QWKDTSN Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I know JTR complains about all-aluminum radiators but I know plenty of guys who run nothing but all-aluminum in any of their performance cars without any problems. The aluminum/plastic Camaro radiator, besides being impossible to find around here (I can get the right size core but it inevitably has the wrong end tanks on it), costs like $155. I'll pay an extra $30 for a nice aluminum radiator that fits and looks cool... what do you guys think? First hand experience with this model or others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 Its a great value and used by quite a few in the Forum. I had the same problem as you, locating a Camaro radiator that was right. My parts guy at the chevy dismantler tried 5 times to get the right one, the last one he was so sure was right, nope, to wide. I went to order a Griffin but at the time Summit (I didn't check Jegs, because Summit can usually fill my order to my door in 2 days, jegs about 4..) was back ordered. I heard about Howe Racing radiators from Blkmgk and SCCA Mike and bought that instead. I paid a shade over 200.00 for it, but it can be had for about the same price or close as the griffin I think. Either brand is nicely built and works fine. Mine has the taurus fan behind it and keeps the car cool in traffic with the A/C running, I can't complain at all about that.. Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z ya Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I had on in my current jeep. Its powered by an 500 cid caddy. Needless to say it would not cool that big boy down. I also was running a blk magic elec fan. I am sure it would work fine bihind a sbc though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Maudlin Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I would not go with an all aluminum radiator. They run fine for as long as they last, but they are not made for the street. They are made for the track where they are replaced at least once a year. If you plan on replacing yours frequently, I am sure an all aluminum will do fine. The Camaro radiator works great. The way to find one is to go to any radiator shop and ask for a Modine 952. Modine discontinued making them, but every other company out there says theirs is the same as a Modine 952. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I was also looking at the Grffin radiator. I found it for $161.00. So, what goes wrong with them? All cars now have aluminum cores with plastic tanks. Do the aluminum tanks have problems? Phil Hybrid Roadster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I purchased this exact radiator seven years ago. The width of the tanks of this radiator required me to have to widen the "frame" horns on the driver side by 3/4 inch. I simply decreased the narrowing portion of the frame deeper than it was OEM. It will fit in the late 260's and all the 280's with out frame modification as they are just the right width already. As for longevity, it is outstanding. I had the misfortune of running out of braking distance at Teton Hill Climb in 1998 and went off road down a grassy meadow hill, making three complete suspension compressing bounces before coming to rest. The radiator was undamaged and is still leak free as of today. I too read about supposed short life spans for these radiators, but it hasn't visited this radiator, and I guarantee you that the demands placed on it have been varied and many over the last many years. It cooled the 350 hp motor nicely, but seems to be at its limit with the 475+ hp motor in the car now. The tubing size is one inch. (X2) If you are planning on building a high output motor, you may find it that on really hot days it is at its max for cooling efficiency. A well sealed full shroud is a must to get all the efficiency out of any radiator regardless of size. Griffin builds a 1.5 inch version of this radiator, but it cost twice as much!?? Our local radiator repair guy has a trick epoxy gun which reseals all aluminum/plastic radiators. He says he replaces cores in much the same way as the brass ones, only instead of solder, epoxy is used for final sealing issues. I think the original perveyor of the short life span rumor may have had controlling interest in Anaconda Copper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 The stories of low life Al radiators is from the old days. The Ally was more brittle and prone to cracking from vibrations, same applied to the old ally fuel tanks. Welding and joining practices have allowed for the Al to not become brittle. Even so, I would think that by mounting the radiator to some type of rubber/insulators would help out as most OEM ally radiators are. The only reason I didn't go with one of these Griffin or similar units (they do look sexy!!), is because I found the Camaro one in a JY for $30. just my 2c worth. Tim [ October 31, 2001: Message edited by: Tim240Z ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I'll 3rd or 