is this radiator original?

[29ModelA]

To figure out just who made the Non-Model A Radiators would be a challenge on its own.

However there were four makers of the original Model A Radiator: Ford, Long, McCord, and Flintlock. These are refered to in the standards and various articles in Model A News and The Restorer.

Pluck

I just pulled a Long radiator out of my Sept '29 car. I assumed it was aftermarket,

I have it sitting here deciding if I wanted to recore it or not because it actually fit the car.... I guess I will be recoring.

 

[sethkestenbaum]

I've received interesting feedback and spoke with a few "known" radiator folks.

The radiator pros seem to suggest that I remove the old radiator and "hang it on the garage wall".

Is there validity to the impracticality of rodding/recoring the 28/29 radiators because the tanks are "challenging" to put back together?

 

[Tom Wesenberg]

If it was mine, and the 30 day vinegar treatment didn't clean it enough, I would then have a radiator shop unsolder the bottom tank. I would then take it home and rod it myself. You can buy a long drill bit about 1/8" diameter and make a small handle with setscrew for it. I would then carefully twist it by hand up each of the tubes, until it came out the end. If you can't find a long drill bit, then weld a 1/8" rod to a 1/8" bit. This should get the tubes open so you could try the vinegar treatment again, or buy a small bore wire brush and rod them out.

If everything else fails, you can always have Berg's recore it.

 

[Mitch//pa]

dont just hang it be creative

 

[sethkestenbaum]

Mitch, I love it..... but I plan to reuse the shell.
Tom, That was what I was thinking originally. I figure that I would be more "tender" in my approach than the shop would be.

 

[29ModelA]

Since Long produced some, did they also provide aftermarket, or is this one original? I know the cap is repro... and the radiator has dimple fins.

 

[acenewman]

Putting an origional rad back into my A is the best upgrade I have made. Solved all my cooling problems. Of course I was lucky enough to find one that needed only a minor tube leak soldered up Plus the rad is such a visually obvious part of the car, it drove me nuts to have a reproduction in there.