radiators

I upgraded to a 4 row copper 6 years ago, but can't say how much better it is because I didn't drive it in the summer with the 2 row and the AC condenser in front of it.

I am planning on putting the biggest crossflow aluminum radiator I can fit, because the 4 row copper can't keep it cool with the AC on.

My three row copper does just fine in the hottest rush hour traffic (it was 32C here the other day). Just be sure to make or buy an overflow (AKA catch-can) or every day you will short a little more coolant.

copper does theoretically ***transfer heat*** a WHOLE lot better than aluminium. problem is that in a radiator it doesn't have enough time to. Copper is much better for small scale things like computers, aluminium will give you the better bang for the buck esp because it is only like 1000000 lbs lighter than a Cu core. get a nice 2-3 row aluminium one, i got a 3 row aluminium rad, and aside from the crappy mech fan i have it keeps it cool right up to the waiting in 100 degree heat not moving for 20 minutes. !!! i'de look into moving the battery tray and going for a wide rad personally.

I spent over a year trying to keep my 66 cool

I had a 289 bored 60 over, and I never could keep it cool.
I tried 4 core copper.
I tried 2 core aluminum.

Heres sumary of what I learned.
aluminum as a conductor of heat is not as good as copper.
The heat transfer though is more dependant on the surface are of the pipe used in the core than it is on the metal type.

A 2 core aluminum transfers heat better than a 4 core copper only because the diameter of the core pipe has to be kept small on copper or it will split. The aluminum core uses larger pipe becaue the aluminum can hold the stress without bursting. So the larger diameter aluminum gives the same (or more) surface area as the 4 core copper, thus it can dissipate the heat from your engine better.

Single most important lesson I learned though .. The material or number of cores is almost irrelevent compared to cutting that hole bigger and putting a 390 radiator in.

After I had spent over a year trying to keep my engine cool, had finally warped my 289 block, I spent an hour cutting the hole bigger and putting in 1968 radiator mounts and a 390 radiator.
End result is my 347 stroker now runs perfect temperature in 100 degree Texas summers.

Don't waste your time on more cores, aluminum, water wetter, all that junk, I tried it all, byte the bullet, put in a bigger radiator.

Copper does transfer heat more efficiently than aluminum. It's the rigid aluminum that allows the use of a larger tube and a larger, fin to tube contact surface that makes the aluminum radiator transfer heat better. John

Cobain03: do you have an electric fan?

electric fan would help alot. it will cool much better and you'll gain a little power by taking it off the motor

That's not what I was getting at. If you have an electric fan with a thermostat on/off, then the fan will switch in when the car gets hot (195-200* is about right). That, in turn, can draw a lot of current from your alternator. When that happens in my car, the extra load on the alternator draws my idle down 100-200 RPM. I was thinking that that might be Cobain's problem. If so, set the idle up 100-200 RPM to compensate. If you don't run an electric fan, then ... nevermind.

I'm running a four core copper rad. which the previous owner put in and I have never had any overheating problems. However, I have a mostly stock 289 and a flex-a-lite fan with shroud and if I were to do it again I would opt for an aluminum, both for looks and better cooling capacity.

everytime i hear of a car running warm, it always has a common factor, using a electric fan..including mine. All my buddies with strokers and belt driven fans have less problems

nevermind, I need to start a new thread

Wow, lots of different answers. I think some of this has to do with no one Mustang is the same as the next. There can be many different causes for your motor over heating that have nothing to do with the radiator. For instance, I've heard that if you over bore your block, making the walls too thin, you will most certainly have cooling issues. Also, your coolant passages on our 40 year old blocks could be restricted. Your water pump may not be pumping enough water. Heck even a worn out therostat and bad radiator cap could cause over heating. Not to mention old coolant.

The point I'm trying to make is that you have to look at your entire cooling system not just the radiator. I think everyone kind of made that point when some stated 3 core works great, Brass 4 core is best, Aluminum is better...etc. My personal opinion is to check how well your block is flowing coolant. Next check out your water pump and ensure it's pumping lots of coolant. Replace your thermostat with a 180*, a new 13lb cap, and fresh coolant mixed properly. Make sure you have a shroud or an electric fan on your radiator. You need a overflow catch of some sort to ensure you don't run low on coolant.
After all that has been checked and fixed if you still have a problem then I would suggest a good aluminum radiator like a Griffin. I suggest aluminum because there's a good reason modern cars don't run copper radiators any more, and it's not because they're heavier...they don't cool as well as an aluminum.

There's my 5 cents

Cobain03 said:

the motor was rebuilt this year, so the block should be flowing good. waterpump is a couple of years old.

im gonna bite the bullitt and buy a 4 core copper and a stock fan shroud (i have a home made one now) and throw on a steel 5 or 6 blade fan (flex fan there now). gonna pull the electric fan (pusher) and put it up and put a catch can somewhere.

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Although your setup might work, you would be happier if you increased radiator width for more air flow.