[grandville455]

looking at possibilty of changing out the rad, this car has always ran warm since i put this new 400 block in. thinking my old 3 core isn't enough anymore!! How good are the 3 core champions? Worth it? quality is good?

[BruceWilkie]

I've got a 4 core Champion. Fit is fine just minor trimming of upper shroud where it goes over the radiator. The cooling is impressive. My tired ol 305 has a blowby issue and needed more cooling. At 70 mph anything over 85 degrees out would send temps out of sight. Especially with AC on. Same in traffic stop and go with AC on 20 minutes or less temps soared. So... with plans to put my Turbo'd Pontiac in there eventually I decided to try the Champion. I cant get the motor to nudge the 200 mark. Had a 100+ degree day about a week after installing it. Took it for a ride in heavy traffic blasted on the interstate some back thru rush hour traffic AC on whole time max I saw was 180. Pulled in driveway parked up against the garage and let it run in drive with parking brake on almost 1/2 hour I got it near 190. This is with a 160 tstat and a 50/50 mix antifreeze.(prior to radiator change anything greater than 30% would give cooling issues). On cool days(under 60) I dont reach 160 unless idling for a long time. Soon as car starts moving temp drops to 150 or less.

I'm getting another Champion radiator for Debs bird soon. Her original 1969 3 core is still in great shape but its really not enough for her 400 and the summer heat here.

http://myworld.ebay.com/koolradiatorscoolingsystems/ Iirc $260 with shipping.

[grandville455]

Bruce
Is that A MC161 then?
Whats the best way to see how hot your engine is?? I have two gauges one is factory the other is my auto meter which is electric, that one shows much hotter than the factory one. Don't suppose i could switch the wires from the factory one to the auto meter one?

[BruceWilkie]

Originally Posted by grandville455

Bruce
Is that A MC161 then?
Whats the best way to see how hot your engine is?? I have two gauges one is factory the other is my auto meter which is electric, that one shows much hotter than the factory one. Don't suppose i could switch the wires from the factory one to the auto meter one?

I've got a G body 84 Gran Prix and radiator was listed under Olds on his web site. Its longer than Debs Firebird radiator. I contacted him with questions and he had answers. Should be able to find the right size for yours.

Sender location can make a difference in reading. I have an old Weston thermometer that is calibrated. Looks like a long meat thermometer. I use it in the radiator tank to see how close my gauges are. My sun gauge is a mechanical mounted in the crossover so temp there is just before entering radiator. I dont see any difference in temp readings so close enough for me. Debs car originally had temp sender in the head(6x's) and it read a little bit lower there then when I moved it to the crossover.(same radiator tank temp both test locations. )
fwiw I had an Autometer electric on my old firebird on the crossover and it was accurate to my radiator tank temp. I dont have much faith in factory gauges. They dont always read well. Especially old ones.

[grandville455]

I started a new thread about my hotter gauge, check it out see if u agree with it