Mustang aluminium radiator upgrade

Originally Posted by FATNFAST

I thought this was interesting.
U.S. Radiator Testing

That it is, and it confirms some of my suspicions about radiator material. thanks!

An aluminum radiator can be a great addition to your build; however those advantages are along the lines ascetic - in most cases - rather than functional.

Replacing a 10, 20 or 40 year old radiator; copper, aluminum, plastic or whatever … that was marginal in the 60's running in front of a 170, 200 or 225 (gross, not net) horsepower engine is a good thing for almost any reason you can think of. The point you really need to have clear in your mind is what you are trying to do.

I have and continue to say that a copper radiator is at least as good as a copper - if not better. I will agree that in aluminum is lighter, shinier and gives you a little more "street credibility". It makes great "frosting" on a nearly completed build, but in my honest opinion, is not the best or only solution for every over-heating problem.

I guess what I’m saying is best illustrated by my personal decision. I will change over to an aluminum radiator eventually, but its not because the copper radiator is bad. I’ll make the change because I have the spare money, because it looks good and because it’ll add a little to the “bling” factor.

Maybe I have it totally wrong, maybe once I make the change-over I’ll be another rabid convert to the benefits of aluminum radiators – but so far, I have just not seen the benefits that make me want to rush that decision.

By the way – all of the contributions have been great. You guys have given a lot of information on what fits and how to make it work in Mustangs. Maybe my reluctance is based on my non-Mustang addiction?

I value the original look. The 2 things that almost swayed me to going aluminum is that my 4 row copper 26" wide radiator is very, very heavy. The second reason I see for going to aluminum is for the cross flow effect. The rows are longer and that will help to improve cooling.

There is even a bigger advantage to someone using a pre-70 setup that has both the upper and lower radiator hoses on the passenger side. There is an aftermarket aluminum cross flow designed for that type of application too. It has a baffle that makes the coolant go from the passenger side of the radiator to the drivers side, and then back again to the passenger side. I think that this system would offer the best cooling of all current designs.

I have to agree with the benefits of cross-flow, the longer you can keep the coolant in the air stream (up to a point), the better will be its ability to transfer heat to the air stream. Crossflow designs are generally an improvement over the earlier 50's - 60's designs.

Originally Posted by ZephyrZ7

Now I'd bet an extremely hot summer day in Ontario Canada isn't quite the same thing as an extremely hot summer day in Texas! The birds here use oven mits to pull worms out of the ground on those days!

Seriously though, how hot does it get and what kind of humidity do you see? I've been torn as to whether or not I should go with an aluminum rad. or not but I keep hearing conflicting stories as to what is better.

We get some days in the 90s and the humidity can add another 10 or 15 degrees to that so yes it does get pretty hot up here in the great white north...I went to a wedding about 10 years ago where some of the groom's family came up from Texas to attend the wedding here...The wedding was outside in the wide open(no shade) and the guys could not believe how hot it was here(as they were sweating in their suits)...I guess they were expecting snow :

It's difficult to say how the aluminium rad would compare to the stock style rad if I had of gone with it instead..The stock rad always worked well with the 300ish hp 302...One other thing I have noticed is there is a tremendous amount of heat given off the top side of the motor...I'm imagining since it has aluminium heads and intake alot of heat is disappated upwards to the air that wasn't with the stock cast iron heads...This likely helps keep the water temps down a little as well......The only other aluminium rad swap I have done was in my old 1982 F-100 with a 300 six banger...I changed from a 3 core copper rad to a single core aluminium...The aluminium rad was far superior...I had an electric fan on a toggle switch and after the switch to the aluminium I rarely ever had to turn the fan on.

I believe that the aluminum radiators are more efficient than brass.

I replaced a 3 core brass radiator on a 65 mustang with a 2 core aluminum. The guy had installed the 3 core 2 months earlier but it was unable to keep it cool. The motor was a near stock 289 and once the aluminum radiator was install no more problems...

Question... If brass radiators were better...Why did auto manufacturers switch to aluminum? Just a thought.

Steve

Originally Posted by ammosteve

I believe that the aluminum radiators are more efficient than brass.

I replaced a 3 core brass radiator on a 65 mustang with a 2 core aluminum. The guy had installed the 3 core 2 months earlier but it was unable to keep it cool. The motor was a near stock 289 and once the aluminum radiator was install no more problems...

Question... If brass radiators were better...Why did auto manufacturers switch to aluminum? Just a thought.

Steve

....Like all things in modern cars... The switch over to Aluminum was based on cost and weight.

There is no denying that aluminum weighs less. The weight savings contribute to epa/dot - fuel economy, weight classifications, etc. But remember, most aluminum radiators are fitted with plastic tanks too. Every wonder why Aluminum radiators are replaced, not rebuilt? Just a thought?

A brand new radiator can't fix a overheating problem. They're so many factors for an overheating: head gasket, cooling circuit dusty,...

Originally Posted by Sponge

A brand new radiator can't fix a overheating problem. They're so many factors for an overheating: head gasket, cooling circuit dusty,...

Well I guess that depends on whether the problem was with the rad or not?..As hotrodders we tend to do lots of stuff with cars that the factory never intended when they designed the cooling systems(strokers or just big hp increase over stock).