Champion Radiators any good???

Ok, I put a radiator in my truck from "www.radiator123.com"...

It was an exact fit. And very inexpensive.

I probably wouldn't buy it, if I had a show car... But it was perfect in terms of "keeping the truck cool"!

Check it out, especially if you just have a "cruiser".

My ...

Tim...

Has anyone asked the member who has the ad in the BB claasified if the problems being described are common and maybe a bad batch

I saw this old thread kicking around about the Champion radiators and thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

I am an authorized distributor of the Champion Cooling radiators and everyone has been pretty happy with the radiators. For the price is a great radiator and I have had alot of happy mopar owners putting these in their car.

First of all if you get radiator that is twisted contact your distributor about the problem they will have a shipping label sent to you and will send you a new radiator.

The drain (peacock) is not plastic the plugs on the tranny cooler are plastic. They are suppose to be removed if you are using the tranny cooler.

The bad things about the radiator.

1. They almost bolt-in directly. I only sell to mopars guys so I have heard alot of stories. Most people need to either notch out one of the notches on the bottom of the radiator or drill an extra hole. This typically helps the radiator to mount correctly. I have had members tell me when they measured the mounting holes on the stock shroud they were not correct from the factory so that has something to do with the issue as well.

2. The new 22" radiator does not support the stock shroud. Champion recently shorten the 22" core radiator because about 50% of the radiators were not fitting into the a-bodies. Well with the new change it is great for the guys that are in need of the shorter radiators but bad for guys that want to use a stock shroud. I recently had to do a return for one of the members here for this issue.

3. The upper hose is sometimes an issue. Champion only has three choices for the mopars. 22"core upper passenger lower driver, 22" core lower passenger upper driver and finally the lower driver and upper almost center for the early mopars. They also have 26"core upper passenger lower driver, 26" core lower passenger upper driver. If you have a different configuration you need to move the housing for the thermostat to work with that configuration. They do not have a radiator for a old mopar with a new hemi. I keep asking and I keep getting told NO.

4. I agree that I do not like the holes where the tranny cooler lines go. I know that is has something to do with the aluminum radiators but I had a heck of a time getting them threaded correctly.

I would love to hear all the bad news and good news from you guys about the radiator. I am a mopar guy first and if they were crap I would not be selling them. If your distributor dropped the ball and you are having a problem send me a PM and I will get you the help you need.

Let me finish by saying that these are not perfect radiators. Take a trip down to Autozone or Oreilly and see what you can buy for $200 and compare that to the 2 core radiator that I sell for $170 delivered to your house. Believe me I did it. I had an old Ford truck that needed a radiators and you should seen the radiator I got for $200.

If you want to buy a new stock radiator that is cool with me. If you want to spend top dollar on a high end aluminum they have some beautiful stuff out there. But if you want a nice aluminum radiator at a budget price that is working well for 99% of the people that I have spoken to at a show or sold one to then we had some nice stuff for you.

This is not a advertisement at all I want to set the record straight for anyone that wants to hear it. I want to make sure every mopar guy that might of bought one of these is happy with the product and if not tell me why. They come with a 90 day warranty and you can return without question for 90 days for a full refund if you did not damage it. After the 90 days for the next year you can upgrade or exchange for another radiator. That is a pretty decent warranty. So if you are unhappy let's get you what you need.

Champion right now has been on backorder for 4 core radiators for a long time. We are hoping to see some in the next two weeks so anyone that wants one of those they are still on backorder. All the rest are available on a typical week if you need one.

So fire away for comments and concerns!

Craig

Thanks for chimin in Craig.

I just got a 375 last week and it was twisted. But not real bad and given the mods I will have to do to get the 26" radiator into an A body, I can deal with it. I don't think most guys would have used it, though.

Dave,

You can swap it out if you need to. I can work it out for you just let me know. Champion will send you a label for a return and will mail you out a new radiator.

Craig

I have been trying to return my 22 incher since i ordered it on JUNE 22..Looks like a 12 year old welded it together...I cant use the shroud...the right lower brkt is wrong ..and the upper outlet is not far enough to the left..and my fan hits it..It is now JULY 12 and no call tag from (performance cooling) champion...The latest story I get is champion moved?? can anyone verify this??Is this performance coolings m.o?? Has anyone else been [Edited by Moparts - Family Friendly Site - Keep it clean] raped like i have???I want this pos out of my shop...

abomb,

You can easily return the radiator to Champion Cooling for your money back within 60 days. Have you tried to contact the distributor directly?

This is the contact info I found on ebay.

If you have any questions you can call us at 209-652-4059 or email at performancecooling@sbcglobal.net with your question include your number if you like call back.

