Aluminum vs brass radiator

[joeg]

I'm near completion of my 66 roadster chassis restoration and I am looking for advice about a radiator replacement for my 327 350hp. Is it worth the added $500.00 for the aluminum replacement? Will the brass function without over heating? As always any help would be greatly appreciated.

Joe G.

 

[WayneC]

General consensus is that aluminum is essential for an air-conditioned small-block car, and very desireable for all small-block midyears. That's not to say the copper won't work, just that many of the cooling issues reported by owners seem to be on cars that include aging copper replacements and the problem disappears after switching back to an original-style aluminum radiator.

Check out this link:

http://www.dewitts.com/pages/whyaluminum.asp

 

[Ol Blue]

joeq

Well, for purity, you should go with the aluminum, and perhaps even resale value. On the other hand if this is going to be a driver.......

I may have just been lucky, but I replaced my alulminum one with brass/copper in 1970.

Engine is a 350 with 12.5 to 1 compression, 3:70 gears and it never gets over 180, even running for hours at 3700rpm, or in traffic.

Could be I just got a good radiator. At any rate, I'm satisfied with it.
Ol Blue

 

[JohnZ]

'Ol Blue appears to have lucked-out with his; generally, the copper/brass "look-alike" replacements have about 30% less cooling capacity (heat transfer capability) than the original stacked-plate aluminum Harrison radiator, and have proven to be marginal in most applications. If you want to be assured of having no cooling problems and would rather look at the scenery going by instead of the temp gauge, there's no substitute for the Harrison reproduction from De Witt's.