Tweet
About 3 months ago the upper hose connector on my radiator sprung a leak. Took it to a shop and they fixed it but said he didn't think it would hold - no charge.
Held fine but a few weeks ago a few of the tubes started leaking - not sure if I hit something or if it was all the work done earlier ..... the radiator is 53 years old so who knows.
Took the radiator to 2 shops for an estimate on a re-core. Apparently there are only a few (or one) place that makes the cores for these radiators - seems they are an odd size. The second shop said they could make one out of a more standard size to save a little money but not sure how it would turn out.
I've seen one of the replacement radiator's (not sure from which vendor). Looked pretty cheap and not well made. Talked with Carl Heller and he gave me the info on the ones he has made. Decided to get one through Carl.
Turned out SUPER. It's a real quality brass replacement simiar to the original. Installed it today and went for the first test drive - perfect.
I was a bit concerned because UPS managed to drop something on the box that was so heavy that it pushed the top hose connector back about 1/8 inch. Really good heavy solder joints and metal - nothing looked cracked so decided to try it rather than make a claim and wait on another one.
First glance out of the box reveals that the upper hose connector is angled a little different - thought that would cause a problem but it did not. About the only complaint I have is that the top mounting holes for the sheet metal screws are a little too big for the original screws. I had to add a washer. The side tanks are slightly larger and the top mount rubs them pretty hard so I just took a pair of pliers and bent the metal back. Might cut it out and repaint this winter.
Over all it is a very nice radiator and preformed perfectly. If you find that you need one get in touch with Carl Heller ( partsetal ) and he can order it. Only took about 4 days for mine to get to me. I feel for the quality it is reasonably priced. About $450 depending on your shipping address. The re-core on my original (no new side tanks) was quoted at $480.
Here's the important part - PICS!!!!
Eric
you can see where the top hose connector was bent during shipping - paint is missing. I re-used my transmission hose adapters - same thread on the new radiator.
Barely enough metal for the old screws to catch - just add a washer
Held fine but a few weeks ago a few of the tubes started leaking - not sure if I hit something or if it was all the work done earlier ..... the radiator is 53 years old so who knows.
Took the radiator to 2 shops for an estimate on a re-core. Apparently there are only a few (or one) place that makes the cores for these radiators - seems they are an odd size. The second shop said they could make one out of a more standard size to save a little money but not sure how it would turn out.
I've seen one of the replacement radiator's (not sure from which vendor). Looked pretty cheap and not well made. Talked with Carl Heller and he gave me the info on the ones he has made. Decided to get one through Carl.
Turned out SUPER. It's a real quality brass replacement simiar to the original. Installed it today and went for the first test drive - perfect.
I was a bit concerned because UPS managed to drop something on the box that was so heavy that it pushed the top hose connector back about 1/8 inch. Really good heavy solder joints and metal - nothing looked cracked so decided to try it rather than make a claim and wait on another one.
First glance out of the box reveals that the upper hose connector is angled a little different - thought that would cause a problem but it did not. About the only complaint I have is that the top mounting holes for the sheet metal screws are a little too big for the original screws. I had to add a washer. The side tanks are slightly larger and the top mount rubs them pretty hard so I just took a pair of pliers and bent the metal back. Might cut it out and repaint this winter.
Over all it is a very nice radiator and preformed perfectly. If you find that you need one get in touch with Carl Heller ( partsetal ) and he can order it. Only took about 4 days for mine to get to me. I feel for the quality it is reasonably priced. About $450 depending on your shipping address. The re-core on my original (no new side tanks) was quoted at $480.
Here's the important part - PICS!!!!
Eric
you can see where the top hose connector was bent during shipping - paint is missing. I re-used my transmission hose adapters - same thread on the new radiator.
Barely enough metal for the old screws to catch - just add a washer
Comment