Re: Radiator Identification

Posted by Packard Newbie On 2018/3/24 12:50:59

Thanks very much for the responses. I may have been remiss in using the term 'braze', as I thought that is what they did. Regardless, the 2 other rad shops that I talked to both said there can be issues with the tanks not taking the heat of reattaching new cores and developing cracks. One guy said he could get it so the rad would pass the initial pressure leak-test, and then once it is reinstalled in the car, it would start dripping antifreeze from a crack that developed in one of the tanks, and that is just the reality of trying to repair a rad of that age. Needless to say, this doesn't give me the 'warm fuzzies'! I presume he means from road vibration. I have never heard of this before and have had 2 or 3 rads overhauled in my day, but never anything in the 80 year range, so I am kind of having to take these guys at their word. There WERE about 15 rad shops in a couple hundred mile radius of where I live, 5 years ago, and now there are 4, and the ones left frankly don't seem that interested in doing this - not dissimilar to trying to get a mechanic to work on a classic car - most of them can't be bothered. I've emailed Brassworks for a quote on a new repro and I'll keep plugging with these rad guys to see if I can get the fork under one of them, but I'm certainly not holding my breath!! Rather disappointing.