WITH the inlets for stock heater hose and tranny lines! I know the Griffin universal 31 x 19 only has upper and lower hose fixtures and no drain plug. Anyone know of or have installed an all aluminum radiator for 87 TPI with auto trans? One that requires no modifications? My plastic tanks on the stock radiator are leaking like sieves, and I'd rather not put another plastic tanked one in. Any info greatly appreciated =)

 

I too would be curious to know this! Besides spending $500+ on a BeCool unit, maybe it would be cheaper to buy say the universal Griffen and have a shop weld in some fittings? I really have not "shopped around" for other companies but i do know a direct replacement radiator that you are looking for can get pretty costly. Maybe there is a cheaper alternative out there that someone has done. Later

 

Ok, I couldn't find anything all-aluminum that would be considered a direct fit replacement. I did find a plastic and aluminum direct fit radiator at http://www.performanceradiator.com/ , part number is 00951. (for 1987 IROC) It was 146 dollars, which includes 2-day UPS delivery. I just got it today, it looks pretty stout, similar but not identical to the stock GM-Harrison unit. I'm pleased with the out of the box quality of it, and it does have the 2 main necks, the heater neck, the overflow neck, and the 2 tranny cooler fittings. Also has a low coolant level sensor prong installed, which I don't have a use for. I will put it in this weekend and let you know how it works.

 

I hope it isn't too late to return that radiator?!?! Unless the West Coast is THAT MUCH more expensive, you can buy a direct replacement MODINE brand #951 from Advance auto for UNDER $120......



HTH

 

Yeah, for a stock replacement there are cheaper ones out there, i just do not know how well they perform. I spoke with someone over at Fluidyne and they want over $500 for a direct replacement when they are completed at the end of this year. Its a lot of money so for me it sounds like a universal is the way to go if i want the look and a little better performance, well, from what others on the board have shared!

 

.Best I could find at Advance was a GDI direct replacement aluminum and plastic unit for 139.99 + 7 day shipping only for 13.91 for a total of 153.90. They also carry an AC-Delco unit for 210.29 + 7 day shipping only for 13.91 for a total of 224.20.
Best I could find at Autozone was the GDI unit for 129.99 + 12.49 for 5 day shipping for a total of 142.48, or 129.99 + 2 day shipping at 24.49 for a total of 154.48.
So the Performance Radiator unit for 146.00 with free 2 day UPS is what I went with.

 

Well, 2 bloody wristbones, some scraped knuckles, a sunburned back and a couple hours time and I got the radiator in
Would have taken this novice mechanic about half that time, except that the lower fitting for the tranny line is right underneath the lower hose and a b***h to get at. I had to take one of the fan blades off just to get a wrench in there, and I have small hands, I imagine it's quite a chore for you beefier types!

Having some nagging fan issues which I'm trying to chase down elsewhere on this board, but the radiator works great, doesn't leak a drop, even at 250 degrees. So far, I would recommend this unit for everyday driving, will let you know if I encounder any problems.

 

I put one of the Griffin universal fit 31x19 aluminum radiators in my 82 Z-28. I took the auto-trans. lines and plumbed them into a seperate trans. cooler that is mounted in front of the radiator. As for the no drain plug, I just use one of those siphon pumps to get the fluid out of the radiator, when it is empty I pull the bottom hose off to finish it off. The radiator fit with a little coaxing and modifiying my top half of the shroud. I made a couple of aluminum brackets that bolt in the place of two of the top shroud bolts.
I also put some home made brackets to put a slight forward angle on my air dam that's below the radiator to push the air up and into the radiator. I use a manual high performance flex fan and spacer that puts the fan about half way into the shroud, doing so maximizes the cooling.
So far it is working pretty good for me and I think I can actually put my ac. back in the car. Good luck
Chet cc82z-28

 

Sounds good! I just ordered mine. I am going to wait though on a new electric fan. Undecided at the moment.

 

I ordered mine from Summit Racing and the part number is GRI- 25272-x price is 189.95. It sure beats the price for a custom fit one, the price for one of those is almost 600.00 with an auto trans. fittings. I figured I could buy a good trans. cooler and mount it in front and as I said before, it doesn't have a drain plug but it is also no big deal. I put mine in two years ago and so far so good.
I'm thinking of trying another electric fan, but I had no success with the one I tried. It couldn't pull enough air even though it was a 16in. unit. I like the idea of the electric fan but I don't want to spend 200- 300 dollars for one since that kind of defeats my buying the universal radiator, to save money.
My car presently has a 355ci. with KB pistons, Trick Flow Alum. heads, Crane cam, Heddman headers, Edelbrock Air Gap manifold, Holley 670 Avenger carb, Comp. cams magnum rockers, Proform HEI performance distributor, MSD 6a box, Accel 300+ wires, this thing really runs hard and fast. I have a tubo 350 trans. with a 2000 stall converter and the rear end was rebuilt last year with all new pieces from Reiter Racing with 3:73 grs. Hope to run 1/4 mile soon to get some et's and speed.
Good luck with your car..
Chet cc82z-28