Starfury

Champion's 3-row is not as efficient as a good 2-row aluminum with larger tubes. You'd probably be just as well off with a good 3-row copper/brass unit.

The entire point of an aluminum radiator is to house larger cores for more surface area to transfer more heat out of the coolant. Copper actually transfers heat better than aluminum, but it's not strong enough to be able to design a copper/brass radiator with 1" tubes. With an aluminum radiator, on the other hand, you can have tubes as large as 1.25" with the right aluminum alloy. The increased surface area allows more total heat transfer with fewer rows of cooling tubes.

A 2-row aluminum radiator with 1" tubes will have 2" of heat transfer surface area front-to-back. A 3-row with 5/8" tubes (ie. Champion) will have ~1.875" of surface area, and it will be more restrictive of airflow than the 2-row. This is why all of the good aluminum radiators out there use cooling tubes at least 1" wide. The better ones, like Griffin, will be 1.125" or bigger. With cores that big, a 3-row aluminum radiator just doesn't make sense. It would be restrictive to airflow, and not a lot of heat would get transferred from that final row because the air would already be mostly saturated.

There's a lot of marketing involved in selling radiators. Most people have no clue why aluminum radiators can be better than copper/brass and they don't want to fork for a Griffin or even a Northern, so they look for the economical option. The trick is finding one that doesn't sacrifice quality or cooling power vs the high-dollar options.

wgc68nyc

This topic is one of the most talked about subjects on the forum along with leaky cowl, floorpans, and carb selection. I wont pretend to be an expert but what I can tell you is that overheating issues are one of the most frustrating things I have dealt with. Paying another $100 to $400 over what you intially had hoped it would cost is so worth it just to be able to enjoy your car at whatever temp and look down and see this

w3!h311

I think Starfury made the point very clear. 2 row 1" tube is definitely better than 3row 5/8". However, it is not entirely true that the larger the tube the larger the surface area hence more heat transfer. There are better ways to accomplish large area without going into deep cores. Griffin certainly make one of the better rads in the market tho. I would never consider Northen, they have a facility with ZERO manufacturing capability, where they buy there stuff? China.

Starfury

Normally I'd agree, but I've heard good things about the Northern radiators from people I know that have them. 1" tubes, decent welds (if not pretty), and none I've heard of have blown up yet. Summit-branded radiators are actually Northern radiators in a Summit box.

TexasAxMan

Since JMD hasn't chimed in, I'll take up his cause.

A properly sized thermo clutch mechanical fan with a shroud will out-cool any electrical fan out there.

w3!h311

Northern used to buy from a company down in Alabama but they are now going offshore. That manufacturer used to be one of best in the industry but now they are close to bankruptcy...

My biggest concern about mechanical fan is the power draw from the engine. I would rather have all the HP to the wheels rather than pulling air thru. Electrical fan does a decent job for some good brands you can get high CFM and thin profile to make room for radiator upgrades.

67mustang302

Not necessarily. There are some pretty beastly e-fans out there and an electric motor can turn the fan a lot harder than the engine can 90% of the time(with the right motor). They're pretty expensive though. Most overheating issues are at idle or low speed driving in traffic, and e-fans can run at full speed when idling....mechanical can only run at idle speed. Still though, they do work pretty well.

A note on clutch fans though, they do NOT freewheel when they're disengaged. They're a hydraulic thermomechanical clutch, and because of their design will SLIP when they disengage. Most factory fan clutches operated on like a 60% slip or thereabouts. So the fan is still being turned at high speed, but only at about 30-40% of engine speed.

If you're going to spend the money on a radiator though, definitely get a good one. Most of them are junk designs, and if you get aluminum, definitely get one with at least 1" cores.

1965fastback

I've always heard good things about Griffin products in a 2 or 3 row setup. I do agree with Texas, a properly shrouded mechanical fan works wonders for any cooling system.

ynasef

About the radiator...Is Summit Racing's radiator a good radiator, worth the price and as good as they claim it to be? Does it matter that it is a dual row? Also are the tubes as large as they claim?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-380479/

wgc68nyc

I have no experience with the Summit ones. I would go with one of the brands mentioned by one of the guys here from Texas or AZ since they deal with similar conditions.

This subject has been covered in many posts before and you always here the same arguements:

aluminum vs cooper
more rows vs larger tubes
mech fan vs electric

Since you are in an especially hot area this is one areas where you will want to spend some money. Get one of the brands mentioned previously that no one is knocking (Griffin seems to be loved by all) and if you spend a significant amount of time stuck in traffic and you opt for an electric fan (which I do and did) then get a SPAL or the Lincoln fan.

Great info from a classic car rad shop out here:
http://www.caparadiator.com/aluminumvscopper.html

Lincoln fan info/install
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2006/10/Mark8Fan/