I have a WALKER COBRA radiator in my model A. Has been in there for 11 years and now I have some leaks, that keep comming back after repairing. And new leaks poping up now and then. The leaks are small but annoying! I use the 1932 style radiator. Think I my try a AFCO Aluminum one. Any suggestions from you guys? Thoughts? Opinions? Thanks in advance. Mikey.
I have always had good luck with Walker Radiators but a fellow club member was always having problems with his. Mine is now 19 years old with no problems and his was about 4 years old,,,I went and helped him re-install the radiator after he had it repaired again and I ask him where were the springs that hold the radiator in place..he told me he didn't need them he uses rubber pads and bolts to mount the radiator. I had a extra spring set and installed them on his radiator...it's been almost 2 years with no problem. I'm not insinuating that this is your cause of leaks but when I was working with the NSRA inspection team I saw it a lot,solid mounting a radiator in a early 30's car is a all too common problem. HRP
An aluminum radiator will probably work-harden the same as the copper radiator. Please verify that your current radiator is mounted correctly as HRP has described above. Does your frame shake a lot? Is it boxed? Do you have a full X crossmember in the center, or a simple single tube running under the tail of the transmission? All these things will make a difference on how much flex your radiator sees. And flex is what causes the cracks.
If you think about it, radiators have to take a tremendous amount of abuse in their lifetimes. It's amazing that they do as well as they do. Flexing, vibrations, thousands of heat cycles and the attendant expansion and contraction involved, not to mention the possibility of stone damage or getting filled up with leaves and bugs. Then all too many of us park the car for most of the winter months allowing for any acidic funk to settle in place to do damage. At the very least, as noted by HRP and alchemy, we owe it to the radiator to at least mount it so it's reasonably isolated from flex and vibration. I just had the '55 Chevy, Harrison radiator in my '40 Coupe re-cored and was shocked at the cost..........A little care goes a long way....hopefully.
The rubber pads goes between the radiator & the frame,the SPRING is mounted on top of the radiator mounting tab. HRP
Walker is the best. After 100,000 miles on my 5 W, I developed a leak. I called Walker, they said to send it back and they would fix it. It cost $30 to ship it to them . They fixed it for free and shipped it back in a new box, painted and it looked like new. Cost me $50 to ship it back. $80 to repair is a pretty good deal in my book. 15000 miles later it is still going strong..
I'm running an aluminum 3 row 25"x17"x3" in my '32 with a 22psi cap. It keeps a stroked & blown BBF cool in the NM desert heat at elevation. I even lightly dusted the front with a quality satin black paint so it disappears behind the chrome grill. Works ducky.
William's makes real nice custom radiators for less than stock items........or at least they used to. I had them make me an aluminum one a few years ago that was A-1 quality, with beautiful welds and not one bent or broken fin (unlike AFCO). The price was less, and the quality better. http://williamsstreetrods.com/
Hotrodprimer is right. The spring neeeds to be in place. Without the spring, and bolted tight, there is no give, and the radiator will crack from vibrations. Henry knew this would happen, therefore the spring in the bolt.
kinda late replying, there's a shop in Highspire, I think Middletown Radiators; it an old school shop that can build anything you want, i've had a couple modified/re-cored there. I'm having them build my next one from scratch, will just help them design.
The Walker Radiator in my 32 had been there since 1979. Talked to Walker about having them go thru it before putting it back in the car (there were traces of minor leakage). The Walker guy I talked to on the phone was very unfriendly and only wanted to sell me a new radiator.
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