I'm looking to replace my radiator and want to get a good one. Can anyone recommend a good one to buy at a decent price.
I have a champion in mine (250 I6 warmed over) , wife has a fennix in hers (built 302) but I swear its the same radiator. both work flawlessly. hers has a 16" elec fan, mines a flex fan old school mechanical. +1 on the champion.
I have the Champ 3row. It is a little thicker than stock unit. Also, U will need to notch the front cross member below the drain petcock to open the valve; if it's made in same format as mine...
You do not need to notch the crossmember or anything else. The Champion radiator sits in the Maverick/Comet a half-inch too low, so what you need to do is drill 4 new mounting holes 1/2-inch lower than the lowest existing mounting holes (on the radiator, not the car). It will then bolt right in and everything will work just like the stock radiator.
You don't need a 3-row unless you really want one. The 2-row Champion aluminum radiator cools every bit as good as the stock 3-row. If you are getting a stock radiator, then I would definitely get a 3-row.
I also have the Champion 3 row. As noted the drain is unusable if you use the stock mounting holes. No big deal as you can just pull the lower hose. I also spent the extra $ and got the shroud and fan and it works perfectly. Its real tight with the v8.
Speed Cooling out of Chicago Ill. makes a nice looking one at a reasonable price but I have no experience with them.Do get a good fan & shroud because the eng. will cool down much faster.A friend of mine custom built me one,4row with a shroud & a Spal fan,said it would work up to about 700 HP.He used to build them for circle track cars out of NC.
The only negative I have heard regarding some aftermarket radiators (not calling out Speed Cooling or anyone else) is that the cooling fins are so delicate that virtually any contact will bend or flatten them. Best advice is to put a given brand name in a browser and see what experience people have had with them.