Let me know how you make out. I will call them for you if you cannot get anywhere.

Craig

wow Im just gonna give you my 2 cents here since i do know the guys there. you call Rick,(hes the owner if i remember) at 714-432-1266. They are out of SO CAL and are a good place to deal with has been my experience. I had one bad one out of my dealings and it had a twist in it, but they let me return it and got me a new one right out. I sell for them just by word of mouth, nothing special. But I was so impressed with the service i got and the product was awesome , that i called and got hold of Rick and he and I kinda hit it off and walla. So tell him Brett in Sonora, CA(from Pro Street) told you to call and gave you the #, and I aint saying were best friends, but i think he will remember me and take care of ya man. I hope this helps. Ive run 3 different apps of thier radiators in a cuda,(BB car), a 69 camaro(LS engine), and a 72 chevy 4x4 with an injected engine and all are awesome!! So for the price they are just as good or better than a similar griffin I run in my other camaro. Thanks, Brett

Brett,

I have found everyone at Champion great to work with on any questions about their products.

Craig

I installed my Champion radiator today. This was my second try. The first one was a real piece. The second one was nice but twisted. The dealer did not want to take it back. He told me to try twisting it back. I was leery, but figured I would give it a try. I clamped it down to steel welding table and was able to get 90% of the twist out. I then pressure tested it to make sure that it wasn't cracked. Today I installed it. I had to modify the mounting slightly. The fan shroud fit well, but needed moved up a little for my car (kesler 5 spd). Over all I am satisfied with it. If I was doing it again I would have spent the $550 for the Griffin.

Just got my 26" 3 row champian yesterday for my 67 Coronet and test fitted it to see if there were any problems. It fit perfectly. This is my 2nd. radiator I have bought from them with no problems. The first one is in my 68 Charger and it has been cooling great.

got my 22'' Champion Rad. this morning for a 72' Duster. looks good, no twist. will have to drill the two top holes to line up with the stock mounting points. this Radiator is 5 pounds lighter than original one, and holds 1 pint more water.

Well with all that I have read here I am going to recore my OEM 22 inch. I don't think I will fool with these!!!!

I bought a victory radiaitor off of ebay and it works and fit great. It is a copy of a champion I think. But it has a rounded top/bottom tank instead of the angled champion's, which looks more stockish to me. Price was roughly the same.

I bought one off of eBay for $189 to my door. It was a 2 core for my 65 dart 318 & was touted as a direct fit. I did have to redrill 1 mounting hole in the drivers side flat side flange. It cools well tho a 318 DD does not challenge its' cooling abilities. No leaks. No bottom integral trans cooler but I use a seperate cooler

I bought a 26" 3 core over he summer. I test fit it just to see if it would line up and it did so. I think for the dollar it's a good product. It just really bothers me that the finish quality is so poor. I've built assembly line products and worked in the packaging equipment industry. 90% of the ugly appearance of a champion radiator can be completely avoided by better handling of the raw materials during transfer, storing, machining, welding, handling and packaging. Their production practices are sloppy and would only require better planning and training on the part of their production managers and possibly some improvement of their work and storage surfaces.

Mine will require a half days work to straighten fins, clean it up and polish the tank to make it presentable. Not terrible considering the price but totally avoidable so there's my rant.

Of course if they took my word for it and put in the effort to make their product prittier, they would want more money, so maybe I should be happy with the ugly duck that is the Champion radiator.

I put one in my Dart. Bolted right in with no problems. Works great.

I bought and installed an Ebay 2 core 22" Champion/American Eagle radiator in my 70 Duster 360 and all I had to do was widen the holes/slots for a couple of mounting bolts to fit. For $159 delivered I was more than happy and the motor ran much cooler with no need for a fan shroud.

Anyone ever paint one black to make it blend in more like a stock one? been looking at one for my 68 Road Runner.

Any additional feedback on this Product???

I bought mine through a guy who was advertising them here on Moparts back in February of last year. The one I got was a 22" for the 69 Dart. It fit correctly and when I ordered had it set up for automatic trans cooler. I thought the service was great and the product as well. It looks and fits great. Anyone interested in one try ordering it thru "Craig Durham" <craigibc@yahoo.com> That's where I got mine.

Have a 26" 3-row in my Duster with V6 Contour fans on it. The fans only have to cycle on and off to the low speed only at idle to keep my engine cool on a 90+ degree day. It was also straight and the quality is pretty good. Very happy.

I am a Champion Cooling Products dealer and they are a great bang for the buck. I've used them in several local customer cars ad they all love them.