Another Radiator Question

[Tom Cimino]

I'm coming down the home stretch with my 302 to 431FE stroker upgrade in my E-M Cobra. I'm looking for opinions on if I'd be able to use the radiator from the 302, or if I should get a larger radiator.

The rad that is in the car now is a brass 4 row Griffen. The core measures
21"w x 17 1/4"h. Looking back to the the spec. books from E-M, they only offered this radiator or an aluminum "racing" radiator. There was no distinction between big block or small block. Inlet and outlets were spec'd for Ford or Chevy.

With the shroud and 16", 2700 cfm puller fan, the 302 never got hot with this radiator. I'm tempted to try this radiator, but I'm concerned that 1 1/2" inlet and outlet will be too small for the big block. Personally, I think it'll be barely adequate for the job.

The original plan was to replace the radiator with either a 2 row aluminum rad with 1 1/4 tubes, or a fluidyne Cobra radiator, but with the 30% rise in health care costs and Mr Bush's tax cuts expiring in January, along with working for a Fortune 500 company that is notoriously stingy with pay increases, I'm looking for options. Any thoughts?

[elmariachi]

I have zero experience with EM, but I have 18 months experience with a 427FE, the first 4 of which were fighting overheating issues. Buy the Fluidyne, run a shrouded fan and be done with it.

[mickmate]

Fluidyne is 24 x 18" 3 core of 1" tubes. Your current one is close. From what I've read brass will dissipate heat better but is softer so you'll need a lower pressure cap. So do you transfer heat better and run a lower boiling point? Your call.

[bobcowan]

I would leave your brass radiater in place for now and see how it goes.

The small outlet is not that big of a deal. You'll need an adapter to increase the size for the BB. But that's not a big deal, either.

A good fan with a shroud is a must have item. Doesn't have to be anything fancy/expensive, but don't cheap out either. The fan needs to fit the opening fairly close. And the shroud need to encompass the entire core, and fit closely. I'm using a 16" spall fan adapeted to a stock Mustang shroud with good results.

[rustyBob]

A good radiator shop can change that lower fitting to the right size for a small fee...
probably better than an adapter...