Champion Radiator and Stock Fan Shroud Issues. Ideas Please

So, about 4 years ago I bought a 3 core Champion 26" replacement radiator for my '70 Superbee. It took a tiny bit of massaging to the brackets, but it mounted to the core support just fine. Now that the car is finished, my 440 is running hot, so I ordered a factory fan shroud thinking that since the radiator fit the firewall, the shroud would bolt right up. Indeed it did. One issue. The L brackets that you screw it into pull the shroud back about 3/4" from the face of the radiator. It's fine on the sides, but it leaves a gap at the top and bottom. Not too sure what brain surgeon figured out this would be okay. So the 1970 shroud has an odd design. On the top hump where it is supposed to touch the rear face of the radiator there are these gaps all along the curved area (see photo). Not sure what they are for. Venting? The definitely don't line up with the grooves in the old core. So I have this gap at the top and bottom that looks ridiculous. What did you do to adapt yours to the stock shroud? Now that I have 100 bones tied up in this beautiful Classic Industries OEM shroud, I ain't going to order tin. If you sell these radiators or have fixed your problem WITH THE STOCK SHROUD, or if you think you are awesome and have a good idea BESIDES ORDERING TIN, please step up to the plate and tell me what you would do.

The first picture is of an OEM setup and the second picture is my debacle.

Lindy

Get an OEM set up

have the side brackets modified so they set closer to the core

Have the same setup and problem. I got some 1 inch thick black foam from Lowes and put it in the gap. Works and looks ok. Comes in a roll and has adhesive on one side.

Got any photos? I'm all about the Lowes fix! I actually purchased some aluminum plate to fill the gap with but shaping it will be time consuming. I'd like to see what you've done.

Buy a Griffin.

How come I can't see the photos? Are my settings okay?

I can't see them either

I can see the pics.
Wow Champion must have fixed that problem. I've used a few of the radiators as of late including a 70 B 26" and they didn't have that gap.

I think an OEM would be your best bet, plus it would look better in your (really nice!) car. A correct replacment would be $1,200.00 from Glen-Ray, a less expensive alternative but close would be a random numbered vintage OEM with a new recore job which you could probably get for half as much.

Its amazing how people love to spend other people's money..... which is fine if you are independently rich.

Go for the Lowes fix. It will work but not look as good as some of the other suggestions. I have a Champion in my '64 Polara. It's a 22" and since I'm cheap I spent about $12 and built my own custom fit shroud. A little left over 18 gauge sheet metal, some rivets, and the whole thing is encapsulated in two layers of fiberglass and resin. Looks better than the OEM in my opinion and works.

I Agree.

I would cut off the aluminum brackets and make some like in the above post or cut them off and have them welded closer to the radiator.

Well, you've either gotta move the radiator mounting flange closer, step the shroud flange, or fab/buy some kind of gap filler to use your existing parts. Foam or a rubber seal secured to the shroud is another alternative. The problem with a filler is that the shroud is pretty thin at top & bottom for a filler mounting surface. Whatever you use also needs to be OK against radiator heat.

Hey, I'm not spending anyone's money, only offering ideas & suggestions (see title of thread).

*Champion's have thier place, I just bought one for my test engine. I've seen Lindy's car, it's nice and mostly original looking and IMO (I am allowed to offer MY opinion right?) he should go with a stock one.

I wasn't picking on you. There have been others who suggested replacing his radiator too. Just saying that its easy for someone... anyone to suggest spending tons of money to fix a simple problem.

By the way... nice looking early hemi.

The problem is the radiator. Not the shroud.

It's running hot.

Wonder why?

It's a "Champion".

'Nuff said.

Same problem here...
Trim the sides of the shroud so it fits inside the radiator brackets.
L tabs bolted to the existing threaded shroud mounting holes will hold it there.

Doubt its the radiator alone. I run a Champion 3 core in my 512 never gets over 185. I run the same shroud w/a derale mech race fan. Didn't worry about the gap.

I've driven it on the street and hot lapped it at the track in low to mid 90 degree days

Same here. Haven't had any cooling issues with a few Champions.
I agree that his is probably another issue.

Hey guys, thank you for all the great suggestions here. I think I’m going to just try to The top and bottom with a piece of sheet aluminum or the foam like was suggested for now. I’ve worked hard enough on the engine compartment that I don’t want it to look goofy. Scott, I really do want to get an OEM radiator but it’s going to have to be on the back burner for a couple years. It’s kind of crummy. I had a 26 inch radiator out of a 70 fury but I missed placed it while moving. It was in perfect shape too!

Champion radiators actually get pretty good reviews for Performance. They just look like heck. The welds are good but they treat the fins like crap on their assembly line. It is running hot but I think the reason it is, is because of the pump. I bought an aluminum water pump off eBay and I think it’s probably either spinning backwards or it’s just a piece of crap! But I thought if I could get them shroud on there maybe it would correct the problem enough to where I can enjoy the car instead of letting it sit.

