Radiators

[Flgtcs]

What is the difference between the two and four core radiators? Is there an after-market radiator that is compatible with the 289-CS which is more efficient than the stock-type of radiator?

 

[ahainline]

the more cores, the more cooling I think..I think the cores are just the number of seperated sections of the radiator for water to flow through. Really depends on which route you want to go.. originality or performance. I think 2 core was OEM but 4 core is way better. Also make sure you get one for A/C or non-A/C.. google Ford Radiator and you should find a suitable one pretty easily.

 

[Perkchiro]

That is correct. The more cores, the better the cooling. My original 2 core radiator was worn out, so I took it to a radiator shop and they used the original upper and lower tanks and converted it to a 4 core. That may be a good option for you if you want to maintain the original look. As I recall, it was about 225 bucks. It works great.

 

[ahainline]

anyone know the best place to buy?

 

[CougarCJ]

Let us not forget that there are two different sized radiators for 1968.

1. 20 inch bolt in style, typically found on 6 cylinder cars and small block V-8's without air conditioning.

2. 24 inch clamp in radiators. This is the size of radiator found on big block Mustangs and Cougars and those cars with air conditioning. This radiator has both a much larger core surface area and larger capacity tanks. These are typically 3 cores.

If you are mearly looking to upgrade your cooling system, I would suggest the 24 inch radiator with stock installation brackets and fan shroud.
You didn't ask about fans, but the 4 blade style is adequate, but I like either the 5 blade flex fans or 7 blade clutch style fans.

Another school of thought for 4 core radiators is that the thickness of the additional row of tube(s) is detrimental to the overall efficiency of the radiator.

 

[franklinair]

I ran a 289, factory A/C in South Florida. The 4 row radiator, fan shroud, 5 bladed flex fan worked fine in the sub tropic temps & humidity. That's the best combo I found for running A/C.
Neil

 

[robert campbell]

We did not talk aluminum vice brass. I actually worked in a radiator shop in the early 70’s. Brass to brass, a 4 row has twice the cooling of a 2 row, if the width and height are the same. The new aluminum radiators have tubes that are twice the size of the brass radiators. And they exchange heat way better. So a two row aluminum of the same height and width can be more efficient than a 4 row brass. And they make 3 and 4 row aluminum radiators.

At the same time, as Steve says, a 4 row brass will look original and be way more than a 289 should ever need!! Most reputable radiator shops can do this for you. Cheapest option to get very good cooling!!

Rob

 

[Mustanger]

We did not talk aluminum vice brass. I actually worked in a radiator shop in the early 70’s. Brass to brass, a 4 row has twice the cooling of a 2 row, if the width and height are the same. The new aluminum radiators have tubes that are twice the size of the brass radiators. And they exchange heat way better. So a two row aluminum of the same height and width can be more efficient than a 4 row brass. And they make 3 and 4 row aluminum radiators.

At the same time, as Steve says, a 4 row brass will look original and be way more than a 289 should ever need!! Most reputable radiator shops can do this for you. Cheapest option to get very good cooling!!

Rob

Here's an interesting read on Alum vs Brass radiators:

http://www.usradiator.com/testing.htm

Now the issues are whether you care about 1) appearance, 2) weight savings, and 3) price.

One issue that you can also improve on is if your car came with a non-ac radiator (20"), you can upgrade to an ac version (24") and this will also help with cooling ...