Ryan,
When u get it, can you take some pic thru the cap of the tranny cooler tube inside the radiator
Thanks Man

 

Not a problem. I might put some water through it as someone suggested to see what happens if it looks open. I don't have to install it in the car so fast so I can run water through the trans cooler to see what happens, blast it out with compressed air after, and let it sit for as long as I want to completely dry it out so I might just do that.

 

84 z28,
How was the concert ?

ryn28,

Did you recieve the shipment

 

One of the best concerts I have ever been to.

 

The radiator stock ran short at the factory so it looks like it will be about another 3 weeks. Geoff from Ledfoot Racing contacted me to let me know what happened was really easy to work with. He refunded my purchase and said he'll call me directly when they get back in to make sure I get one. Definitely a good guy to buy from.

I asked about the trans adapters and he said that the thread issue was only on the earlier units and it has now been corrected. I was unclear if that meant it comes with the adapters or if the thread is corrected on the radiator itself but either way it should work out of the box but I'll see how it is when I get it.

 

Nice!

 

I can attest to the trans line ports being fixed...my new one fit REALLLL NICCCEEE . I let the car warm up for my pressure test, hit 185 and the fan kicked on. Got to watch the temp drop to 145 in about 30 seconds. These radiators f-n ROCK!

I need to buy a hotter T-Stat now. When I took it out it wouldnt go over 145-150 degrees :EEK:

 

Since all the three cores are out of stock I got the 2 core version from e-bay for $189 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CHEVY...Q5fAccessories


And here are the pictures of it.







sry my cat got in the way on the last pic

 

i was looking at that one too but didnt know if it was worth it. The guy from leadfoot racing said he'd call me as well when they got their shipment in so i figured id wait.
Either way, let us know how that one works. im still curious.

 

I was talking to leadfoot myself but since my current radiator is badly leaking I could not wait.

Will install it tomorrow and let you know on how it fits and works.

 

So whats the word?

 

Ok here it is.

It fits almost like stock. It is just a little bit wider so I had to cut corners in the 4 rubber seals (just the corners) and I had to bend the top radiator ribs inward a little bit - it fits firm and seats nicely in the stock plastic holder. All of the inlets and outlets are of a correct diameter and threads for the trans are correct so I'm happy with how it sits.







RUBBER HOLDER ON THIS PIC - cut just a little to sit firm.




overall looks:




It cools fine I did not notice any difference really since I did not have the cooling problems before my old radiator cracked.

 

Check out these radiators. Great quality and reasonable prices. They currently have them in stock.


http://www.genesisautoparts.com/prod...7X0918-2AA.htm

 

That's a 2 core though

 

Ok guys, ledfoot has them back in stock, ordered mine today. I probably won't install it until next spring but at least I'll have it.

 

Going back to the CFM vs cooling capacity question here. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-381008/

I have that summit fan and shroud kit installed on a stock replacement radiator in my 88. With a 180 t-stat, I never see above 190ish in summer stop and go traffic. I have a mild 355, about 350 horse and a 5 speed in that car. Also the car get really cold on the highway. However I don't have AC in the car anymore either. Thinking about the champion rad for the 91 I'm building with a 500 something hp motor. Anybody else have thoughts on cooling capacity with with dual fans listed on that website justin listed. I would think a single 16" single with shroud would be better or any kind of setup with a shround that covers the entire radiator.

 

I went through an entire saga for cooling my car. I have 355 with ~425 HP.

The conclusion is you need a lot of air to cool that kind of HP. V8's need anywhere from 3k CFM to 6K CFM. With 500 HP your gana need 5k - 6k CFM for how our cars are set up.

If your interested, here is my saga, it covers everything for cooling on a 3rd gen.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/mild...lp-160431.html

What I ended up with was two (2) of these fans....

http://store.gaugemagazine.com/zirgo...oolingfan.aspx

One on each side staggered....

It stays cool now, but it took every bit of these two fans to keep it cool.

Good luck with it.

