26 inch ECP in a 68 Dart
I am probably going to switch my son's car away from a Champion to a Griffin 1.25" tube cross flow rad. They run around $275, not the $620 that the direct fit Griffins cost. So 72Blunblu needs to recognize that there are multiple lines in the Be-Cool and Griffin brands, and IMHO is unfairly biasing the readers against them based solely on the cost of their more expensive product lines. This is not helpful to the general readership who are looking for the best cost and best cooling solutions.
I conservatively compute the cooling capacity to be in the 15-25% range better for the 2x1.25" row crossflows versus the 3x3/4" downflow Champion. We need to get better cooling capacity in the rad due to:
- the smaller early A body engine compartment not being as good for airflow IMHO
- having an AC condensor and external trans cooler up front of the rad.
The 3x3/4" Champion is just not doing it for overall cooling capacity at interstate speed, when moderate HP is being produced.
And FWIW I would pick a 2x 1" row rad over a 3x3/4" row rad for a slight overall cooling capacity advantage. The ECP's and Be-Cool's have that advantage. This does not include the apparent coolant flow limitations that some 3/4" tube cheap rads have been reported to to have. I can't shed any more light on that last issue; I am just relating what I have read on that matter, and have not really examined what is going on there.
I'm sorry, but in post #40 I mentioned
very clearly that both Be Cool and Griffin offer generic fit, cross flow radiators for less than the direct fit options. But those are generic cross flow radiators, they don't have their inlets and outlets in a stock location so you have to figure out hoses and routing. If that works for you, great. But yes, I based my cost comparisons on their "direct fit" radiators that had their inlet/outlet locations in the same place as the Champion, because that might be important and that's what the OP was talking about, a 26" core radiator with stock inlet/outlet locations. I'm just trying to compare like features.
The OP also mentioned that he has an automatic transmission and wants a built-in transmission cooler. Maybe I'm missing something (entirely possible!), but the cheapest Griffin or Be Cool radiator I see listed that has a 26" core and a transmission cooler that's narrow enough to fit is $368, and again that's a generic fit radiator with both outlets on the right hand side. Everything that I can find cheaper than that isn't a 26" core or doesn't have a cooler. What's the part # for the one that's $275?
https://www.summitracing.com/search/core-width-in/26-000-in/transmission/automatic?SortBy=DisplayPrice&SortOrder=Ascending&N=400030+400001+4294919216+4294949231+4294919254+4294949200+4294949199+4294914989
As far as your Champion not cooling at speed, I'm not sure what to tell you. Is it a 26" 3 core or a 22"? My Duster runs down the freeway at 80 mph with the temp gauge at 190* even when it's 100*+ outside. The electric fans never come on when the car is moving at highway, let alone freeway speeds, regardless of the outside temp or engine speed. When it's colder than 70* outside it will bounce off the 180* thermostat while on the freeway. And that's a 400+ hp, .060" over, 9.8:1 compression, iron headed 340. It doesn't have an A/C condenser up front (which is significant), but it does have a 26" radiator sitting behind a 22" radiator support. Heck, if your Champion is a CC374 I'll buy it. No kidding, shoot me a PM if you make the swap. Has to be a CC374 though and not the later, taller CC374B.
I'm not trying to bias or mislead anyone, and I'm not trying to argue. I'm just trying to compare apples to apples with a 26" core. I never said the Griffin and Be Cool radiators were junk, I never said they didn't work, heck I never even claimed they don't work
better. All I said was that the less expensive ones were generic cross flow, and that the more expensive ones are both more expensive and still not a perfect fit. That's it. My 26" 3 core champion works great, and I've already described what I had to do in order to install it (clearly its not perfect either).
