Champion Radiator.

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Sloan 1

Sloan 1

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Recently purchased a champion radiator with the shroud an dual fans. An according to the add online was under the assumption my mistake it would come assembled. Anyhow I received it a few days later an when I test fit the radiator one of the bolt holes in the mount was off. Called sales were I purchased it an made them aware of the issue an they said I could return it on my dime an that when they received it they would refund me. So I decided that I could make it work. So now after haveing to buy the hardware to mount the fans to the shroud an the hardware to mount the shroud to the radiator I went to mount the shroud an 2 of the 4 mounting holes will not line up so I will half to redrill them
I am very disappointed in the quality of the welds an the fitment. Just thought I would share.
Thanks FABO!
 
Almost every thread about Champion radiators has stated that the mounting holes don't align.
 
Mine didn't align either. ...... oh wait ..... I put a 26 inch in where a 22 inch was ....lol...... I have not had any issues with mine, so far im satisfied. I still need to build a shroud but it runs cool.
 
It went in a 1969 valiant is what it's in. It's just not a quality product. Welds look like something I would have done. Large scratches in the tanks. Had to redrill 1 hole on the radiator an 2 on the shroud because they are not even in the same area. No quality control of the finished product is all I can figure because it wasn't beat up in shipping.
 

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They have their small issues, but for the price you can't beat them. I am very satisfied with mine.
 
I'm going through the same thing right now. All four of my mounting holes lined up, but the bracket that the shroud bolts to on the right side is bent out about 1/4" and the shroud holes don't line up. I contacted Ledfoot Footracing, and they referred me to the manufacturer because "their tech guy was unavailable". The manufacturer called me back today and said that they have a lifetime warranty against defects in workmanship which this clearly is. He told me to call Ledfoot back and tell them to issue a replacement. I would have to pay shipping back to California and then they would ship me a new one. I think if I could straighten the bracket about 1/4 inch, everything would be fine, but I don't want to damage the radiator and risk not having them take it back.

My question to the original poster is how did you mount the shroud to the radiator? There isn't much room between the bracket and the radiator to put a nut, and even if you could fit a nut in there, how did you hold it to tighten the bolt? Here is a picture of the worst corner of the bent bracket. The circle that is scribed on the bracket is where the mounting hole should be, why they drilled it a half inch lower I have no idea?

BAE7A7A6-AD19-4B82-B538-9CE787C0A4CE_zps0qorfxid.jpg
 
My 4 core fit in nicely all I had to do was elong the slot on the right side to fit in my 69 dart. You can use well nuts to hold the schroud tgo the radiator.
 
It is pretty well documented that they don't fit 100% correct.
I bought mine probably 4 years ago and knew this.
I had to modify the mounting point on one place to bolt it to the original mounts.
As far as the shroud goes, a stock one will not work.
How can you beat the price, when I bought mine it was less than $200 shipped.
 
I have 22" champion,holes were off also.I used a factory shroud,but had to add strips to it to seal it to radiator.To mount the shroud I drilled and tapped the bracket itself to 1/4 20 and used short bolts.Plenty thick enough to hold the shroud.
 
Just did this myself. I got a champion radiator from led foot racing, their shroud, dual fans, and their wiring kit. My lessons learned: the fans are Chinese and can be found on line for half as much ditto the wiring kit, which did not even include the male plug ends needed to connect to the fans. One of the mounting holes on the shroud was wildly off the mark. Also, I called led foot to ask their tech guy what the thread size was on the radiator line holes - their tech guy was out, and the guy I was talkining to didn't know, and had me call champion (it's 1/8 NPT ). All that being said, despite being jacked up on the fans and the wiring kit, and the piss poor customer service, I like the radiator and the shroud. The radiator dropped in and the mounting holes all lined up with the stock mounting holes. I think for the price the champion radiator is a good deal. The attached pic is the radiator in my 68 Dart. It's all plumbed up now and no leaks.
 

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That's the exact same thing that happened to me in the last 24 hours. Shroud mounting was off. Ledfoot referred me to the manufacturer because their tech guy was gone. How can they keep kicking out these radiators with all of them having the same defects?!?

I like the idea of the well nuts to bolt the shroud to the radiator. I just have to gently persuade the bracket over where it belongs.
 
