First, there are two different versions of radiators for our cars.
The 26” wide version (used on FMJ's with A/C, trailer towing, police or taxi) and the narrow version (which can be 18”, 19”, 20”, 21” or 22” wide, depending on the year) on FMJ's that don’t fit the above description.
My ’77 Volare wagon 318 (no A/C) has an 18” wide radiator.
All the factory FMJ radiators are made of brass. Brass is not as good of a conductor of heat as copper or aluminum. Copper is too soft a metal for radiators, so not used. If you don’t have other issues (ie: blown head gasket, rust/crud in cooling system, stuck thermostat, etc.) the brass unit works fine.
I might have purchased the very last all-brass (Modine) 26” radiator for my ’86 Fifth Ave, a few years back. The ones they have now for our cars are aluminum with plastic tanks. They work ok but look odd for our cars.
This is an 26" plastic/aluminum radiator, which most likely came from China.
I have an opinion that plastic has no place in an automotive cooling system because of warpage and melting, but the industry has gone that way. I’m surprised they are not making engine blocks out of plastic now days (OK, rant over).
Personally,
I recommend taking your original radiator to a radiator repair shop to get repaired.
In most cases they can fix your existing radiator for less money than you can get a cheap Chinese unit for. Also, most the cheap Chinese radiators need some work to fit correctly and they have poor quality control (
if they have such a thing as quality control …).
Note: if you currently have a narrow radiator (ie:
not the 26” wide version), it is a bit of work to upgrade to the 26” version. The two metal pates on both sides of the radiator core support are made differently between the wide and narrow versions. It takes a bit of cutting/welding to change the plates out.
Another method is to bolt the wider radiator in using new holes (that you make).
If you do this, you have the option of getting out a saw and cutting the core support plates for the increased air flow OR leave the wider radiator with the smaller air entrance hole (ie: not all radiator cores will get any airflow).
This fellow forum member converted his narrow radiator brackets with no cutting (on the car). He made plates to fit the wider radiator - but he also has a few core tubes that don't get any (or much) airflow. The original plates are circled (below).
If you already have the 26” wide radiator, then the above steps don’t apply.
Hopefully this helps.
BudW