E-bay aluminum radiators

[Eric Rose]

Anyone ever bought a radiator from the E-bay seller "Classic Radiators"? I was thinking of getting one since they have one that will mount to the stock location and the hoses are in the correct position for a 6. Their radiators are about half the price of the name brand radiators, so I have to wonder whether or not the quality is good.

They have good faadback on E-bay, but feedback is not something you would change 3 months later when your radiator blows up.

I really wonder why this particular radiator is for the 2.3 (144) and 2.8 (170) but not the 3.3 (200)?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/All-Alum ... otohosting [/img]

 

[Frankenstang]

Eric, I purchased my aluminum radiator on ebay via this seller:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/All-Alum ... QQtcZphoto

Their description is also inaccurate as title lists it for 3.3l (200cid), but listing states it fits V8's. I'm pretty sure the 289's hoses are opposite. I think most of the ebayers selling the Silla model I received. This was a perfect fit for a '66 mustang eventhough it's listed for pre /64 comet.

http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk27 ... 0Radiator/

I'm very pleased the with the quality of the radiator so far. I only installed it about 6 mos ago, but it performed well in a typical Texas summer. I purchased this for a standard tranny and just plugged the fluid line connnections. The tank is welded sections and not a solid single piece, but the quality of the welds seem good, and if I had it to do over again I would call Silla directly at 800-624-1499.

 

[MustangSix]

Eric,
I bought one of those evil-bay rads and it looks pretty good, "made in China" label and all. I had it powder coated black and am using it in the Locost.

It has two rows of tubes. One looks like its 1 1/8" and the second is 1", roughly. Tube count is about what you'd expect. I think it would work pretty well in most situations.

 

[jamyers]

WOW! I just called Silla, and they've got an all-aluminum 2-row (1-inch rows) direct replacement radiator w/ tranny cooler for my Buick - at $135 plus about $10 shipping! That's about $300 less than the next best thing I've seen.

 

[Eric Rose]

I'll call Silla directly after work. 8)

 

[66 Fastback]

I don't know how they do it so cheap. The copper/brass ones are as expensive if not more.
I bought a GM restoration piece for my '61 Vette that was over $700. But I guess you are paying for a correct reproduction, license fee, as well as top notch quality.

I bought another large aluminum radiator for my Pontiac at about $525.
In that case, I was just looking to eliminate any and all cooling issues especially after I install the overdrive transmission with a looser torque converter.
Doug

 

[Frankenstang]

I don't know how they do it so cheap. The copper/brass ones are as expensive if not more.

"made in China"

That would be my guess, but it's is still dang cheap. I had to shell out $300 for a replacement for my '01 Dadge from the stealership. I don't even want to know what the markup on that was. I could have gotten an after market for $200 (still not that cheap...and these ones for the Dadge all have plastic tanks w/alum cores), but my stock one was a little unusual and couldn't find an after market comparable.

I haven't done any plumbing in a while, but I'm guessing copper is still running near record highs. Heck aluminum is probably still up there as well compared to 5 years ago.

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

pretty sur eall readaitors are AL now. Copper and Brass is pretty $$$$ right now. I am sur ethose chinese boys have a factory just cranking out cores all day long for nothing.

Been looking at one of these for the Fairlane. I have a big wide crossflwo in it now and it keeps it plenty cool but went to free some space up for a front mount IC and piping.

 

[Eric Rose]

I called Silla Cooling up yesterday. They gave me a price of $198. If I had a shop account with them I could get the radiator for $150 or less, depending on how frequently I bought from them. But I don't have a shop or even a tax ID, and I don't know anyone with a Silla account.

If I ordered the E-bay radiator it'd be close to $200 with shipping and handling and it would probably be shipping from the West Coast so it'd take 5 days to ship.

According to Silla they have a warehouse in Tucker, GA that might have my radiator in stock. I am going to call their warehouse today and see if they have it. If they do I will probably just bite the bullet and pay the $198 so I can go pick it up and install it this weekend.

 

[Eric Rose]

The guy at silla's GA warehouse was being a jerk with the whole "we don't sell to the general public" line, but the folks in CA assure me I will be able to pick up my radiator there. Going to try calling them again today and hope it works out. They do have the radiator at the warehouse so hopefully I can pick it up today.

 

[jamyers]

That's odd, when I called the guy was all ready to take my order and send me one....maybe he was a newbie and didn't know any better??

 

[Eric Rose]

I went and picked it up today and the guy at the warehouse was a lot nicer in person than he was on the phone. The problem was that he did not know he could take walk-in customers. So once the home office told him I was coming and that I had paid for the part through them all was good

The new radiator looks great and I'm hoping to install it tomorrow. I'll probably need to do the heater core too since I assume its just as full of junk as the radiator, but I think I will bypass the heater core for now by looping a hose across the water pump. That way I'll be able to order a new core and all the seals/gaskets and refurbish the heater box while I'm at it.

 

[Williboy]

I think I'm posting this way too late but I did buy a radiator from "Classic Radiators". The radiator itself is pretty good. One slight issue is that one side mounting bracket is off from the other. Meaning, that when mounted the radiator is slightly crooked, the left side is closer to the motor than the right side. I'm only talking about about a less than a 1/4" or so. Nothing a couple washers wouldn't fix.

I do have to give the guy who sells them a huge compliment for customer service. He sell out of his house about about an hour from me, so we decided that I would save on shipping by picking it up. When I went to pick it up we found out that his partner made a mistake and accidentally shipped it to my house. He was very apologetic and the next day he actually credited my Paypal account the difference in shipping for my time and trouble. I wish all companies had 1/10 of his customer service.

 

[Eric Rose]

So I flushed the system and installed my new radiator today. I didn't get to add any water wetter because by the time I finished with the antifreeze there just wasn't any more room in the radiator. But I am replacing the heater core soon so there should be room for the water wetter then. As it is with the aluminum radiator, the Dex-Cool and a 180 degree thermostat, I don't get above 190 at all while moving and thats with a gallon or so lower capacity because of the heater core bypass.

The new radiator is thicker that the other one so it is a little too close to the fan for my liking, maybe about 1/2" of clearence. The next time I have a good space to work with jacks and stuff I might try to move the motor back.

I got a vacuum gauge the other day and I've been tinkering with it. I am not pulling enough vacuum, maybe 10 lbs. when my gauge has a green "normal" section that says 15. Is the mixture screw supposed to be a controlled vacuum leak? Because I have a little bit of a vacuum leak in that area and I replaced my carb spacer gasket and my carb gasket and the leak is still there. :arg: I did find a little more power tuning with the vac. gauge instead of doing it "by ear" though.

I am very happy to say the least