Thanks for the post.
I believe that mine is the copper core and metal top and bottom tank. Either a rebuilt original or a reproduction.

Out of curiosity I went to the garage to see the date etched into the top tank of my 66's radiator since I remember one being there.  9-1-89.  From a radiator shop long since gone.  The radiator has been holding coolant since that time through periods of running and not-running.  The heater core recently perforated through and, alas, the replacement is aluminum.  We'll see how she does.

Last edited by Muzz 66 (7/09/2017 4:15 PM)

TKOPerformance wrote:

Yep, the old style ones were copper core with brass tanks.  The core is fully lead soldered to the tanks.  These hold up very well.  Keep the coolant fresh and don't poke any holes in it and it should live forever. 

Thanks TKO!
I will probably give it and the engine block a complete flush next time I service it.

Well, according to my original radiator, which was in my car until recently when I upgraded to handle the heat of southern summers... over 50 years! It was working just fine when I took it out. Just figured it wouldn't do such a hot job of dealing with the extra accessories (PS / AC) as well as the extra heat (NC / TX summer) so I swapped it out.

Two row cores are good, so long as they are aluminum.  In my experience two row copper/brass radiators don't reject enough heat.  Its just the difference between the two materials.  As far as common metals go aluminum rejects heat better than anything else.  Its also a good deal lighter.

I'm still running a three row copper/brass unit I bought maybe 15-17 year ago.  With the electric fan it does just fine.  Even drove it one night when it was still in the 90s and very high humidity just to see how it did an it never got over 205 degrees.  No AC though, and I suspect that would easily bump up the temperature 15 degrees, but still not that hot given boil over is around 240 degrees with standard system pressure and 50/50 antifreeze/water for coolant. 

There are four row copper/brass radiators.  I've never tried one, but from what I hear they may actually be worse than the three row because the cores in the middle get limited airflow and can't reject heat very well. 

A proper shroud and fan makes a lot of difference.  These cars were built in a time when traffic really didn't exist.  A lot of the airflow used to keep them cool was supposed to be flowing through the grille and radiator because the car was in motion most of the time.  Today, with how congested the roads have gotten we are stopping more and often traveling at lower speeds between stops.

Cooling system upgrades are basically a necessity.