Has anybody ever recored a Model A radiator? If so do you know how much they charge to re-core it? Will it be cheaper to buy a Walker Radiator? Thanks for the help.
Mine cost 500 but he also pulled the cast iron inlets and put brass in and moved the cap from the top to the back side. Main cost was the price of new core.
I bought the Core and replaced the tanks and support rails myself. The Core was $150.00 plus I learnt how to recore rads. Used a bicyle tube cut apart and clamped to the inlets to pressure test it when I was done. A little pressure and a spray bottle and things were good. Hope this helps. "The Tinbasher"
Thats a big price gap from $2oo to $500. Does anybody know of a good radiator shop in so-cal that will do it for $200 or less? I took my used radiator that I bought today and took it to get it pressure tested. Found out the core was leaking all over the place.
I have done literally hundreds of them, my father owned three radiator shops. I think for speed and ease you cant go past a Walker. To have one done remember this............ The core will be a different design to the original if you want to pressurize it. If you are running a strong 8 this is a must! Depending on the space you have depends on how much the core will cost you. Maybe they can order in a stock core that will fit (even if it needs to be cut down), may have to be a custom order. We were lucky over here, Holden Commodore V8 radiators were almost the perfect size. A custom one will COST! The top header plate will need to be custom made to fit the tanks, probably the lower one too, time and money. Soldering a header plate on should NOT BE TRIED by an amateur! Just a little too much heat and you kill the core. Then depending on where the hoses exit the motor you may need to move the tubes around. Easy with a hole saw and some new tubes. This doesn't take too much time but its mainly the parts cost. Thats why if you can afford a Walker it comes with a warranty and bobs your uncle. (No offence BadBob!) Over here something like that would set you back $5-600, so I think $4-500 US isn't out of the question. For you Aussies, DON'T buy a desert cooler, they leak and are not that well put together. The tri flow only differs by the addition of two little baffles in the tanks, they are not worth an additional $100 bucks! Go to a radiator shop and have one made for the same money. It WILL be a better unit. Doc.
Big difference in prices might be from when it was done. Just my guess. Seems things like copper have been increasing a little over the past couple of years. I had one recored one last spring. I think it was around $400. Neal
thanks for the responses. I think I will go with a Walker then to try to re-core the original. It will be faster and maybe less of a headache in the future. Thanks guys.
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