the one recommended by people that I've met at car shows. One builder had an over-heating problem, switched to a Griffin radiator, runs 180* all day long.

One concern with a radiator made of aluminium is with the brackets for the grill shell and radiator supports fracturing due to vibrations over time.

I want to run the internal tranny cooler, I think it would be more effective in front instead of underneath the car.

Also went with a Griffin. Not sure about the brackets fracturing over time issue but, what convinced me, was the fact that most of todays cars are running aluminum rads for a reason. HB32

Bought a Walker 4-core in 1985 for my 32 highboy.

Plugged the trans cooler and run an external one.

1993 got the car running.

The radiator did pop one horizontal seam at the top tank, got that repaired and no more trouble.

I also went to a 7# cap as recommended by the radiator shop.
(A 16# was on there previously.)

What I like about the copper/brass radiators is that they are serviceable in the field.
Far as I know that's not gonna happen with an aluminum radiator.