50 Chevy Radiator Questions/Issues

I had the stock radiator on my 50 sedan pressure tested before I put it back in the car to cool my fairly stock 283. It's been working very well, but I've noticed that when it warms, little spurts of steam come out from under the br*** covering on the top. It goes bonkers with steam when the thermostat initially opens up, but settles back down into the occasional spurts, pulled into the engine bay by the fan.

SO.....I'm figuring this means that my radiator is shot, or well on its way to being DOA. Am I wrong in this ***umption? Is it cheaper to get the original re-cored as opposed to buying a new AFCO one? If it can be re-cored, do ya'll know anyone who does it?

Thanks!

 

It seems most radiator shops would rather sell new than put labor into an old one. Replacements are cheaper than labor, so they say. How many psi is your cap? I'm using a 4 lb'er I think. Don't want to stress it, and it stays cool as is.

 

I'd have to go check the cap, I'm not exactly sure :/ It's the cap that I had it pressure tested with at the time.

I KNOW I saw that AFCO was making one for 49-52's...but now I can't find a durn thing.

 

I've got a stock rad in my 52 burb with a 305 and I played with the cap until I finally put a 13 lb cap and a puller fan/shroud. It works great and stays around the 180 mark with a 165 t-stat. Hope this helps.

 

these stock 50's radiators can't handle a cap above 8-10 lbs. they were not designed to handle that much pressure. I had the same issue, I had my radiator repaired and put a 6 lbs cap and its been 5 years, no more leaks.

 

What did you do to repair it? Recore or some off the shelf stuff to seal it up?

I checked my cap, and it appears that it says "7lb", but it's kinda rubbed off a bit. There's a number after it "50kcb" or some such.

 

7 lbs cap should have been OK, try a 5 or 6.

I took my radiator to a radiator repair shop, they pressurized it, found the leak and soldered it up.
that stop leak stuff at the auto parts place is OK for a temporary fix on the road and I know some guys say it lasts forever but, I don't trust it for the long haul.

 

I have been using 55-57 chevy car radiators in my 49-52 chevys. They are cheaper than the 49-52 rads and easy to make fit. All you need is a piece of angle on either side to make them bolt right in. I have better pics if you need to see them PM me and I will load them tonight.

 

i put one of these in mine for 199.00 goes right in..