2001-2004 C5 Corvette (Cut Down) Radiator

Radiator

• Shorter overall core height provides extra clearance for supercharger installations
• No need to space radiator core support down for supercharger induction plumbing
• Complete aluminum radiator assembly with no plastic end tanks or rubber gaskets
• Two core radiator design with dual 1-inch-wide core tubes for maximum cooling
• Press formed end tanks fully welded to core with no gaskets or epoxy construction
• 1-3/8-inch factory-sized cooling hose inlet and outlet connections to use stock hoses
• Direct Fit® upgrade means just that, with no modifications needed to your Corvette
• Radiators are assembled in the U.S.A. with a lifetime warranty
• 2-1/4-inch-thick core increases coolant capacity by one gallon without fitment issues
• Serpentine cooling fins deliver optimum airflow across core tubes for cooling
• Built-in 7-plate engine and transmission oil coolers on applicable models
• Optional 12-inch dual electric cooling fan package with 3,200 cfm airflow available
• Black Ice two-part epoxy coating available on all aluminum radiator models
• Controlled atmosphere furnace brazed core with TIG welded end tanks
• Factory-style quick connect fittings on automatic transmission cooler equipped models

America’s Sports Car Deserves the Best Aluminum Radiator Upgrade

Corvettes do many things quite well. From hot lapping the drag strip to stretching its legs on the road course, or even taking in a cross-country road trip, the Corvette has the power, handling, braking, and comfort to handle anything you can throw at it. That is until you notice the temp gauge climbing, that sweet tattle tale whiff of coolant, and steam exiting your hood gaps when the stock cooling system is overwhelmed by aftermarket high performance upgrades.

With the radiator design GM used on the C5 Corvette, like many designs on the road today, product costs and installation methods on the assembly line dictate the product and its compromises. An aluminum radiator core with injection molded plastic end tanks that are crimped to the core, sealed with a giant O-ring, means Chevrolet’s Corvette befalls the same issues as most vehicles using a similar radiator design when asked to do more that it was designed for.

While this design saves weight and allows mounts to be molded into the tank, saving the cost of additional bracketry to secure the radiator, the vibration felt throughout the chassis from powerful engine upgrades and extended hard driving puts a lot of strain on these mounting points, creating cracks, and the harmonics/twisting motion creates leaks at the crimping point of the plastic end tanks. A lack of cooling system service creates failure points too. Solve these issues with a DeWitts Direct Fit® performance aluminum C5 Corvette radiator upgrade.

Built to Support Your Supercharged Corvette’s Induction Routing

We get it, the injection molded end tanks save money and are easy to manufacture while handling the Corvette’s stock cooling needs, but that’s not how we do things with DeWitts radiators. Our Pro Series Direct Fit® C5 Corvette radiator is built using the highest quality aluminum materials, assembled, furnace brazed, and TIG welded all in our Wixom, Michigan facility (just 30 mins up I-96 from GM’s corporate headquarters at the Renaissance Center). Each radiator carries a limited lifetime warranty, is pressure tested, and carefully double wall boxed with insulation to ensure it makes the trip to you and keeps your project moving forward.

For our DeWitts C5 Corvette short radiator we reconfigure the overall core height without changing the end tank location to provide an easy mounting solution for C5 Corvettes with centrifugal supercharger installations. Typically, on the C5 Corvette to route the supercharger outlet to the front mount intercooler and then back to the engine’s throttle body requires spacing the radiator support downward and cutting/trimming the radiator top channel and fan shroud to provide (just barely) enough room. This can further weaken the fragile factory radiator and lowering the radiator support creates other issues as well. With our C5 short radiator configuration we provide the room for the supercharger plumbing without having to make these major modifications and it all bolts right in, even with our optional dual cooling fan system.

No Plastic Tanks and Factory Cooling Hose Connections for An Easy Install

Our press formed end tanks mean you won’t have any fitment issues and your factory cooling hoses, oil cooler lines, fan shroud, and more will all connect right up without modification. Flat plate welded end tanks that our competitors use rarely have this luxury, requiring modifications to your car to fit the larger tanks and/or additional bracketry or adapters to refit your stock components. Using a two-row core built with 1-inch-wide core tubes and serpentine cooling fins maximizes air flow contact through the core to pull away the most heat, no matter the demand on the system, while increasing coolant capacity by one gallon over the stock single row core.

Automatic transmission-equipped models feature a 7-plate internal cooler (twice the capacity of the stock cooler) while our engine oil cooler, also a 7-plate design, can be fitted optionally to radiator applications that weren’t originally fitted for one. Our Black Ice two-part epoxy coating is a semi-gloss black finish that provides an OE-like look for those that want to keep things low key under the hood.

C5 Corvette Pro Series Direct Fit® Radiator Options

Our C5 Corvette short radiator upgrades start with our 32-1139197M DeWitts radiator for base models with manual transmissions. Depending upon application needs we provide the correct end tank configurations for hassle free connection to factory coolers and mounting points.

For driver’s side aluminum radiator tank internal engine oil cooler fitted radiators we offer a direct replacement oil cooler hose kit with built in factory-style 7psi bypass and our own custom AN -10 oil cooler hose kit with billet engine adapter that makes installation and hose routing a bit easier. Either one of these oil cooler line kits will allow you to run our 7-plate internal engine oil cooler on applications that were not factory equipped with one. Our optional C5 Corvette Cooling Fan Upgrade features dual 12-inch fans and flows 3,280 cfm of air; double the stock single fan capability. Finally, be sure to add some DeWitts High Performance coolant to your order to protect your cooling system and help it achieve maximum thermal capabilities.

DeWitts Radiator Application Guide:

32-1139197M (Pro Series Direct Fit® short, natural finish, dual 1-inch core, no cooler)

Base model C5 with manual transmission

32-1139111A (Pro Series Direct Fit® short, natural finish, dual 1-inch core, TOC)

All C5 with automatic transmission (early 2001 to 2004 with quick connect line fitting)

32-1139111B (Pro Series Direct Fit® short, natural finish, dual 1-inch core, EOC, TOC)

All C5 models, includes dual 7-plate coolers (early 2001 to 2004 with quick connect line fitting)

Note:

EOC: Engine Oil Cooler

TOC: Transmission Oil Cooler (used in Z06 models for differential cooler)

Automatic Transmission Cooler Note

Early 2001 Corvettes used a standard flare type transmission connection and later models switched to a quick connect fitting. Please check your transmission oil cooler connections before ordering. For more information, please see our technical note with additional info and available line adapters.

Installation Tip

The 2001-2004 C5 Corvette has the Electronic Brake Control Module (ECBM) located below the upper radiator hose. This creates minimal clearance between the hose and the brake lines. The original equipment upper radiator hose (GM PN 10229479) has a riser to create sufficient clearance. A direct replacement hose is a Gates PN 22404. Both hoses are molded to fit the stock radiator inlet OD of 1.32-inch and the DeWitts inlet at 1.375-inch OD. However, the larger diameter DeWitts C5 radiator inlet will not accommodate the original equipment hose clamp without modification. We suggest using new clamps any time a hose is replaced, which will alleviate this issue.

Specifications

Dual Fan

Upgrade your C5 electric fan with this custom dual fan package. A precision laser cut aluminum shroud that incorporates (4) four rubber flapper valves to improve air flow at high speeds and close at slower speeds. Two SPAL 12" high performance fans provide 3280 CFM, which doubles the factory output. DeWitts preps the fans with matching OE fan plugs so no cutting or splicing is required.

Specifications: