240 D24 Radiator

[DieselScout]

The original Volvo radiator in my '82 240 broke last Autumn.
Finally, I've had the opportunity to take it to a repair shop.
They said the radiator is a 28 tube dual layer, for a total of 56 tubes.

The repair shop said I can fix it and keep the 56 tubes (double layer) or upgrade to 78 (double layer), 80 (double layer) or 105 tubes (triple Layer)

Any thoughts on whether a 105 tube triple layer will cool significantly better than 78 or 80 tube dual layer?

The current radiator in my car (The spare radiator I used as the replacement) is a Nissens (product number 250278, I think...it's hard to read this number on the radiator) with 51 tubes, by my count.
I cannot tell if it is single or double layer, does anyone know how to verify this?

With the original Volvo radiator (56 tubes) my water temperature was sitting about 3/4 up on the gauge. With the replacement radiator, it sits just above halfway.

[ngoma]

The Nissens is likely aluminum with plastic side tanks. Your original must be copper? Guessing because they said it was rebuildable.

Did the original radiator ever cool better than it is now? If so, I would rebuild it to stock (if the price is reasonable) and keep it as a spare.

This is a surprisingly complex comparison, but with a little study you can understand it.

Here is my favorite reading material on the subject:

http://caparadiator.com/aluminum-vs-copper/

[DieselScout]

My Nissens has metal side tanks, so I am assuming it's copper?
The original is copper.

The original did not seem to cool as well as the current, Nissens radiator.

The price for rebuilding the old radiator starts at $550 and goes up to $700, depending on the modifications. Is that about right for radiator repair?

[ngoma]

No more radiator repair shops around here for years so I haven't any recent knowledge about current prices.

$500 repair? I'd scrapyard the old one and buy a new one. Few years ago I got one from partsgeek for like $200.

Make sure it's the right one. On the 740 the diesel version is taller (extends lower) than the gasser version, 240 may be similar?