A Chinese replacement part that doesn't even come close to fitting?
Shocking!

I ran into a similar issue with my Champion using an OEM-style plastic reproduction shroud. I trimmed the shroud up pretty good and made some mounting tabs out of sheet metal & some pop rivets. It took quite a bit of "fabricating" to get everything to line up right. The hardware store window sealing foam tape is a really good idea.

I’m not spending his money either. Nor am I independently rich.
I see it all the time. Guy buys a Champion, then complains about fit, quality, and what has to be modified to make it all work.
Griffins drop in like stock, fit, and accept a stock shroud. They also mimick a stock appearance so if painted black it’ll look factory to the casual observer. Spend a little more up front to avoid disappointment later.

There is nothing wrong with Champion radiators. They cool just fine. However, they are an aftermarket item not OEM nor do they claim to be. So some slight modification may be needed for them to fit perfectly. Mine needed one hole elongated slightly which took all of two minutes with a file to fix.

The point is that most inexpensive aftermarket radiators are going to require some level of work for everything to fit the way it should. For what a Griffin or Walker replacement costs you can buy two Champion radiators and you can buy about 6 Champions for the price of a Glen Ray replacement. They're all excellent quality, drop in and OEM shrouds fit perfectly. However, for me and a lot of other people who don't have unlimited budgets, it very often makes sense to spend a little extra work to save a considerable amount of money in the end.

Champions cool fine if set up properly but anyone who purchases aftermarket parts needs to understand that some level of modification may be required. Many parts of this type are mass produced and designed to be "generic" so naturally they will require some fitting. Anyone who buys one is a little naive if they think its just going to drop in.... and that's true of a lot of aftermarket parts.

Lindy, by chance will the OEM shroud fit (slide down into/ EDIT: or up into) to the inside of the brackets, as opposed to the outside??? It looks a little thick, but I ain't there to measure...

FYI, i have a Champion radiator on my car and it has the shroud mounts like in the first post. Well that radiator is leaking just a bit (was on the car when i got it, core is 3 row looks like brass but sure that is right..).
anyway, i bought a 2 row (Alum core) 26" Champion about 8 years ago thinking i would need it for my truck, never used it. I just checked it to see if it is the same as what is in my car and the mounts for the shroud are flush with the core, so they must've changed their design years back...

Just looking at the pictures that shroud is way too far back and covering most of the fan, not a good way to cool and engine for sure. The shroud needs to be as flush to the radiator as possible, the fan needs to be 3/4" from the radiator, and sticking out of the shroud for maximum effect.

Too many cases of Champion radiators being bent, or leaking or fitment issues for me to say "There is nothing wrong with Champion radiators" and hiding behind "it's aftermarket, of course it will need fitment" is BS. Especially when it's not a universal fit but rather "3 core Champion 26" replacement radiator". Replacement implies it fits like stock, not fits like universal but you pay the replacement upcharge for it.

I have no love affair with Champion, but Griffins are 3 times the price. Not a little more. Glen Ray is 4 times as much. I don’t hear Champion owners complaining about the performance. Not even me. FINISH quality is not great, but BUILD quality is fine and when you build a car on a 33% budget you make your choices. I spent my money on other parts.

On a positive note, here’s what I’ve done with a piece of 1”x 1/16” aluminum bar stock. I’ll add a high-density foam rubber garage door seal lip underneath to seal the gap and rivet it on to some hand shaped L brackets. So goes hotrodding.

...and not bad for a guy with no access to a metal shop. 😊

Without


With

Mike, I thought long and hard about doing that. I’d have to cut the mating surface of the shroud completely off where the bolts go because they are offset. Also, the radiator has brass nut inserts that I’d have to extract. One of those cases where I wish I’d known I was going with the part (shroud) ahead of time so that I could have fabbed it on the bench. Thank you for the suggestion.

Excellent point. The fan is in there but it’s not bolted in. The blades protrude about 1/2” maybe a little less than half way out of the shroud when it’s sitting against its mounting surface. Not sure if that’s enough. Also, it is a 5 blade fan with clutch. Do you think that’s enough blade? Would it do better to remove the clutch to get the fan further back?

Picture of mine, 70 Charger with a 408 small block. I took the top half of the shroud off, to replace the fan belts. And left it off. Never overheats, and Florida gets hot....

The fan is quite close to the radiator.

I think I'm going to change my screen name to "Cricket"...
...because that's all I hear after I post.

Looks good! that's one of my weakest areas is metal fab

and the other is a new fangle cell phone? LOL

Yes! I have yet to figure out how to dial a # on it but I am streaming music into my mini shop so I am happy.

BB Bee

Your over your private topic limit and I tried to send you a PM. Where did you find the aluminum bar stock? I would like to duplicate what you've done.

Thanks

Ace Hardware sells sticks of aluminum like that in a number of different widths and thicknesses.