buying a new radiator

aussie merc

aussie merc

Well-known member
wondering if anyone wants to share their experiances buying a radiator off ebay or knows of a quality product to suit 39 mercury but local temps vary from 40C in summer to -5C in winter note this is a driver and used regulary not a pampered trailer queen
 
I used a Walker radiator in my 37 and I am very happy with it. I think the aluminum ones look cheesy on a stock flathead.
 
Had a local company do mine using my old tanks.
I approached him with old school racing mentality (4 core, 13 Fins per inch, and "swirl cool" [dimpled] tubes).
He advocated newer technology 3 tubes and 15 fpi. Reason being the bigger tubes slow the water speed so much more and the other 2 fpi gives greater cooling area without sacrificing air flow. 15 fpi on a 4 core radiator slows the air flow too much. Kind of a delicate balance according to him

The side benefit is it looks like it belongs there. You really have to look to see the larger tubes since the core thickness is the same.
 
BTW, aussie merc
tankx for your comments about a driver. Everything we have done has been "purpose built"; intending the car to be driven on a regular basis. Pretty useless sitting in the garage
 
The brass radiator was new when I bought my '47 four years ago. Don't know what brand/design it is; no problems with durability or cooling.

However wanted to comment that I read a lengthy test report published in a trucking magazine which compared brass vs. aluminum. As far as cooling efficiency it was close to a draw for comparable designs but prices for aluminum radiators higher AT THAT TIME. That said, one can then consider the issue of making repairs to radiators and to my knowledge brass wins it.
 
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I've had an ebay Aluminium Champion radiator in my Forty for the last few years and it runs cool regardless of the weather.

It runs about 1/3 up the gauge in traffic and on the open road although it did get up to 1/2 way once climbing the Toowoomba range in the summer.

I filed the welds smooth on the top tank, painted it black and it looks good.
You could buy 3 of them for the price of a Walker or similar.

Dont buy a Desert leaker. Had one in a 32. once big mistake
 
I bought one from radiator express for my 1950 cpe fit perfect looks some what like the old one but my car is a driver and price is very easy on the wallet great product for me
 
My vote is Brassworks in Paso Robles, CA Running a 4 row in my '39 p/u with an 8ba. Lee at Brassworks was very helpful with fitment issues and an all around good guy to deal with. JMO
 
checked out walkers nice product but $5000 au by the the time its installed just about needed a jump start myself
 
I've been working away on a 50 for about a year now. Taking my time, it's gonna be my 70th birthday present to myself and I'm gonna drive it every day. Car came with a nasty looking truck radiator, a lot of flushing cleaning and soldering and it's somewhat usable. Gave me time to check out decent rad repair shops: "yeah, maybe there's a good shop in Shreveport", or, "Surely there must be somebody in Springfield." Or, "No, that old guy died." "That guy burned his shop down and ran away!"

So I, reluctantly, got an Asian made Champion brand aluminum one off ebay. $204 shipped. Fit perfectly, works so well I might have to put cardboard in front of it for the rest of my winter test drives. Been in there 8 or 9 months now.

For that price it now seems like a no-brainer. If I ever get me a real one, I'll have this for a spare.
 
aussie merc said:
wondering if anyone wants to share their experiances buying a radiator off ebay or knows of a quality product to suit 39 mercury but local temps vary from 40C in summer to -5C in winter note this is a driver and used regulary not a pampered trailer queen
Click to expand...

If its a everyday driver, do yourself a favour spend the extra for a Brassworks from US. I did & couldn't be happier. Not cheap & freight is getting up there but hopefully it will outlast me. Best quality I've seen.
Kpar
 
another option ,But alloy is PWR,on the goldcoast,they make all the racing cars ones .VERY nice, they made one for my brothers Etype jag and it looks and works great.
Lawrie
 
OR, you can buy a nicely made chinese one off ebay, ( yes some chinese stuff can be good quality)
I put one in my 38 pickup to try it out. The cost difference was huge compared to a new mainstream brand. I got them to make it to my dimensions taken from an original radiator. The only thing that I could fault was the visual welded seam. I have since read on this site, that you can grind that smooth, which would improve the look.
Now I have been running this for two years up here in Queensland with no overheating issues, apart from a vapour lock experience in the original fuel pump.
I was very careful to ground the radiator to the chassis with a seperate wire and I run rust inhibitor in the distilled water.
3 rows of tubes , at a cost of under 200$. Even if It needs replacing in 5 years its still cheap way out.
Just a thought, as I have also gone the recore route on my other vehicles at a cost of $1000 each.
PM me if you would like the company name( i will have to look it up as ot was awhile ago,
Dave
 
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