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My '50 had a leak in the top tank of the radiator so my wife and I just spent a couple hours getting it out so I can find out how much to repair it. Whoever had it out last really made a mess of things and put it back together kind of half assed. I have not worked on it myself much before now so I'm a little disappointed to see things like this.
Anyway, should I replace the water pump and try to check the infamous tube in the motor I keep reading about? The car had overheating problems when I got it but it seems to stay cool now. I realize this is my choice I guess I'm asking what others would do. I've only put a few hundred miles on it. I don't know much of it's history.

Just my two cents but since you have the radiator out of the way and do not know the history I would go ahead and examine the pump and tube for peace of mind if nothing else. Whether you need a new water pump is an unknown but they are items that have a nasty habit of failing at very inconvenient times.

If you do decide to go thru the pump I would also check rebuild prices vs getting new. Kanter has new but I don't know which engine you have. He has repros for some engines and NOS for others. Either way it may be cheaper to replace rather than rebuild. If you replace now, that would also give you a core which if a rebuild turns out to be about the same price, you could do that at another time and then have a spare.

One other thing with the radiator out is to examine the rubber in the front motor mount. It could be deteriorated and squashed flat. It is fairly easy to change with the added room from the missing radiator. Even if the rubber is serviceable you still may need to put a floor jack with a piece of wood as a platform under the oil pan toward the front of the engine and lift the engine slightly in the mount for clearance to access one of the bolts holding the water pump.

Coincidentally, I am doing this job right now on my 1949 Series 23 Deluxe Eight sedan. I bouoght the water pump from Kanter. I took the radiator to the radiator shop for a cleaning and checkup, and bought all new hoses. I'm doing all this because the water pump was noisy and the fan blades showed some "wiggle" when checked.

I agree with all HH56 says, and would add that the grille center must be removed to get the water distribution tube out for inspection. It was clean and clear this time, but in previous similar jobs I have found the back of that tube packed full of rust and dirt, so I considered it worthwhile to go ahead.

I'm taking advantage of the disassembled status to clean, paint, and detail engine parts I can't normally reach.

Good luck with your project.

I am replacing the pump with one from Kanter, now that I figured out what motor it is. I'm hoping the guy can save the radiator. It looked pretty rough. I will also clean up a few ares while waiting for parts. This car is showing me new surprises with every turn and I hope it goes back together well and nothing else breaks for a while. Thanks for the responses.

I just had my Series 23 radiator removed and had the radiator shop put in a new higher efficiency core. This added another $200 to the job but it was worth the effort. I wish I had checked the coolant distribution tube but did not wish to pull the grill off. I previously had replaced the water pump with a new one and put in new hoses and thermostat.