 

I received the radiator yesterday and all looks good. I took a few pics the best I could through the cap. The trans cooler is separated from the coolant as it should be for those who were worried about that. It couldn't be any other way but just for the sake of doing it, I sent some compressed air through the trans cooler and as expected, air only came out the outlet and no where else. I took a pic showing the inlet for the trans line and you can see the separate cooling tubes in there. Too bad I won't be installing this until next spring but I'm happy to have it.

 

still sitting on the fence about getting one of these, but sound like they are of good quality. It beats the hell out of buying a becool one for 700 dollars.

 

I put one of these in a couple of months ago on the recommendation of this very thread. Not only did I have to lose the top rubber isolators, I had to cut out the bottom ones too. Not sure if somehow I got a slightly taller model?

The sensor plug leaked a little too initially. I played with it and don't know what I did but I don't see any coolant on my garage floor now.

Other than that, it works great. Great cooling. I don't have to look at my temperature gauge all the time now (okay... I look at it *less* lol)

 

I have a new Griffin that is supposed to be a 'Stock' replacement, except for the difference in the core thickness. Not really working that way. Any ideas on how to mount it? I am not sure I like the ideas I have had so far.

Also, what fan should I use? Can I use the stock v6 one, or is it going to be overwhelmed. Engine is a 350 Ram Jet in a 1988.

 

Does nayone have pictures of the routing for thr trans cooler lines?

 

hello my friend i'm from chicago and my 1983 firebird swaped 350 bored 30 over runs very hot i have the stock radiator in there i need something like what u have do u think it would help me and where did u buy it from and what price did u pay

 

I am going to pick this one up, if I ever need more cfm, I will get the 2 same fans but put on the front. Explained below.

My cooling setup before I get my car going will be.

Stock 305 TBI.

Stewart stage 2 pump
Stewart stage 2 180 stat
Finned radiator/heater hoses
Royal Purple Purple Ice
Prestone Full Strength Coolant
NO AIR DAM!!!

Also may add this radiator and dual fan setup and have them run off one Hypertech #4028 200*on and 185* off. I think this may end up being too much cooling for my stock motor, which is why I am going to test without an air dam, then with. I believe (because of right now I dont have one) that the air dam may not be needed right now with what I have. What do you guys think? I believe I'll be okay but want someone else to kind of let me know Ill be in the good. As I wont allow my motor to go over 210*. Ill run it all day at 190-200, just not any more. Let me know guys. Thanks.

P.S. Can i have 2 fans wired to one Hypertech switch? In which can this switch be installed in the heater hose return line? on the radiator?

 

Why no air dam? How are you gonna get adequate incoming air, without one?

 

You should be mixing in some water into your coolant. Water cools down much faster then pure coolant. Thats the reason for mixing! Mixing water in to the coolant(50/50 or 60/40), the water will help cool down the coolant and the coolant helps it from boiling.

 

I just run straight distilled of course I live in Fl though so...

 

You shouldn't do that either, the antifreeze doesn't just prevent the water from freezing, it prevents corrosion.

 

I have 50/50 in the garage, 3 gallons of it, Ill use that.

Stephen mine was ripped off, and now the bolt holes are stripped and widened all to hell and I don't have a thread kit or drills to make a new bigger hole to put one back on. So I figured with all my cooling parts and this new radiator and fan setup I may not have to get the air dam taken care of right away, also because I plan to in the future lower the car 2" which will completely rub the hell out of this piece.

Now remove the lowering from vision and note I do plan to buy one, but if I can go without needing one right away that will be best. My car has been sitting for 3, almost 4 years and just want it out on the road NOW. I will not let it go above 210* if it does. So its not like I'm going to run without an air dam only to let my car overheat . I will check temps to ensure nothing bad happens but you think I will still need it even cruising around town (45mph) with all these cooling parts as well, and note to my stat is a 3 hole stat, so coolant is always flowing no matter what.

Let me know Stephen.

It's no problem getting one but I will need a shop or someone to do it for me since its stripped and such. And the less work I need a shop to do the more parts I can buy, but if absolutely positively needed don't worry Stephen, Ill get one...K.

