My Duster with Factory A/C, auto trans, and 225 has the 2 core radiator with the six blade fan. Don't know if it is classified as "heavy duty" or not.

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

Nobody around these parts wants to do a recore anymore, and when they do, they want $300 - $400 to do it. No kidding.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Well, at that point, the product of companies like this start to look attractive.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I have no personal experience with aluminum radiators. How do they compare to brass as far as efficiency and longevity?

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Pretty much like anything else (headlamps, carburetors, whatever): Good radiators of "X" material are better than bad radiators of "Y" material, and whether "X" or "Y" material is intrinsically better is less relevant in the real world. You have to use an aluminum-compatible coolant formula, which is not a big deal since they all are these days.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Bad radiators come in all flavors, as do good radiators.
The thermal properties of brass itself are better, but the solder joints are a problem when compared to welded joints in aluminum. Having a radiator/condenser/fan/pump-space-challenged '64 Valiant, I'm more concerned with finding one that fits or can be made to fit, than with which material it's made from.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

Well, the local radiator shop seems slow on work and they were a bit more eager to please today than I'm used to. I took them some of my most solid 22" "A-body" radiator cores, and they're going to cobble me up a 3-row unit with a new core for $250. I'm tired of searching and mulling this thing over, so I gave them the green light.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Hey Dennis, have you tried Robins Radiator in Warner Robins. I have taken several radiators to them and they are very good. And quick too. I had my recore back within two days.

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

That's cool, I just don't feel like driving 2.5 hours round trip for a radiator! How much did they charge for a recore, out of curiousity?

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

$100 I think. I provided the core out of a radiator that had busted tanks but a good core. They separated the core from the old radiator and put it in my other radiator that I brought in. Which had a rotted out core but the tanks were good. They kept on insisting that I should by a new core from them but I was a hardnose and insisted that they do what I told them to. That was two years ago and I still have not had a problem with that radiator yet. I have it in my Fifth Avenue. Trust me, they did not like having a teenager tell them what to do.

You don't live no further away from Warner Robins than I do. It takes me about two hours round trip also.

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

They shouldn't have minded too bad. They got $100 for a little solder work. I bet you got no guarantee with that either, glad it worked out for you, though.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

They gave me a 90 day no questions asked guarantee. Labor costs are high these days and this was one of the cheaper places.

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

as for the original idea on this thread, i called the company in question and asked them what brand of radiator i would be getting if i ordered the one listed on the web site....they say Visteon....not one i am familiar with, so i email Visteon about there rads....here is the reply i got today:


Sean -

Thank you for inquiring about Visteon Aftermarket Radiators.

With nearly 1000 different skus available in our all-makes all models
aftermarket radiator product line, we have multiple points of
manufacturer.
Currently the majority of our radiators are assembled in Buffalo, NY.

If you have a question about a specific application, please let me know
and
I can tell you where that particular application is made.

Regards,
Jennifer Klas
Visteon Marketing


so, more to come

sb

Visteon is the result of Ford having spun off what was originally their lighting and plastic interior component division, in the late 1990s. They, like GM's former divisions-now-spun-off Guide Lighting and Delphi Electronics, are struggling hard to stay above water now that they no longer have the "captive" business of all their parent companies' new vehicles. I would be most interested to learn that the Dart/Valiant radiators they offer are US-made items, and I could certainly be wrong, but I suspect if you press hard enough to get genuine answers, you'll find that they buy those items from another company, and if you're able to follow the chain high enough, I further suspect you might find it to be an offshore product. There are not a lot of A-bodies left on the road, and demand for new radiators for them is extremely low. In the aftermarket, parts are coded by their popularity. A and B graded parts are considered fast movers, and are stocked by just about every Warehouse Distributor (WD) dealing with any particular product line, so as to provide same- or next-day service in most cases. C-movers are sometimes stocked and sometimes not. D and F-movers are almost never stocked, and W-movers are "special order" or "available until stocks are depleted" items. A-body radiator assemblies, new complete, would at this point be considered somewhere between a D and a W-mover.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

apparently the phone jockey from the website didn't know what they were talking about:

Sean -

Sorry but we don't offer a radiator for that application. It is an
older,
limited application.

Regards,
Jennifer Klas

so, who knows what you would get if you ordered that thing, or where its made or anything about it.

sb