knucklehead Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 My 454SS needs a new rad, my mechanic says that where it has previously been braised and repaired is common to the radiator. It can not be permanently fixed to last? It is now leaking at the previous fix and not even under load. I looked at all the after markets and there are so many...which one do I choose... which one do I need? It is an AC car and 454 is being rebuilt back to original as close as possible. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Where is the leak? Brass radiators are usually easy to fix. The aftermarket will try to sell you an aluminum radiator: they are much lighter, but look completely different. I went with a Be-Cool radiator in mine, it works fine but didn't fit in the original mounting rubbers. As I said,( even if you were to paint it black), the square tanks on the aluminum jobs look like a modification from the original radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knucklehead Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 1 hour ago, wallaby said: Where is the leak? Brass radiators are usually easy to fix. The aftermarket will try to sell you an aluminum radiator: they are much lighter, but look completely different. I went with a Be-Cool radiator in mine, it works fine but didn't fit in the original mounting rubbers. As I said,( even if you were to paint it black), the square tanks on the aluminum jobs look like a modification from the original radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knucklehead Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 Wish i could send a picture, but the Monte is in Route 66 Garage and I can not get to the car. But the leak is just down from the filler neck, about 1 inch down on the side of the radiator. There is a glob of previous fix right there and radiator is still leaking or sprung a new leak from the same area. There seems to be a dozen after market rads out there, but which one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71MonteCarloMD Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 I went with aluminum radiator in my 350 as it has better cooling mechanism than original one and had no problem for several years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knucklehead Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 I found a replacement radiator on market place. supposed to have come from 71 chevelle SS454. The seller said he went aluminum so has had this one for a while and decided to sell. I bought, see pictures. The one in the front is the newly purchased and the one in back is what was in my Monte. The one I just purchased is much taller, I looked in the neck and counted four rows. I looked into neck of the one just taken out of the car and could only count 3 rows. Any help? Both same length but not the same height, is it possible some one installed a 350 rad into the car? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 That may have been in a chevelle but it's not for a chevelle. The chevelle radiator should be the same length and height as the one you took out of the Monte Carlo. What you have there is a radiator of a late 80's square body truck. Probably a suburban. The heater hose nipple on the tank below the filler cap and between the transmission cooler indicates so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Bad454 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 You bring up a good question. My 71 SS has a three core radiator as well. I've heard that non A/C cars had a three core but my car is an A/C car.. I am guessing that maybe ours got swapped over the years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 The 4 core radiator was an option. Heavy duty cooling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bell Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Unless you're concerned with original looks, an aluminum radiator will do just fine. It's been said that aluminum radiators that have their core epoxied to the tanks won't last. My epoxied Griffin Racing radiator has been perfect for what must be 30 years now. If you have an automatic transmission and you're up to the change, an external transmission cooler is always better than the stock style in radiator tank cooler. Always use a plate style cooler, not the bent tube style cooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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