 

just purchased this 3 core radiator from led foot racing today, should be here in a couple of days, I will let everyone know how it fits. Sounds like a quality product

 

just received it in the mail today. Everything looks nice. The only problem I had was when I took it out of the box it seemed like my hands were turning silver from some of the paint that came of the radiator. Not to big of a problem

 

i had this problem with my griffin radiator in my 85. with the stock 350 and stock radiator and 16" electric fan i had no cooling problems. all i did was install the 2 row griffin radiator. then the car ran hot all the time. i called griffin and answered a hundred of the tech support engineer's questions and he did not have an answer. i took the radiator to a radiator shop to check and they said it was fine. i then fabbed a shroud for the fan to help cool the whole radiator and still ran hot. what finally fixed it was an additional 16" fan on the front.

 

From my own experience I can tell you that having the air dam under the car is pretty much a MUST HAVE. I tried running mine without it and even at 70 mph on the freeway, my fan ran constantly and the coolant stayed over 200 degrees. I had stripped mounting holes too. The good news is it's a piece of cake to fix. GM used those stupid coarse, self-tapping bolts, so that's why they strip so easily. All you have to do is go to the hardware store and pick up some 1/4 x 20, inch long bolts, some flat washers, and some of those 1/4 x 20 nuts that have the nylon in the threads. That keeps them from coming loose. The right size bolts have a 7/16 sized head, as do the nuts. I didn't have to drill anything, they go right through the existing holes, and the flat washers will take care of the holes being a bit big or oblong. You can reach up on the other side of the holes to get the nuts threaded, then use a 7/16 wrench to hold the nut while you use a ratchet/socket to tighten the head of each bolt. I also took a flat piece of galvanized steel, bent it 90 degrees to fit over the lip at the top of the air dam, then used bolts and mending plates to bolt it to the plastic air dam. I got tired of replacing them when you hit something and break it. It kinda looks like Chinese torture, but it's never broken or been ripped off since!

 

How did you mount your griffin? The tanks aare larger than the tray at the bottom of the radiator, therefore it looke like it has to be raised. After that, the top doesn't.

Any idea where to find a chrome top mounting? I can find them for every other generation on line, but not ours.

 

Your looking for a radiator support mount. Like this.
http://www.rondavisradiators.com/82-...ATOR-MOUNT.jpg

I want one too, might just call him up and ask just for the mount. But I believe his bolts to the top of his radiator.
http://www.rondavisradiators.com/radgallery.htm

If I can get a stock one made about 1/2" longer (as I noticed with these radiators a bit more length would help let it sit flat again in the radiator crossmember mount, I'd buy one.

Also will be using bike tire inner tube for the radiator rubber mounts. Help sit the radiator a bit more into the radiator hole. Or will this type of rubber melt easily, I know others use it, but did make me wonder about heat and it eventually drying up onto the sheetmetal mount. Let me know guys, help us out.

 

I just e-mailed ledfoot about replacing the 12" fans for their 16" fans (5,000CFM total) with shroud. Looking to be around another $50 added to the order, custom.

Anyone order one of these with the fan and shroud setup? Please post pictures and your review.

 

Well they couldn't do the 16" due to the fans hanging off each side by about 3". I ordered the radiator with shroud and fan. Was shipped today. Will post pictures when I get it.

 

I H8 WWD--

I read this thread from time to time & see if there are any unsatisfied Champion or ledfoot customers. Sounds like ledfoot takes time to ensure ppl understand the options & capabilities of parts asked about.

So, seeing you can't go with dual 16" fans, did you decide on the dual 12",
or a single 16"?

 

Dual 12" 2800cfm. My reasoning is this. I understand EVERYONE recommends 3000cfm at LEAST for a V8. So here is my reasoning. My buddies brother has a 500hp mustang (which stock have bad heat soak problems). He replaced his radiator and fans in the range of what I just bought, 3 row, dual fans, I believe he has a total of 2500cfm. His car never sees above optimal temp for mustangs (I can not recall what this is exactly). So I decided that my stock 305 (Plan to max it at about 350/350) with 3 row and dual 12" 2800cfm fans, stage 2 water pump, 180* 3 hole bypassed stat, royal purple additive should suffice for some time down the road.

