Recommendations on replacement radiators?

Chris, back in the 70's it was about $60 for a full rad rebuild. But the last time I had one done (in the 90's) it was about $100. Sounds like that shop next to your grandfather's place was a great resource. And you are right, they often did a lot more than radiator work.
 
They may have also had two pricing formats....these days to get a radiator working correctly I'd say there's no difference between 60 & 100, but there's a difference between 100 & a few 100.
 
Maybe a year ago a friend had a local shop that specialized in radiators and fuel tanks re-core, flush, and clean the radiator out of their Buick Skylark. I think it came to ~$100.

He also had them patch a hole in his fuel tank and clean the inside - that was ~$60 if I'm remembering right.

$325 seems real steep. Maybe they're the only shop in town and have a captive market. There's at least 2 shops that I know of in a 10 mile radius from me.
 
Obviously pricing for service work is dependant upon many factors. And shop rates have climbed significantly in recent years. Given the situation, it is completely understandable to pay $325 to get your car back on the road.

Imagine what it would cost to drive it into a regular service shop and say "fix the cooling system for me". By the time they charge to R&R the rad, sublet the unit to rebuild it, add whatever padding they want to that bill, and come up with a shopping list of other non-essential work that you MUST have them do, it would likely be over $1000. I know my sister recently paid close to that to a Ford dealer to get her cooling system repaired (apples and oranges I know, but you get the point).
 
I just got a quote from the last radiator shop in the area - $470 for a new 100% copper/brass core. He said much of the cost was for the core itself. He said that most Italian cars of the era used brass tanks and tubes but steel fins which is what the X has. The fins and the solder joints were starting to go so he said it only made sense to recore it. His opinion on aluminum radiators in general was that they will last for a few years but often fail due to electrolysis or the tank seals on the ones with plastic tanks. He said these new style radiators basically killed the radiator repair business because most new radiators are throw away items.

So, I can spend $470 and get a radiator that will likely out live me, or check out the aluminum replacements and try to find one that is well made.
 
I can see where a lot of the high price for a replacement core is due to the current metal values; copper (especially) and brass have skyrocketed. I wonder if he can make you an aluminum unit for less? The build quality should be good. But I imagine it will still be more expensive than the available aftermarket aluminum ones.

This discussion has me thinking about the needed repairs on the aluminum radiator I have. Given the status of radiator repair shops these days, it might be better to take it to a welding shop to have the leaking seams resealed?
 
I didn't get the feeling he was into aluminum radiators. He was 81 and an old gear head. He had a Model A in the shop with a flat head V8 that he built. He apparently has quite an inventory of flat head V8s and parts from back in the old days. I did manage to find another radiator shop which I plan to visit next week. It has been open since 1960 and I briefly spoke to the owner on the phone. I'm getting the feeling that most of the radiator experts left are over 70 years old.

Meanwhile, I did some cleanup on the fan, mounting bar, spoiler, etc. I also removed about 3/4" of the end of the driver's side water pipe that was a bit rusted. I wire brushed the inside and outside down to bare metal and will prime and paint. It should hold fine with double hose clamps. I had to do the same thing with the engine compartment end of the other pipe.
 
Just another two cents. I believe there is a coolant type that is specifically designed for aluminum rads to prevent deterioration which might just sweeten the deal toward the low cost replacement items...all aluminum rads are proven to cool better than the old copper core steel fin rads...they also look a fair amount “cooler” than stock...IMHO
 
I replaced my rad with VickAuto, $240. only issue is aluminium studs are not hardened (soft), so be careful tightening nuts on them. Old original rad was as clean as it can be, so I can tell the difference, alu one is much better (just confirming that laws of physics should not be questioned) and have in mind that I drive in Phoenix traffic, months of over 100F. BUT the main difference came when I tilted it backwards, see my old post about it.
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Any recommendations on aluminum radiator coolant? If there is something that could work reliably in an X1/9 I might be more interested. This radiator guy I visited said something about electrolysis with aluminum radiators and iron blocks. I've got 2 cars now with aluminum radiators and never had electrolysis issues but they both have aluminum blocks. The aluminum radiator on my Volvo started leaking at the plastic expansion tank seam after 13 years, but the aluminum part was fine.

If I go with the $470 rebuild, it will have copper fins but not sure if the core is any thicker than the stock ~1.5".
 
