[dmac]

Most of the time cooling problems are not the fault of the radiator. Timing, plugs, tuning, etc if correct will usually not require an other than stock radiator. Stock engines ran in traffic with air conditioning on in all kinds of weather. Unless you've added a lot of cubes and trying to use the same radiator should you really need to worry about the radiator. Overheating with a fully functional stock system is a symptom of something else. Missing flaps or shroud, bad tuning, or poor pump action should be optimized before a radiator is automatically added. A radiator may make your engine run cooler, but it may be just making up for a problem somewhere else. Of course, if you have a car built for the strip, with an engine built to run at higher speeds, you will have problems driving on the street. Maybe that should be the way the difference between street and strip or race cars should be defined. If it won't run on the street without cooling system modifications, it isn't really a street vehicle. There were plenty of muscle cars in the 400+ hp range that ran with stock radiators besides all the behemoths weighing close to 5000 lbs with every power accessory and less than optimum exhaust systems. You also need proper fuel. Octane a few points too low will raise the temp, in my experience. A 455 w pistons up out of the whole may have enough compression where higher octane is a necessity. If you are running 86, try 87 or 91. You may even need more. If you are experiencing any pinging at all, increasing octane may solve the problem. Last thing would be to completely remove the thermostat. Running cold shouldn't be a problem in Alabama, and I never had a car run cooler (170-180) than a 12:1 cr 400 with a stock cooling system except for flex fan without a thermostat. It only ever got hotter if I ran too low an octane gas. I needed over 105 octane.