Radiator - Exploring Options

[GrayFox]

I have had to take the radiator out of the convertible restoration and put it into the Herald estate.  Just as the odometer reached 66000 the screen was spattered with rusty "raindrops" and although the car made it home without overheating it was clear the rad needed replacing.  The removal of the radiator did give me the chance to finally get the timing right - much easier to find TDC mark on the bottom pulley and mark it with white paint without the rad in the way.

Of course I will now need another rad and am not sure whether to get the old one re-cored, buy a new one or find a second hand one.  Have heard tales of poor re-cores ("my Granny's cat could have done a better job"), quality issues with new radiators, and unseen ones off eBay are a bit of a risk.

Any advice would be appreciated.  The frame of the old rad seems sound but the fins are all very crumbly.

[Nick Moore]

I've had several radiators recored and the repair shops have always done a first-class job. Hard to spot a dodgy shop from the outside I guess, but hopefully someone here can recommend a good local fitter?

A lot of remanufactured stuff these days is rubbish, so I'd try to get the old one recored rather than a new one. NOS radiators might leak, as solder can bloom if exposed to the air for too many years, or so one repairer told me.

[Richard B]

Find your local radiator place. There are two near me (Guildford Radiators and Bagshot Radiators). Both do good wook.

Alternatively try the usual suspects (Triumph spare suppliers, Canley, Fitchett, Paddock etc).

[Clive]

Unless funds are very tight, I would avoid secondhand. They are often past their best even if they look OK.
Many rad places will recore, but I suspect the new ones on ebay etc are OK. Somebody on here MUST have got one?

Other thing, well worth fully flushing the engine before installing the new rad. I would hose it all through, no thermostat, especially the heater. Then reattach the rad, pop some speedflush in, and run it up to temp. maybe remove the fan for that? then reflush to get all the last bits of crud out. Last thing you want to do is clog a new radiator :-/

[Simoneg]

Fitted a new full-width radiator from Canleys a couple of years ago.  Works well but had to fit in the lowest possible position in order to avoid the top edge of the cap fouling the bonnet when closed (see photo).  Even then, the top of the rad is very close to the underneath of the bonnet, but maybe the bonnet on my car sits a bit low.  The new one also lacks the bit of cowling over the top of the fan, which can offer some protection for stray finger tips.  Never try opening or closing the cap whilst the engine is running with this one!  The original full-width radiator (if you can find one in good nick) has the cap in the middle, a slightly lower profile and can be fitted in a higher position.  
Simon

[pimp my vit]

On the subject of Rads can you use the Vit Mk2 plasic fan rather that the alloy ugly thing???

Its on a Mk1 Vit...........

[GrayFox]

We have just collected our re-cored radiator from Plymouth Radiators.  Sent it up there via TNT and it was ready in two days.  Looks to be an excellent job.  It certainly weighs a lot more than it did before it went in for repair, probably down to the quality of copper in the core.  Guaranteed for twelve months, it was pressure tested and repainted.  They charged £95 plus vat.  They would have posted it back to me for a further £15 but as we were going up to Exeter today for the Classic Car Rally at Powderham Castle we decided to go via Plymouth and collect it.  Turned out the boss, Paul, had a stand at Powderham so we could have picked it up from him there anyway.  We met him at the show and he told me the rad had been recored at some time in the past and been done badly - certainly seems to know his stuff.  Quite a character too!!
Recommend their service and quality of work to anyone else who needs a classic (or indeed a modern) radiator restoring.  Guess what I'm doing tomorrow!

[Paudman]

Got mine recored a few years ago, full width Herald rad with uprated core for a total of £100. A local radiator company carried it out, took two days in all from dropping it off to picking up the finished product.