4th that - the Howe radiator i what I'm running and it's quality is excellent. Talk to the local circle track guys - yeah these are track radiators but onthe track they solid mount them and beat the crap out of them. Unless they really take a solid lick they tend to stay together I saw one that was tweaked noticably and still running fine in a car that raced every Friday night. The trick is to mount them correctly. Yeah, the track guys do stupid things wih the mounting but to get them to live urethane or rubber mounting is the way to go - nothing should rub them. The S10 mounts mentioned in JTR work pretty well up top but down low I had to cobble some rubber. Pics on my site of the fan mount who's idea I got from Pete. Rubber isolates it from the fan. On that jeep with the BlackMagic fan (cool name!) I'd toss the fan and put on a Taurus or Cobra fan. My Cobra fan puts out so much air I can feel it from behind the vehicle and I've seen it suck paper off the ground and hold it to the radiator! I don't have a shroud on mine either but it has NO problem cooling it right down. I believe I'd recommend the Taurus unit over the Cobra simply because getting two speeds out of it sounds easier, mine appears to be single speed for some reason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QWKDTSN Posted October 31, 2001 Author Share Posted October 31, 2001 Hmmmm, thanks for the replies so far, guys. I think I will go for this radiator as long as one thing gets cleared up. Idaho Z Car, you say that the frame rails require clearancing in a 240Z for this radiator to fit? I think the standard Camaro radiator is 25 and change inches wide, and unless I'm wrong and the 24" measurement is the core instead of the core plus the tanks, the Griffin radiator should fit.. right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I got this unit a little while ago and did not need to clearance for my 73 240Z. The radiator actually is a little smaller than the advertised dimensions. Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I am coming up on 2 yrs with mine, pushing 400+hp, with a monster I/C, large oil cooler and trans cooler in front of it. Overheating is not a concern even in FL. I think it helps that I have a mixture of ~15% antifreeze, and a bottle WaterWetter and RMI-25. I run a J/Y 16" fan that is in a full 19" shroud sealed to the radiator core. It does not have provision for a tranny cooler or petcock and you must fabricate mounts, but IMO, worth the little hassle and it looks good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Nion, It probably wouldn't hurt to ask the Summit guys to put a tape measure across the tanks about six to ten inches up from the bottom of their radiator before they ship it. Remember you will need at least an eighth of an inch on each side to fit between the rails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 My ex-girlfriend's dad swears by the aluminum Griffin radiators. In fact, all of his hotrods have Griffin radiators including one in his '69 Camaro. That car sees 5k miles every year and has been doing it for 5 years on that radiator. My family has a Chevy Astrovan that, get this, has 730k miles on it and has gone through 3 motors and 2 trannies in 16 years and only 1 radiator, I believe it is a Howe al. I believe these aluminum radiators are very durable contrary to what Indiana Z says IMO. I'm sure you can't go wrong with the Griffin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72zcar Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Do Griffin radiators come equiped with hookups for a auto tranny. I went with the 86 camero radiator from radiator.com part #965 I think. If anyone wants I can double check the part # on the receipt when I get home. I was just curious about the auto tranny hookups on the griffin for the next one, haha Web page: http://www.72zcar.50megs.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Hey Kim and All - I found an nice little write-up on aluminum radiators at www.stockcarproducts.com Follow "cooling systems", "aluminum radiators", then "technical information". They have the Griffin for 167.00, and a lot of other neat stuff! The only thing I didn't see was a chart with HP vs radiator size. Is there a rule of thumb on sizing? Or, is it the old "the bigger the better" thing again Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Phil, Great site. Thanks for contributing. They clearly have some good prices for the entry level radiators. I just can't figure out why it costs three times as much to increase the tubing size 50 percent. How about two one inchers back to back? Now that would be a "four core"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 7, 2001 Share Posted November 7, 2001 just wanted to comment that the 24x19 griffin fits fine in a 240, mines too new to comment on durability. sure does a nice job of cooling though. JW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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