- Home »
- Catalog »
- Cooling System Components »
- Radiators/Fans/Shrouds »
- 1978-88 G Body
1978-88 G Body
Pontiac V8 1978-88 G Body
Wide and Shallow — 1978-88 G Body for Pontiac V8s
The 1978-88 G-body is the platform a lot of Pontiac V8s end up in, whether it is a factory Grand Prix or a swap into a Monte Carlo, Regal, Cutlass, El Camino or Malibu. The opening is wide and shallow, so the right radiator is the one built for that support rather than an early A-body part.
Butler stocks the Cold Case direct-fit aluminum G-body radiator, built as a bolt-in replacement with the correct factory stamping and OE-style fittings and a built-in transmission cooler.
Browse 1978-88 G Body Products
Popular Brands:
More About 1978-88 G Body
1. What fits this chassis
The Cold Case G-body radiator covers 1978-1988 G-body cars for automatic or manual transmission applications, with one stated exception: it does not cover the Grand National.
| Dimensions | core height 18.5 inches, core width 26.5 inches, overall height 18.5 inches and overall width 31.5 inches. Check your support opening before ordering, particularly on a swapped car where the support may have been modified. |
| Construction | 100 percent TIG welded all-aluminum with two oversized cooling rows on 1.25 inch tubes and 16 fins per inch, pressure tested, with a built-in automatic transmission cooler. |
| Appearance | it is a direct-fit replacement with the correct factory stamping and OE-style fittings, so painted it looks close to original. |
2. Why it matters on a Pontiac swap
These cars were built in an era of small-displacement, emissions-strangled engines, and the factory cooling package reflects that. Drop a 400 or a 455 into one and the stock copper and brass core is the first thing to give up in traffic. A Cold Case 2-row typically outperforms an original 4-row core by roughly 10 to 15 percent while weighing far less, which buys back margin without cutting the core support.
3. Plan the airflow too
A G-body nose is tight and the grille opening is not generous, so the fan and shroud matter as much as the core. Spal 12 and 14 inch puller fans, jumper harnesses, the Cold Case thermostatic fan wiring kit with its relay and fusing, and the CVF adjustable billet support bracket for radiators 1.5 to 3.5 inches thick are all in the Fans, Shrouds and Accessories section. If you are running a mechanical fan, check spacing to the new core before you button up the front of the engine.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.