NORTHERN Aluminum RAD's~Any good?

[monte87]

Greetings guys-

Im in the market for an aluminum rad, swapped out a leaky Fluidyne last year after only 7 months, and then went back to oldschool 3 core copper/brass. After a few hot days here in NYC, temps climbed a bit, Mkviii fan was working a bit hard to cool it down-But did., I really dont like that, im use to 190 all day long with the old fluidyne in traffic, whatever...
I was looking into a NORTHERN aluminum rad P/N# 20-5029, Just wondering if anyone has them same rad, what there thoughts were and all. I noticed it had 2 petcocks, one on passenger side, (normal one) and one on driver side, or it may be a alignment peg, im not sure. Anyone know???

Any 411 would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks Anthony

 

[rrl]

i just pulled out my northern 2 row.its part no 205029 and am going to replace with a 3 row.i bought my car used and it runs hot.from everything i've read,a 3 row is preferred if its supercharged,which mine is.i don't know how old mine is so i thought i would just replace it.i hope the 3 row keeps my car from running so hot.its in the 210 to 215 range.i'll let you know if the 3 row works better!

 

[Rick James]

I am looking for one myself and having problems deciding on what to get.I also have noticed that most 3 rows have 5/8 inch tubes which will actually give you less surface area than a 2 row with 1 inch tubes and be less efficient.

 

[RYC CUKR]

I run a Northern in my 88. Cools great with the minor bolt ons that I have. I really like it because it has all of the holes and slots for the stock fan shroud brackets and bolts so when you put the shroud back on it looks pretty stock.

Mine has the petcock on one side and a plug on the other side. I guess so that you can swap which side the petcock is on if you need to.

 

[James_G]

I searched the forum for radiator information for about 2 weeks and found the universal griffin 31x19 to be about the best deal. bought one and installed it on wensday. Works great. Lower oulet is larger than stock but was able to make the stock hose fit fiarly easily. This is on an 88 mostly stock for now, but i needed to repalce the radiator so figured id get something decent now.

 

[rrl]

i installed the 3 row and it keeps my lx at about 25* cooler than than the 2 row northern it replaced.i can't say that the northern was bad because i never had a infra red done to it to see if it was clogged.i thought i would just replace it with a new one and it turned out good for me.the radiator i am using is champion cooling.fit ment was perfect and also has all the slots for mounting etc.

 

[68converted]

I have the 3 row from Northern on my conversion, and I can tell you it cools so well, the fan has not come on during the neighborhood test runs. (yes the fan works, it will come on during garage tuning)

 

[Rick James]

i installed the 3 row and it keeps my lx at about 25* cooler than than the 2 row northern it replaced.i can't say that the northern was bad because i never had a infra red done to it to see if it was clogged.i thought i would just replace it with a new one and it turned out good for me.the radiator i am using is champion cooling.fit ment was perfect and also has all the slots for mounting etc.

Is that the one on ebay?any pics?thanks

 

[rrl]

yes it is.it was by ledfoot racing out of california.i was impressed with the construction of it and it does carry a lifetime warranty.the company that makes it is champion cooling.with shipping it came to about 240.00 and got it in 5 days.works great!

 

[monte87]

I had a copper/brass 3 core, didnt cool for **** once it got in to the 90's in nyc, The fan ran constant and was pegged at 210. When i ran the fluidyne, the car ran 185-190 all day long, and when on the highway at speed-NEVER came on at all. Cant say that for the 3 core copper/brass. I know when thefan runs, have an LED light off the relay. I was amazed. Mind you, My thermal fan swicth is a 200 ON/185 OFF........
You can get a northern from CJ for $324 and a fluidyne from summit at a matching price of $348, Just unsure of which one i want. It seems every fluidyne seems to leak eventually, Its SAD... Im running a Mkviii fan and have to be concious of thickness with a max of 2 1/4.... So im stumped. But one thing i can say is that nothign cools like a fluidyne/aluminum rad, But they arent built to withstand NYC streets, oldschool copper/brass 3 cores are built like tanks, But can cool for **** when it gets HOT. I never had a northern, So im unsure!!!!