Aluminum Radiator 30/31

A local guy with a 1930 Town Sedan bought one a couple years ago and NOTHING fit or lined up. He finally gave up trying to make it fit and sold it at a great loss through eBay.
The guy ended up ordering a quality radiator from Snyder's and has been happy since.
Maybe there's more than one Model A aluminum radiator manufacturer out there with better quality products. I can only speak from this one experience with one manufacturer.
Marshall
 
One of our club members tried one of these and it cooled very well but the fit was terrible. He spent a lot of time modifying it but was never able to get the hood to line up. He drove it for a while with the hood off while he waited for his Brassworks radiator to arrive.
 
Yes. "BButturff" brings up a good point that I neglected to mention. Admittedly, the local guy's aluminum radiator DID keep the engine cool, but just as "BButtrff's" club member experienced, the hood would never line up and the radiator fill neck was off center to the point that my hasty Model A owner modified the radiator shell to fit the radiator before I knew his intentions and could stop him in time. Yikes!!! There were also problems with the upper neck on the radiator that put the hose at an odd angle, forcing the man to buy a modern, longer hose to conform.
All in all, an expensive mistake compounded by impetuousness on the part of my acquaintance. If he had not tried to save a buck by resisting purchasing a quality radiator in the first place, he wouldn't be out a couple hundred dollars and a whole lot of grief - not to mention his "modifications" to the car, trying to make the aluminum radiator fit. As you can deduce from my description, an ill-fitting radiator is the least of this guy's Model A problems - mostly self-inflicted and mostly expecting me to solve them. I don't answer the phone anymore. :)
Marshall
 
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I have one on on my 1929, though not a 30 or 31 the rad i bought was a cheapie amazon model, but it fit well enough that nothing had to be modified my hood fit as weel as it fit with my leaky 1950's jc whitney radiator. I have been running it for the last 2 years no issues other than i should have painted it black. My car is unrestored and a driver so 160.00 for a radiator works for now.
 
A member of our club bought an aluminum radiator. He sent it back because nothing fit. Not worth the effort to install.
 
'Beats me why someone went to all the trouble and investment of making Model A radiators out of aluminum, but didn't bother measuring where the water inlet and outlet necks go or put at the correct angle. The main culprit is the filler neck being at least 1/2" off center so that the radiator shell cannot be lowered over the radiator without altering the shell itself (Gasp!!!). I understand that the side brackets where the shell bolts to are also not where they belong. What else is left to be incorrect??? Yes, they do cool efficiently, but what good does that do when you can't put on the shell, the hood doesn't fit, the water necks are at the wrong angle and the filler neck is misplaced? These aluminum radiators have been on the market for years now. Don't you think the manufacturer would have made corrections by now???
Marshall
 
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