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What radiators are good these days?

I can only answer to the parts store cheapies. They didn't even want to see what the failure was. I just drug it in, set it on the counter, gave them the receipt, and they came back with another. Funny thing, same chain, first was a Spectra, the replacement was someone I don't recall. I'm positive they are being made as cheaply as possible, longevity isn't even a consideration. We as the American consumer are obviously the problem though, at least when it comes to auto parts. Most apparently just buy the cheapest product, not that which should last longer or perform better, but cost more.

And if you buy a premium and it needs warranty work, who really wants to deal with shipping it back and what not? Best to go with either one that can be replaced with the least hassle, or one that likely won't have issues. I think mishimoto at this point is the only one I've not heard of premature failure from.
 
dyeager535 said:
The cu774 and the (only plastic/AL construction) 1985 gas K5 radiators appear to be a Canada only item ("All products with a maple leaf
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identify parts exclusive to the Canadian market" ), Summit shows CU774 out of stock so I suspect that may further indicate most/all Spectra copper/brass is not available to us anymore.

I got some ebay hits that I didn't investigate, if I'm right, and folks want copper/brass, it may be time to buy spares...

I paid $50 on ebay for what used to be a parts store cheapy copper/brass heater core, because apparently no one makes non-ac heater cores for these trucks in anything but AL now. And satisfaction seems to be quite low. Both bad fitment, and quality.
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Nothing would surprise me. I tried reaching out to my contact at Spectra Premium and got an email failure notice back so I went to check on him in LinkedIn and found he has moved on to a new company after 11 years as the Director of sales at Spectra Premium. Odd he would leave as he represented Spectra very well. Does make you wonder if they are scaling back the company. Sad if so but that is the way the world is working now.

I know at International we are still selling Spectra Premium copper radiators and heater cores for our older medium duty trucks that are sold in Navistar branded boxes but I wonder if that is just old stock in our PDCs. UPS buys a lot of those from us. 2021 is probably going to be a more sucktastic year than 2020 was by the way the world is working :mad:
 
One of the radiators I had that developed a leak was a Champion. You have to pay to ship the damaged radiator to them to get a replacement. I could get a new Spectra for less than the shipping cost.
 
I was able to chase down my old contact at Spectra through LinkedIn. He confirmed what we were scared of, Spectra has left the radiator market for the US. As Dyeager535 said, The Canadian Maple leafs you see when looking at their catalog isn’t a market of where the product is made, but a footnote that “All product lines marked with a maple leaf are exclusive to the Canadian market”.

Basically, once the supply of Spectra Premium radiators dries up in US part distributor warehouses, they’re gone forever....…unless you live in Canada, eh :(
 
That sucks. Way to bird dog the guy and find the scoop though.
 
Since I'm stuck behind the parts counter at work for a while I looked up what Performance Radiator sells the 6.2 diesel radiator for. I was shocked.

List price for the copper/brass version is $1,023, my cost is still $553.

The plastic/aluminum version comes in at $299 list $161 my cost.

Yikes!
 
Yeah. Like I said, last I asked for a standard gas radiator recore, it was 500. It's just hard to justify the cost of the copper brass unless my life or race depends on it.
 
Well i ordered the three core mishimoto today for 385. List price from mishimoto was like 700. Summit has it up for 406 so i figured id jump the deal for the holidays, and i need my truck running. They give a lifetime warranty. The customer service rep was awesome and worked on cars as well as the prior comments said. Ill upload pics of the instal when it gets here. I got free two day shipping as well.

hope it works out all good :dunno:
 
To add some info to Larry's post......I'm in Canada. I called the local parts warehouse today, Spectra cu730 is $306 cdn. Made in China.
 
Ned Kelly said:
To add some info to Larry's post......I'm in Canada. I called the local parts warehouse today, Spectra cu730 is $306 cdn. Made in China.
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I'd click like, but IMO Spectra is firmly in the junk category now. Sad they sold out, they used to be a good brand. Wonder if that means the fuel tanks are likewise made in china too.
 
Whoops. It's too late for the OP, but just for general information, i went with Champion for my last 2 and they've worked great so far:

Now, as you can see the fit isn't exactly right ( i think they use the same part# for the 73-77 monte carlo and impalas etc.?) and would require some trimming of the rubber mount----which i haven't done yet because i figure if it doesn't move then i'm good; i don't care how it looks.

