What radiator to buy? '71 Pontiac 455 wagon

Hello everyone,

I also posted this over at the PMD website, but I thought I would post it here for other opinions and for reference in case anyone else might need to know.

I found out the radiator in my 1971 Grand Safari wagon is totally junk. I need to get a new one and cost is a big concern. What would you guys recommend as the most cost effective radiator that wouldn't be too cheap and be junk?

It may make a difference that my 455 is numbers matching but has now been bored .060.

Thanks,
Brandon

 

If your car is a numbers matching car, then keep the original radiator, and have it recored. The radiator is date coded to your car, and if it is original, then that will keep its best value. Remember it is original only once. Once you start taking original parts off, and adding new, you depreciate the value of the car.

 

Yes, but I don't think a radiator is quite the same thing as an engine or a transmission. Radiators are pretty much wear parts. Not as quickly as tires or brakes, but they don't often last the life of the car if it's driven for any significant number of miles or kept for many years. If he has to replace the radiator, he has to replace it as they can't repaired indefinitely. I'm guessing the effect of a non-original radiator on a car's value is, what, a few dollars? Hardly worth losing sleep over.

In all my born days, I've never heard that "numbers matching" includes the radiator. It means engine and drivetrain matched to the car they originally came in.

Heck, my '73 Custom Cruiser, which has about 108,000 miles on it now, is on its third radiator. The first was replaced in 1983 at about 77,000 miles after it had already previously been repaired and cleaned twice. When I got the car in 2010, it had 102,000 miles on it, and the radiator was leaking. I took it to a shop and had it repaired, and that lasted about a year. Then it started leaking again, and I figured enough is enough and it's time for another one. So the first one lasted 10 years and 77,000 miles, and the second one lasted 28 years and about 25,000 miles. Obviously, in the latter case, it deteriorated just sitting as the car was driven much more sparingly in those later years.

As far as finding a new radiator for this car, you're not exactly going to find them growing on trees. Rockauto.com, for example, which usually carries pretty much everything, doesn't show a radiator for your car.

When I needed one for my wagon, which has the Olds 455, I found a new one over the counter at O'Reilly for about $220. Fit right in, and I thought that was a pretty good price for the heavy-duty one that I needed. I looked just now, and, curiously, O'Reilly shows availability of a radiator for a '71 Custom Cruiser but not for a '71 Grand Safari 455.

NAPA shows availability for a '71 Pontiac Grand Ville with a 455 (station wagons don't pop up on their menus) for $356.

Autozone shows one for just under $200, which I'm guessing is about as good as your going to do. Again, wagons don't show up separately in their menus, so I went with a Grand Ville 455.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...Z9pdak?itemIdentifier=517561_266534_4648_5281

 

www.rockauto.com

just punch in your car

 

Ah, no. As I pointed out, Rockauto fails in this case as it does not show availability of a radiator for a '71 Pontiac Grand Safari with a 455 engine. Other cooling system parts like hoses, thermostat, water pump, etc., yes. But the radiator itself? No.

Autozone and NAPA, to name two, do show as having a radiator available and at widely different prices.

 

Strange that they have one for the Catalina with the 455. I wonder what the difference could be?

 

Do they? I didn't check that. My bad. Yes, I do see that, and I bet they're the same. Rockauto just didn't cross reference its parts as thoroughly as it should have.

 

My last rad for the Trooper is a Modine Bros. unit.....seems to be a decent one.

I got it from an independent radiator shop, good price on it too.

 

oops...speed reading again

ahh yes...the crossover...i didnt think of that either

i will check the Canadian company that makes 1/2 the worlds Rads and see what they say too

 

hmm....i ran into the same thing,,,the Cat..yup.....but not yours....wierd

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. I was wondering if the aluminum radiators were worth the difference in price or if a copper radiator would keep my 60 over engine cool and it sounds like it should. With this advice I think I will go with a new copper radiator rather than have my original recored.

I'm not really concerned with a numbers matching radiator. I only mentioned that my engine was numbers matching to let people know what year the engine is because I thought that might help with the particulars of what temp range it might run.

Thanks,
Brandon

 

the olds rad should be exactly the same as the poncho hell the new 4 core in my 75 buick estate came out of a 66 catalina!

GET A 4 CORE and make sure it has a HEAVY DUTY TRANS coole in the rad! IT WILL run cooler with aluminum.

 

NONE!
There all the same.
ONLY diff could be the size of the trans lines as some of the (usually) 60;s had larger fittings and they make adaptors for this.

 

Instead of relying on the transmission cooler in the rad, I would add the heaviest duty external transmission cooler you can find. Well worth the extra $100 or so it would cost. Easy to install too.

 

By all means, get the biggest one they have. Especially since you are .60 over. And I opt for the exterior trans cooler as well.