Please I don't want to get into anything about CFM, we can go on forever. Everyone is different and so is the way we drive and the climates we drive in as well.

Ill take pictures when I get it, as well as a video after I get it running, to relay how everything handles. May be a couple months so please be patient, that or lets hope some others that bought it chime in.

 

Yea I agree--
I was just wondering your choice, & I believe you will be A-OK!!


We will be going Bigblock next year, so that's why I follow this thread. Sounds like a good quality system. Hope it all works for ya, & will be checking the thread from time to time.

Thanks for responding!!

 

Took my car out for a spin a couple days a go. The radiator is still running good. Almost too good. It was about 50 outside and my water temp barely hit 150-160 and the trans barely hit 120-130. I only have a mech fan and in the summer the water hits 180 trans hit about 150-160. For a Jap radiator it works well for as cheap as they are.

 

Nice to hear back on how they are running. Whats your average summer weather. I sit about high 70*'s to high 80*'s and a couple lower to mid 90* days, but with humidity that kills. We will see how this summer goes. Also note guys that my fans won't be hooked up for a little bit until I can get my fan controller wired up in my center console or ash tray area. Somewhere easily accessible. So I'm hoping the radiator is good enough for a drive to the shop about 20 minutes away.

Radiator scheduled to arrive Friday. Will install this weekend, or at least test fit it in to get my radiator hoses cut.

 

Same heat with NY summers.I wouldnt try and drive 20 min. without a fan, your asking for trouble.

 

You'll be fine if there's no traffic and if you run your heater as a mini radiator lol. I sadly do this almost every day.

 

Has anyone tried the 4 row champion yet? I see where they are offered for $360 with fan shroud. I was thinking about upgrading from a copper radiator to that. It's a carb motor so I'm not to worried if it runs under 180*. I also have sent him an email to see if he would be interested in doing a GP for us.

 

4 row means modding the radiator support mount and rubber isolators. The 3 row allows us to drop in and go. The 4 row does look nice, and now they offer polishing of the tanks and shroud for an extra $25.

 

I don't want to hijack this stickied thread but I've managed to get a group purchase for 10 of these going.

Basically looking at $185 + Shipping for 3 row with no fans, $215 + Shipping with fans, and $330 + Shipping for fans and shroud. 4 Rows are out of stock and won't be back for 6-8 weeks due to Champion being slow.

Under $200 Aluminum direct fit radiator sounds like a steal to me.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/grou...t-fit-3-a.html

 

Got my radiator today with an incorrect fan shroud (not louvered and without bolt holes), and also received the wrong fan mounting hardware (I received push pin, instead of the advertised bolt, nut and washer hardware).

I have sent ledfoot_racing an email about fixing this and sending me the correct louvered shroud with bolt holes as well as the correct fan mounting hardware, bolts, nuts and washers.

We will see how he handles this. I believe this may have been old stock before they went to louvered shrouds and bolt on fans.

I would have been okay with the flat shroud if my fans came with the correct hardware and the shroud had bolt holes.

I thought these were going to arrive assembled. I am going to ask him to re-word his advertisements.

 

Just call him directly... Geoff at 714-612-9799

So the fan shroud bolts onto the radiator. I always thought it would be tack'd onto it.

I'll hold off on ordering mine until you reply. I also really liked the look of the shroud and hardware pictured.

 

Alright guys here it is.

Geoff says louvered shrouds are going on other radiators due to non louvered being more functional and to many people complaining back and forth about hot air sucking into the louvers and other stuff.

So all radiators now come with non louvered shrouds, with push pin fan hardware. Fans and shroud are not assembled and will need to be upon receiving.

I am going to mock up the shroud mount as well as the fans and drill them out and bolt everything up. Good to go.