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My only other "complaints" are that i wish the outlets---both upper and lower radiator hoses as well as the heater hose were a bit longer so you can get more hose on them and make it easier to clamp them down. Other than that , they've performed great. This is a 4.3 v-6, so i didn't need a huge one; i got the 2-row but they carry 3 and 4 rows.

i would have went with Mishimoto, but i didn't have the money. The champion was like $131 IIRC and Mishimoto was like $695 or something. But yeah, i hear Mishimoto has excellent quality and customer service----something that is sorely lacking today among other problems in society like well-matured "adults" (like 60+) making claims with no evidence but i won't get into that here.....
 
mrk5 said:
One of the radiators I had that developed a leak was a Champion. You have to pay to ship the damaged radiator to them to get a replacement. I could get a new Spectra for less than the shipping cost.
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This does not make me feel good, but as i said the last 2 Champions i've had worked great (knock on wood.....?).
 
vandelay industries said:
This does not make me feel good, but as i said the last 2 Champions i've had worked great (knock on wood.....?).
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My dad put a champion in his 454 about ten years ago, sold the truck to a friend, still going strong. Didn't fit quite right of course, but usable. They had/have a pretty good reputation for being reliable, I have one sitting in my garage for a project, but nowadays we apparently have to accept failures once in awhile. And with failures, the warranty process for me needs to be easy. Not boxing up and paying shipping. Wish the chain stores would carry them as a "premium" option, I still trust welded aluminum tanks over the plastic tanks seals, when it comes to cheap aftermarket components.
 
Thomas Fournier said:
Well i ordered the three core mishimoto today for 385. List price from mishimoto was like 700. Summit has it up for 406 so i figured id jump the deal for the holidays, and i need my truck running. They give a lifetime warranty. The customer service rep was awesome and worked on cars as well as the prior comments said. Ill upload pics of the instal when it gets here. I got free two day shipping as well.

hope it works out all good :dunno:
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Why the three row and not the two? I was thinking you said there was a two row that fit and was a bit less expensive. I'm glad they did you right and didn't make a fool out of me!
 
anwat said:
Why the three row and not the two? I was thinking you said there was a two row that fit and was a bit less expensive. I'm glad they did you right and didn't make a fool out of me!
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I asked the Mishimoto rep about the 2 core v 3 core debate. He told me that some companies used smaller core tube diameters to stuff them in the same thickness core. Mishimoto uses the same size tubes, they just add another tube row and make the core thicker. He told me the 2 row would probably be fine but when i told him about slow speed wheeling and/or towing he recommended the 3 core due to the added fluid capacity and surface area. It was in the ballpark of 100 bucks more for the extra core size so i figured id be worth the investment for a life long type of radiator. I dont mind a little extra weight either, as im assuming it will be WAY lighter than the 20 year old 4 core copper radiator that i have now.

I also ordered a new upper radiator shroud and bushings in hopes it will hold the radiator in a little better. My old shroud was pretty bent and warn out. I dont want my $400 investment breaking cause i ddnt want to spend a little more $$ for the 10 dollar bushings.

ill post pics as soon as i get it along with b4/after pics.
 
Thomas Fournier said:
I asked the Mishimoto rep about the 2 core v 3 core debate. He told me that some companies used smaller core tube diameters to stuff them in the same thickness core. Mishimoto uses the same size tubes, they just add another tube row and make the core thicker. He told me the 2 row would probably be fine but when i told him about slow speed wheeling and/or towing he recommended the 3 core due to the added fluid capacity and surface area. It was in the ballpark of 100 bucks more for the extra core size so i figured id be worth the investment for a life long type of radiator. I dont mind a little extra weight either, as im assuming it will be WAY lighter than the 20 year old 4 core copper radiator that i have now.

I also ordered a new upper radiator shroud and bushings in hopes it will hold the radiator in a little better. My old shroud was pretty bent and warn out. I dont want my $400 investment breaking cause i ddnt want to spend a little more $$ for the 10 dollar bushings.

ill post pics as soon as i get it along with b4/after pics.
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That's sounds all good. Like i said, i would have went with Mishimoto as they were my first choice but i think theirs was $330-ish (i think---i looked it up again on jegs and it was not $695 as i said earlier, but still too much for me....), the BeCool was like $695 or something; THIS was the one that was $695, not the Mishimoto, but both of these were still more than i really wanted to pay, so i went with Champion. BeCool is another company that seems good to me...
 
Well guys i ****ed up....the mishimoto is WAYYY too small. Its the smaller version of the radiators that came in our trucks. Im prolly going to swap it out and i dont see the "bigger" size radiator on their site but im going to call tomorrow when they are open for calls. Ill post pics later.
 
Thomas Fournier said:
Well guys i ****ed up....the mishimoto is WAYYY too small. Its the smaller version of the radiators that came in our trucks. Im prolly going to swap it out and i dont see the "bigger" size radiator on their site but im going to call tomorrow when they are open for calls. Ill post pics later.
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for what it's worth, I can remember mine was a ck78x. That was a few years ago, though. As I said, it's enough to cool my mildly built 350 on slow speed wheeling trips in death valley. Took a little work to get it secured, but fit pretty easily in a 1990....Tell us about the packaging?
 
hmm I put k20 into the Mishimoto web site and it shows me a 3 row rad for a Camaro. What are the core measurements ?
 
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