Hey everybody I am actually close to driving my 55 Buick for the first time since I've bought it. About 10 years ago when I first bought the car and thought that I was going to get it on the road, I had the radiator cleaned and rodded out. It p***ed a pressure test, and. I filled it with antifreeze and started to work on the brakes. In that time the water pump went and I couldn't get the brakes working so it got drained and sat. So anyway I have a new job and I was able to throw some money at it this year so I replaced all the belts and hoses got the thing running really well, had the treadle vac rebuilt so it actually has brakes and now the radiator core is starting to leak. I don't know what happened but it seems like a replacement radiator is close to $1,000 these days they range between $700 and 900 bucks. I don't know what happened to $200 radiators but it's a little annoying. What should I expect to pay if I have it re-cored?
In my part of the world, anything under $600 is a smoking deal. Radiator shops are becoming a thing of the past and lead, copper & br*** are only going up. Cheers!
I popped the upper tank seam on my 5 year old Br***works radiator, cost me $700 to have the tank resoldered and a baffle added to the center to support the tank better. I still had to do the polishing myself on top of that.
I hate to say this but if you know the core size and the the physical over all size you can find an aluminum replacement without breaking the bank….. Google radiators by dimensions I believe Champion shows it. The prices are all over for a specific replacement so do a little finger work on the internet. I just bought one by size that happened to fit some obsolete foreign sports car for $166.00 WITH a 14” electric fan. When I looked up replacements for that car they were up over $350. I had to cut some extra mounts off but made it work for me perfectly. I did a quick search and found yours as low as $320 to $880 I’m sure for the same units. If you do it get ALL WELDED and no glue. Many bad mouth them but we’ve run the at 26 pounds at 260* in circle track racing and never ever had a problem.
Re-cored is as high as new usually. A good call if you want to keep originality. A copper/br*** made in the US will probably run $700-1k offshore aluminum specific to the Buick seems hard to find. Maybe measure and find a universal one. They ain’t cheap the same way a 2x4 costs a lot more than 10 years ago wonder if a tri 5 Chevy is close. Those are everywhere
Agree on finding approx size from a common vehicle - at a good price. If the outlets are on the correct sides, find one close - preferably larger - modify the core support to mount it up. Takes a little digging based on radiator dimensions.
Depending on the features you want between 775 and 965 For a Copper/Br*** OEM style radiator from US Radiator. Buick Century 1955 Radiators | US Radiator
amazon's got 3 and 4 row alumium tri-five chev radiators from 170-230 bucks. In todays hotrodding world you must adapt to save. You want 'plug and play' be prepared to pay.
eBay to the rescue. I have bought some from a Champion vendor, radiators4less. Shoot him a message if you don't see him selling one for the '55. https://www.ebay.com/itm/265664327331?fits=Year:1955|Make:Buick&hash=item3ddad3eea3:g:ILEAAOSwGxNgzBgD&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA4I+oJM3Ef7F+Y10snz8uPgyZaQ+9DHta31M4e51RhdkfBxDuyx6+WqkmKZ7pbohfa7QZGxtGy0KwfDPsSeZTH40THOH8fjFsn441z7u/ioJztMJtV770qm+97VdH912HL5dSO9tCNGgjx+WiFajcTRjHmq3dtWfxwbiBAR0iost6D4SMuQlVq5VqmqYljTbbl/FVeURLQiyAIi596HRNmCEo0/vqXnZKyR9Mm1S4I7oFRPgvvV3ZzGPfLpa/KQ9LWWqviP5PGUHqj7Uqgqr1pV**+qjB/tjyFCC/GOcSA5mz|tkp:BFBMwPvGmKlh
The 55 Buick has a heater hose connection on the right side of the radiators lower tank. You can get a fitting that T’s into the lower radiator hose to solve that problem.
I take all my vintage stuff to Advanced Radiator in West Burlington Iowa . Kevin runs a first cl*** operation and does stellar work ! He’s done my old Caddy’s , C-10’s and presently has the Radiator out of my ‘40 Coupe .
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