What has the world come to when piss poor craftsmanship is "acceptable". I don't give a damn what the price is. It either fits, or it's junk. Seems to me that their lousy quality control has been a on going problem for years. So one can assume Champion has no plan to improve on it. Ok I just took my prozac so I feel better now.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
What has the world come to when piss poor craftsmanship is "acceptable". I don't give a damn what the price is. It either fits, or it's junk. Seems to me that their lousy quality control has been a on going problem for years. So one can assume Champion has no plan to improve on it. Ok I just took my prozac so I feel better now.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
Brian T I used 1/4 u nut an started with the shroud holes that lined up which were at the bottom. Then redrilled at the top an used 1/4 x20 sheet metal screws. Decided it was cheaper to fix the issue than pay $50 to ship back. You just half to be careful when you drill the holes.
 
That's kinda what I'm thinking at this point, it's cheaper just to fix it myself. That is unless I destroy the radiator trying to move the bracket!
 
They bend pretty easy. Figure your depth on your bit an tape it so it will only go to that depth. Just a suggestion. Not a real good picture hope it helps.
 

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Yeah, I figured I could put a paint stick in there also to catch the bit before it goes too deep.
 
Here's mine in a 68 Dart GTS. Mounting holes had to be messaged a little but nothing to bad. Haven't run it yet waiting on Mother Nature. Overall pretty happy with fit.
 

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Or you could buy a perm-a-cool for 500 bucks..... I mean, come on! You jumped at the cheapest part you could find, then complain about craftsmanship?? I have a champion in one of my cars. I had to "egg-shape" two of the mounting holes. It's worked fine. I think I gave 177 bucks shipped. The ole' saying lives on, ya get wat ye pay fer.... lunch meat isn't steak, my friends.
 
I ended up taking a ratcheting motorcycle strap and two blocks of wood to pull the shroud mounting brackets back where they should have been in the first place. I used some speed nuts from a car speaker installation to hold the shroud to the bracket, and hardware store nuts and bolts to secure the fans. I did have to drill one additional hole in the mounting bracket but other than that, it was a pretty simple installation.

84C9BA01-5279-4F91-9FD3-EB68B071846A_zpsxeseo20b.jpg


I did my research on Champion radiators before I bought this set up, I knew what I was getting into...
 
Makes me want to fit mine before the motor goes back in.....and heli-coil that one stripped hole.

FYI, my dad bought that shroud and fan combo and his 440 overheated. It ran cooler with nothing than it did with that combo functioning.
 
dano said:
FYI, my dad bought that shroud and fan combo and his 440 overheated. It ran cooler with nothing than it did with that combo functioning.
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Do you know how many rows were in his core? Mine is a 4 row core that supposedly supports up to 650 hp. I don't know how accurate that is, but that is what they claim on their website.
 
I love the Champion radiator in my Duster. 26" 3 core. Yup, had to drill new mounting holes in the flanges. The mounting holes look like they're generic, I wouldn't be surprised if they're not even for an A-body application. But I was going from a 22" radiator to a 26" anyway, and knew they wouldn't line up anyway.

I wasn't even going to consider messing with that dual fan set up. Has "junk" written all over it. I installed a dual fan set up from a Ford Contour. I paid $100 for a brand new Dorman reproduction, the OE Ford fans flow 3500 cfm on the high setting. Which never gets used, even when it's 100*+ outside. Even with my .060" over 340 with 9.8:1 compression and a Lunati 60404 cam. I actually went to the electric fan set up because my car was taking 30+ minutes to get up to operating temperature with a mechanical fan (no clutch).

IMG_1558_zps3b79216a.jpg
 
BrianT said:
I ended up taking a ratcheting motorcycle strap and two blocks of wood to pull the shroud mounting brackets back where they should have been in the first place. I used some speed nuts from a car speaker installation to hold the shroud to the bracket, and hardware store nuts and bolts to secure the fans. I did have to drill one additional hole in the mounting bracket but other than that, it was a pretty simple installation.

84C9BA01-5279-4F91-9FD3-EB68B071846A_zpsxeseo20b.jpg


I did my research on Champion radiators before I bought this set up, I knew what I was getting into...
Click to expand...

Brian, which radiator do you have and was the shroud and fan combo part of the kit? The shroud I got has the fans side by side and not hi and lo like yours.

Bill
 
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