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For information on radiators for classic cars and trucks please click on the link below
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At Classic Radiator we stock hundreds of new radiators for classic vehicles. Stock copper replacements, aluminum performance and universal fit radiators are always on our shelves. For any given vehicle application we may have several different versions from which you can choose. Stock three row, high efficiency three row, four row copper or various aluminum radiators are the most common radiators that we will offer you. Most of the radiators we stock are exact drop-in replacements because we feel you should spend more time driving your car than installing parts into it.
If a complete new replacement radiator is not available or if you require your radiator to be as OEM as possible we can recore your radiator. This way your original tanks and mounting brackets will be retained along with the original stampings, date codes and part numbers.
Most people are not aware of the different core designs available in radiators. Most copper radiators built from the late 1950's have two or more rows of 1/2" tubes. These tubes are usually about 9/16" apart from each other going across the width of the core. The count of fins per inch could also be as low as 6 fins per inch. In general, the more tubes and fins you have the more your radiator will dissipate heat. Going thicker is not always the best route however. As the air passes each row of tubes it picks up heat and is not able to cool the following rows as much as it did the first row of tubes. Four rows of tubes is about the thickest that is practical on a copper radiator in most cases. Sometimes four rows may not even fit in the vehicle due to limited fan clearance. The alternative is a high efficiency core that has the tubes on closer centers and a tighter fin count. By creating a denser core with tubes on 3/8" centers and 10 to 14 fins per inch a high efficency three row core will cool the same as a conventional four row core without increasing the core thickness.
Aluminum radiators are also available with different tube sizes. Most common is 1" wide tubes but 1.25" and 1.50" are also available. All aluminum cores are made with the tubes on close centers and a dense fin count. It is only because of the wide tubes and dense fin count that aluminum radiators cool better than copper radiators in most cases. If two radiators are built with the same exact tube sizes, fin count and tube spacing with one being copper and one being aluminum the copper radiator would dissipate more heat. Your choice of whether to purchase a copper or an aluminum radiator will generally come down to which of the following is most important to you. OEM authenticity, show polished appearance, weight or cost.
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