Radiator recomendations

[Langan Repair]

I am working on a 1969 Corvette for my step father
The car was built back in the 90's as a show car and the fan shroud and fan were replaced with a old style electric fan

Not a lot of focus was put on drivability and I am trying to fix that

It is a non air roadster with a 350 and 4 speed and he has a lot of trouble with this car overheating and I am looking to solve this

My question is what would be the best combination of radiator and fan to install to get the best cooling so that he ends up with something that he can get in and drive anywhere

It currently has the small radiator 18x16 core with the remote fill tanks

Is this radiator sufficient for the small block when used with a proper fan shroud and mechanical fan.

Should I use a clutch fan? Would I be better off going to the larger radiator 26x17

I appreciate any help that anyone can provide like I said I am just trying to make this a nice reliable driver for him

Thanks for your help

[MaineVette]

Everyone always says Dewitt Radiators are the best, never heard anything bad said about them (other than they cost too much). They fit exactly as an OEM radiator would.

I went with a less expensive Champion Radiator. It cost me several hundred dollars less but did require some modifications to my hood and radiator support brackets even though it was supposed to be a drop-in replacement. Considering it saved me about $350 it was worth it to me (although a bit aggravating).

For optimum cooling I'd ditch the old belt driven fan and go with twin electric fans. That's what I did on mine and it seems many others are doing the same thing.

Between a new aluminum radiator and the twin fans you should have all the cooling power you need.

[rbryce1]

I have a 1968 convertible, no air 4 speed which had a 350/370 LT-1 engine installed in it for years. With the stock factory aluminium radiator, I never had cooling problems, in fact, in Connecticut, I needed to block off part of the radiator in the winter, as the engine would barely reach normal operating temperature.

I understand the copper core radiators did not cool nearly as much as the aluminium ones, but should have cooled enough for a non-A/C small block 4 speed, by all means.

After a while, it came time to replace the radiator due to leaks, and I opted for the Dewitt aluminium radiator with electric cooling fans, and it worked even better.

The thing I would look into, assuming your radiator core is not really plugged, and if it is the original radiator, may be the case, would be the gaskets around the radiator and shroud. The rubber gaskets were extremely functional for preventing the bypass of air flow around the radiator core. If they are missing or badly deteriorated, much of the air that is suppose to go through the core goes around the core. Replacing the radiator will not solve your problem if this is the issue, unless you replace the gaskets at the same time.

If you are going to replace the radiator, based on how you said your car is currently set up, I strongly recommend getting the Dewitt aluminium radiator with the electric fan already installed. It is a bit pricey, but is about 30% better at cooling the engine and has the thermostat switches already built in to control the fans. I installed that very setup in my '68 running the 350 LT-1 engine and it worked great. I have since moved the 350/370 engine and radiator plus a new 5 speed transmission to my '65 and it is working great there as well, and that is an A/C car now.

The '68 is getting a 454 with air and an automatic so the wife can drive it, and I am getting the Dewitt big block aluminium radiator with dual electric fans for it.

Let us know what you find.