Radiator advice

[Harlow]

My radiator is at a shop. The core is completely shot. They said that a new core was going to cost about 280. Should I just buy an aftermarket radiator from summit? It looks like they go for about 150. What would you do, and which radiator would you suggest? My original radiator is a 26".

[Charger-Bodie]

i personally would go with the recore and have it look factory!

[aifilaw]

really depends if you want it to look factory.... if not and you want efficiency... get the biggest aluminum radiator from wherever is cheap and provides a quality product that you can fit in there

[Charger1973]

I would go for aftermarket aluminum unless its a stock resto.     I think they look better and they are more efficient. 

[supserdave]

280 for a recore seems steep. If you don't care that it doesn't look stock, get an aluminum one.

[41husk]

$280 is not real bad for a recore, I paid $250.  I agree if you want to keep the stock look go recore if not get the after market.  I doubt there is the great a difference in cooling between a good recore and a cheep after market.

[terrible one]

Unless you are all about factory, get the aluminum man! For half price too. That's what I'm going to do. Get the aluminum one, drill a few extra holes, and keep the extra $200 in the bank.

[six-tee-nine]

Same for me....alloy radiator with electric fans will go into mine

[41husk]

In case you like going to a few shows, most local shows would not even notice a non stock radiator,  Infact, many of the small local shows around me don't even know mopars engine bays are body color

[70charger_boy]

Well, I just bought an aftermarket and I'm totally not happy with it.  i have a 26 inch too.  It didn't come with the trans cooler fittings.  I don't want to hijack your thread, but does anybody know what size the fittings are?

[zerfetzen]

Just out of curiosity, I went to Summit online, told it I need a radiator for a 69 charger with a 440 and manual (someday, right), and there were a few BeCool radiators, ranging from $500 to $1150.  They have notes at the bottom that say 350hp max, 400hp max with an electric fan.  That won't even support a stock 440 (underated 375hp, YearOne's crate 440 is 420hp)!

So where do you go to get a decent aftermarket radiator that doesn't cost a left arm, bolts right in, and actually supports some hp?

[4aThrill]

I found that Radiator. com has some good prices for a 71 Charger with a 383, a radiator would be from 128 to 400 depending on what I want stock or aftermarket. I didn't buy anything, since i am looking around for prices so far they sound like the best deal. They have live chat so that you can talk to them online instead on the phone.

[bull]

In some cases your original radiator can be worth lots of $$$ so I'd be somewhat hesitant to replace it completely, unless you plan on simply storing it somewhere. What numbers are stamped on the top? If your car is a '70 Charger 318 car and it's 26" you have a winner! Ding, ding! It's also a numbers matching radiator for an AAR Cuda or T/A Challenger, currently worth $350-$500.

At any rate, just be sure what you have before you get rid of it.

[70charger_boy]

In some cases your original radiator can be worth lots of $$$ so I'd be somewhat hesitant to replace it completely, unless you plan on simply storing it somewhere. What numbers are stamped on the top? If your car is a '70 Charger 318 car and it's 26" you have a winner! Ding, ding! It's also a numbers matching radiator for an AAR Cuda or T/A Challenger, currently worth $350-$500.

At any rate, just be sure what you have before you get rid of it.

Curtis, I have a 70 charger 318 with ac and a 26 inch radiator.  I have the stamp number, but it is at work.  I will post it later.  Well, I took my radiator to a shop to get a price on a recore.  I called the guy at least 5 or 6 times and he kept saying that he didn't get a price yet.  I remebered a while back that you sold a radiator like mine on ebay for 400 bucks.  So, I ran across a radiator on Ebay for sale in Rhode Island and began to suspect that the guy from the radiator shop was selling my radiator.  I went over there and he told me he threw it away. After, a couple of threats and police involvement he said he found it.  Thank god!!  I got it back, wich is great, but the guy actually charged me 20 bucks for a leak test.  He said it would cost $308.00 for it to be recored.  I bought an aftermarket on ebay and transferred my transcooler fittings on it and I tested it out today and it ran great! 

I know from hunting down a radiator for a few months it is really hard to find a 26 inch.  If your looking for an inexpensive radiator get a Silla radiator.  just make sure to keep your old fittings, overflow hose, and cap

[bull]

Yea, you really have to watch those guys. Some will try to rob you if they know what you have.

Your numbers should be 2998 974 like this one that's at $500 and still going: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-T-A-Challenger-AAR-Cuda-Radiator_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34201QQihZ006QQitemZ160147373267QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[70charger_boy]

Curtis, my numbers are 2998952 and there are numbers below it that read 18398.  I'm not sure if this is a big ticket radiator

[bull]

Curtis, my numbers are 2998952 and there are numbers below it that read 18398.  I'm not sure if this is a big ticket radiator

According to this chart (http://www.mopar1.us/radiator.txt) that radiator blongs to a C-body car with A/C and both auto and manual transmission:       

PART      YEAR    BODY DM   ENGINE     TRAN     HTR       REMARKS

2998952   1970   C       26       318       BOTH       A/C

18398 designates the factory where it was built. Most Mopar radiators have the 18398 number I believe.