There are a huge range of coolants that meet your desire, I am currently using one intended for more modern VWs sold at NAPA Pentosin SF which is pink, VWs have a mix of cast iron and aluminum parts in the cooling system. This is a OAT solution which is phosphate and silicate free.

You need to be scrupulous about flushing your existing system when changing to modern coolants as some can coagulate when mixed with old style coolants.
 
dllubin said:
Any recommendations on aluminum radiator coolant? If there is something that could work reliably in an X1/9 I might be more interested. This radiator guy I visited said something about electrolysis with aluminum radiators and iron blocks. I've got 2 cars now with aluminum radiators and never had electrolysis issues but they both have aluminum blocks. The aluminum radiator on my Volvo started leaking at the plastic expansion tank seam after 13 years, but the aluminum part was fine.

If I go with the $470 rebuild, it will have copper fins but not sure if the core is any thicker than the stock ~1.5".
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For that price, you could get an oversize aluminum like mine from Howe Racing :)

If that were a significant concern, it would already have been an issue, given that the head is aluminum, the block iron, the coolant pipes steel, etc...

However, I switched to Evans Coolant, which has no water content. Requires preflushing with their flush mix or it will coagulate with any old coolant/water mix left in the system.
 
It is interesting how several vehicle manufacturers have developed proprietary coolants. And they are very expensive. Yet all modern coolants have the chemical formulation to deal with dissimilar metals and the alloys used in all cooling systems. One neat feature is that some can (supposedly) last pretty much the life of the car. Although other aspects of the cooling system (hoses, water pump, radiator) can't, so the coolant will get replaced anyway. I tend to view coolants in much the same way as oils, brake fluid, lubricants, etc; use decent quality products, flush and replace them at regular intervals, and check their levels occasionally. Otherwise I don't get caught up in the marketing hype.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
It is interesting how several vehicle manufacturers have developed proprietary coolants. And they are very expensive. Yet all modern coolants have the chemical formulation to deal with dissimilar metals and the alloys used in all cooling systems. One neat feature is that some can (supposedly) last pretty much the life of the car. Although other aspects of the cooling system (hoses, water pump, radiator) can't, so the coolant will get replaced anyway. I tend to view coolants in much the same way as oils, brake fluid, lubricants, etc; use decent quality products, flush and replace them at regular intervals, and check their levels occasionally. Otherwise I don't get caught up in the marketing hype.
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Once you switch to Evans you can send samples to them for analysis. No service interval. Unless it gets contaminated, of which they will advise you. I sent in samples several times during my HG failure run - to ensure it was serviceable. Besides what was lost out the exhaust, I filter & reused it each time.
 
Well, I found a radiator guy who has been in business since 1960 and will do a full copper recore for $385 so I decided to go ahead with it. It should be done on Friday. I thought that was pretty quick since the new core does not exist yet. Because of low demand for cores, most sizes are not stocked. My radiator guy calls the factory in Benica, CA and they will build a core and send it to him ASAP for $220 (about the price of a Chinese aluminum radiator. I figured the $165 for labor was quite fair.

Maybe not quite the cheapest solution but I won't have to worry as much about electrolysis, and it does keep the car more original (You can argue if that is a good thing or not). The copper fins should improve the cooling capacity over the original steel ones, not that I ever had any cooling issues with the car.
 
I wonder how much of an issue electrolysis really is considering we all have aluminum heads on iron blocks . . .
 
I think your rebuilt/re-cored unit should work very well. The newer cores are MUCH more efficient than the ones from back when the cars were built. So even if it has the same liquid capacity as the stock one, it will dissipate more heat. He might even be able to get a larger core stuffed into the tanks/framework. Regardless, the build quality is sure to be much better than the less expensive aluminum ones.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
I think your rebuilt/re-cored unit should work very well. The newer cores are MUCH more efficient than the ones from back when the cars were built. So even if it has the same liquid capacity as the stock one, it will dissipate more heat. He might even be able to get a larger core stuffed into the tanks/framework. Regardless, the build quality is sure to be much better than the less expensive aluminum ones.
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The radiator guy mentioned something about the way the fins are attached to the tubes these days transfers the heat more efficiently. That, along with using copper fins instead of steel, should make it better than it was when new.
 
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