Just in case you or the others haven't seen this post:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...53#post1941253

 

I think it depends on the car. Others have had an easier install. Ayone ask Randy about his? He's running the Be Cool.

I bought the radiator off eBay. I'll see where this journey takes me once it arrives.

 

Bret,
I understand your grief and anger over this heating issue on your car. I chased the same problem problem on my 82 Z-28 ever since I bought the car 20 years ago. I got it cured last season when I finally gave up on the stock radiator and the custom 4 row radiator and bought the Griffin universal fit radiator. Up to that point I had put a high flow pump on, different fan configurations, hoses, thermostat, etc. All to no avail, it would still run hot. Like you, I didn't want to spend 500-600.00 on a custom radiator from Be-Cool or Griffin for that matter, so I got the universal fit that measured 31x19 for GM. Yes it took a little modifying, but it was nothing major at all. I eliminated the stock rubber mounts on the bottom, fabricated 2 brackets that mounted at the top using the stock bolt holes. Around the brackets I put some pieces of rubber for isolation and pieces of rubber at the bottom for the same reason. I run a stock fan clutch setup on my car now, and I do run a trans cooler seperate of the radiator. I put a new air dam on that it is below the radiator to make sure the air is pushed up and through the radiator. As for hoses, I bought from Summit their universal stainless steel hose with the rubber ends. Great thing about those is you won't have to replace them and you shape them to fit any configuration, and they won't collapse at all under pressure, cost about 100.00 for the pair, I run a 160 thermostat that has 2 1/8" holes drilled in it.
Average temp on a hot summer day 170-190 when I get into traffic, will run all day long down the highway at 175. There you have my recipe for a cool running car. Hope this helps you.
'

 

Good to hear your upgrades made a difference.

I picked up a $300 direct fit aluminum street/race radiator and will be using the Mr. Gasket GFLEX stainless steel hose. I'm also planning to bypass the radiator trans cooler and use (2) external coolers in series to cool the trans.

There is also serious consiseration being given to removing the A/C system from my car. It's never really worked to my satisfaction and for the past two summers, I have had no A/C at all due to system glitches. Removing it will be no big sacrifice.

 

Less weight, less power loss, better cooling.........Loose the POS!

 

Have you tried a another temp gauge to compare with to see how accurate your stock gauge is?

 

I'm actually looking into doing something along that line. My new radiator comes with a fitting for installing a temp sender. I have an idea to install a liquid filled 280° Auto Meter water temp gauge uder the hood.

I don't think the factory gauge is outta whack, but the extra gauge could come in handy while working on the car. Plus it adds a little ooh-aah factor.

 

Wow man, I haven't checked this thread out in a while. Hope you have some better luck soon.

Q = M x C x Delta T

I just wanted to point out that your understanding of the heat capacity equation is out of scope. There are absolutely no rates involved, it just shows how much energy a substance takes to heat up a specific amount. For instance, 1 gram of water (M) multiplied by the specific heat capacity of water (C=1cal/g*degree celsius) multiplied by delta T (one degree celsius) = 1 calorie of energy required to heat 1 gram of water up 1 degree.

Considering this, increasing flow rate does not increase rate of heat transfer. That is dependent only on a temperature gradient (IE is the radiator cooling enough, so that the coolant is lower in temp than the engine), surface area of contact inside the engine and inside the radiator, and cooling efficiency of the radiator/fans.

The only way I could see too much coolant flow hurting cooling rate is if it causes the coolant to bubble or flow turbulently, so it creates hot spots, which is possible.

If you flush the radiator, it should dissolve any crap that is clogging it. But if there is a lot in there, it may take removing the radiator or flushing it twice. I'm wondering, though, if there is too much heat for the cooling system to handle. One thought I had is that you might have your timing set high, which I've heard to cause overheating before. I'm not sure if it needs to be causing pinging before it causes too much heat to be made, though.