I pretty much stayed out of the thread, since its probably been longer than you since I bought a rad.
And then it was for a Ford.....
My 89 with the super cooling package had a big aluminum one with the epoxy ends. After a couple of years, the plastic tank on the side cracked.
At the time, we had a really good radiator shop in town, and I knew them well. I knew the tank could be replaced, so I took it to him.
He looked at it, and told me that he could replace the tank, but showed me where the epoxy was starting to turn loose, and said I would be wasting my money.
He ordered me a new one, no idea what brand now, but said it was one of the best. So far, he has been right.
It was about 1991, and its still going strong.
Then, my father's truck had the same problem, and he went to the same place. When they started talking about a replacement, he said he did not want another plastic one, so he got a copper/brass Modine, which is also still good.
Somebody told me about this place.
http://www.completeradiators.com/
They got one from them for a good price. But that is only one recommendation, and its been a while.
They do offer brass or aluminum ones though.
From a cooling standpoint, aluminum is going to beat brass hands down. But the early ones had problems, plus you better be sure to keep the coolant in good shape. Let it get just a little acidic, and you will have problems.
I'm old school enough, I would go to brass/copper in general, but if I needed max cooling, I would have to go aluminum.
