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By DANIEL TINDER - 17 Years Ago
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Does anyone have opinion/experience re: NOS vs. repro radiator/heater core parts?
On the one hand, I suspect 50 yr. old solder work could be suspect? On the other, repro parts made overseas might contain inferior metallurgy?
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By bird55 - 17 Years Ago
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Daniel, if you're talking tbird repro stuff, I have heard no bad stuff. For the price and availablity conveniece they seem to be pretty good. NOS Radiators would be left to the true concours restorations I think.
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By marvsmerc - 17 Years Ago
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Daniel, I got my radiator Recored using my original tank with 3 rows. It looks exactly like the original with the same mounting brackets etc. I had it recored at a good Radiator shop nearby. It cost me $250 which I thought was reasonable compared to a repop. Preserve America, Buy American
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By DANIEL TINDER - 17 Years Ago
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Marv,
Glad your re-core worked out. I had considered same, but was advised that old original tank/solder joints were unreliable in a daily driver.
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By Moz - 17 Years Ago
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g'day daniel the only problem you may have with a re-core is the size of the top tank can cause some flex around the solder joints which may cause a very small leak i have had a re-core in my ute for nearly 3 years & have had it re-soldered once due to it not being done properly in the first place my ute is a daily driver it does 100-150 miles per week.
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By marvsmerc - 17 Years Ago
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I guess I have been lucky with my radiator or have a good shop. My cars are daily drivers too and I haven't had any radiator problems with any of them in the past with solder joints. I even bought a used radiator on ebay for a 63 1/2 galaxie fastback & just acid washed it & used that for years with no problems. None of my friends cars have repo's that I know of either. Of course we are in the north country so our daily drivers are only used about 5 months, and we don;t get much hot weather so that can be a factor........... Mike Preserve America Buy American.
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By sundance241 - 17 Years Ago
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Danial , I have used many repro rads from differant companys. I found them all good , never had a problem ... For my 56 vic . i bought a desert cooler from US radiator and it fit perfect , looks great . They told me they test them in the desert with as much as 1000 hp engines , should work on a y-block..............will look for number if you want ........prob on the net ..........Sam West Central Florida
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By ejstith - 16 Years Ago
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marvsmerc (12/29/2008)
Daniel, I got my radiator Recored using my original tank with 3 rows. It looks exactly like the original with the same mounting brackets etc. I had it recoredat a good Radiator shop nearby. It cost me $250 which I thought was reasonable compared to a repop.
Preserve America, Buy American
Yeah, you got a deal there. Here they want over $400 to re-do my radiator. I need a new one and am shopping for one. I saw one on the net the other day for $320 but can't find it again to save my ass. One can get an aluminum one for like $500 but that's a little too steep for me. I'll just keep on shoppin' .. anybody know where there's a deal?
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 16 Years Ago
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EJ: A few years ago I bought an aluminum crossflow radiator manufactured by (or for) Howe's, a circle track car supplier. I bought it from Summit for about $200. Universal fit, I ordered the Ford version for the upper right/loser left hose connections. There is no trans cooler in it. Installed it in my drag car. Summit still lists them for just over $200, also list their house brand radiators for $160 without trans cooler and $205 with cooler. If you are not dedicated to looking original, this may be an option for you. John
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By sundance241 - 16 Years Ago
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EJ, I think i paid about 350.00 for the Desert cooler , made for your car...............Sam..........................................Central West Coast Florida
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By pcmenten - 16 Years Ago
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When I have a radiator with usable tanks, I will always opt for a re-core because I know of a good radiator shop in my town and the original tanks are better quality than the tanks on 'replacement' radiators. I have had good experience with Modine replacement radiators in the past, but the radiators that get offered by some radiator shops are pretty flimsy, lightweight looking affairs.
I've had radiators from Model A's, to 55 Scrubs, old Toyotas, and Fords worked on and I've learned to reuse the old tanks when possible.
When getting a re-core, you can opt for a core with the internal fins; improved cooling.
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By ejstith - 16 Years Ago
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Thanks guys. I have looked all over the net today and I can't find crap. I found a Walker for about $455. Pee on that .. I saw that Desert Cooler. I'll check that out. There's a guy on Ebay has them for $380. A lot more than a '57. I asked him why and he said demand. ? He said a '57 won't fit a '56. Griffin and others have aluminum ones but I don't want to fork out $500.. Thanks again ..
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