Best and most durable radiators?

[fe66comet]

While sitting in the emergency room once again I got to thinking about radiators and was looking on summit at the different offerings. What is the consensus on the best brands?  I would like to go with something American made if possible and definitely aluminum. I am buying it for a driver so I am more concerned about durability than weight, I was looking at Griffin as a prospect and Be Cool also, any input on these? Thanks guys.

[65er]

Can't promise you on the durability John, but I just did a big radiator shopping expedition and came up with a Howe.  USA made, well constructed and seems to be the equal of the Be Cool and Griffin etc.  Cost under $200 from Pitstop USA, a few bucks less than Summit and a few days quicker to boot.

https://www.howeracing.com/c-450-racing-custom-aluminum-radiators.aspx

Here's what I bought for the Galaxie. Bigger than stock but I'll be cutting the car slightly to fit.
http://pitstopusa.com/i-5060867-howe-aluminum-late-model-radiator-ford-19-x-28-x-3.html

[fastback 427]

I tried the Griffin and the summit brand and like the summit. Made by Northern, fully welded with no epoxy. The triple pass summit also out cools the griffin even though the griffen has larger 2 1/4" tubes.

[fe66comet]

I noticed the Griffin seems underrated for the size, I never even looked at the Howe or summit brand. The Howe looks a lot like the Be Cool with a smaller price tag . I just thought of the fact I have A/C also I guess I had better take that in account too.

[ScotiaFE]

One issue with a couple of alum rads that I've had my paws on.
The bottom out put pipe is welded on at an angle. It does not fit well in FE land.
Must be some kind of Chev thing.

[fe66comet]

I saw that on the Be  Cool, it said something like that it helped direct the outlet toward the engine. I never experienced a radiator that had an outlet like that and it would seem to get in the way of things like the shroud to me. Another thing I noticed was they were talking about having a tapered tanks, I am not sure why you would want that, it would seem to reduce the capacity and make it harder to seal around the tanks being angled like that?

[65er]

Mine also has the angled outlet.  I'd prefer a straight outlet but looking at things pretty carefully I don't think it's going to be a problem in my case.  I'm going from a down flow to a cross flow style so the outlet is moving over probably 6-8 inches farther to the left and the power steering belt is pretty well out of the way.  No telling how that might work out with the Comet, but I'm sure you could talk to Howe and get it with a straight outlet.  They seem big on custom stuff.

[fe66comet]

The one I am doing now is for the Ranger, I have 24\24 to work with so it is going to be tight. I am thinking a three pass would be my best route along with an oil cooler mounted behind the head lights with a fan and ducts. No room to spare with a big block under the hood for sure. I am going to trim as many obstructions out of the way as possible, the core support has the usual rust issues to deal with anyhow. The Comet I am building a new core support out of DOM so that will be wide open spaces. What I have in the Comet now is crunched and bondo so I am doing away with it all together.

[fastback 427]

Both mine were angled up and in. We just cut them off then rewelded them straight. The griffen was a little scary due to the epoxy right there. Took a lot longer so it could cool.

[fe66comet]

After giving it some thought the angle up and in may actually help me some. I could then extend the radiator lower in between the frame rails and gain another 4" of tank and core. Right now I have 19" tall I could go as tall as 24" then and still not have the hose rubbing on the frame rail. I also am considering mounting the radiator on the front of the core support but that would take a huge amount of work to accomplish.

[manofmerc]

I bought a Howe from crites for my 66 comet good quality cools good and it fit .The mounting brackets from crites weren't exactly what I wanted but they worked alright .In my 67 comet drag car I went with an afco .I bought it from Barnett performance in Atl. it was a universal fit radiator but it fit pretty good .It did have the bottom radiator hose outlet at an angle as others have mentioned but I just cut it off and welded it on straight .Between the two the howe had a nicer radiator cap mount and looked to be better made .But the Howe was probably $50-$65 more and didn't need anything except installation .Doug

[fe66comet]

I am leaning toward the Howe I,LL have to give them a call later today, I kids had a few bad days in a row this week.

[65er]

If you talk to them, I'd ask about the triple pass vs single pass deal.  My understanding is that the triple pass rad wants a lot of flow and no restrictions.  Fine for circle track racing but on the street I think you'll be better off with the single pass design.

[fe66comet]

I am going to use a CVR  55GPH pump with the adaptors that Jay makes so I should have no problem pushing adequate flow. My main concern is the limited space I have to work with.

[abyars]

I never heard of Howe.  They seem like a good company.  I bought one from Brice Thomas Radiator a couple years ago and really like it.  They are located near me in Anniston, AL.