The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop radiator recore or new?

The other day, after bringing the truck home from an afternoon of driving, my radiator decided to give out. I lost enough antifreeze to make a puddle two feet wide. Any way to tell if a recore will work by just looking at a picture? Or should I just bite the bullet and get a new one and be done with it? I just added a couple of pictures on my link below.

What have you guys paid on your recores?

My "rebuild" cost $85 about three years ago. Not re-cored.

We just had a rather complete discussion about this a month or two back, try a search.
I believe the consensus was a repair flush and patch will run ya around a hundred bucks, always a possibility of loosing some of the total cooling area. A new one will run ya about three hundred, about the same as a re-core.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

mine vote would be to replace it ........ebay had a couple nice old stock ones that sold for 300 bucks.......jim carter has some nice ones.......a little different from original

First take it out....second take it to a radiator repair shop for an "assesment". A good rebuild job may be all that is required. If the experts say its to far gone then ask what it will be to recore it.
A new one from JimCarter is now 348 plus shipping. They just went up a month or so ago due to rising scrap prices I guess.

If you have made a contribution to the Stovebolt then Jim will give you a 10% discount which makes it a little more affordable.
BUT first you need to get it out and see what happened. Maybe only a tank seem came loose?

I had my rad recored. They had to do a special order to get the correct dimensions. I am very happy with the result and I was told that the new core would have even more cooling capability than the old one.

Thanks guys,
I am going to pull it today and hope that a patch will take care of it. Looks like I will miss the local monthly cruise/show again...we've been rained out twice and now this...oh well there is always August!

Chuck

Well according to two different shops it is toast, unpatchable, and to recore it would cost the same as a new one....I'm going for the new one.

Any difference in product between vendors?

Blue50:
For the "for what its worth dept". If my memory serves me correctly I think the radiators from JimCarter for the AD trucks is actually the same as the Desert Cooler radiator. As I mentioned above I bought my new one from JC a couple months ago and the price had went from 308 to 348...but I might add that was also with the tranny cooler in the bottom. I have not used it yet and its in the attic but it is exactly like the old one and is ready to bolt in. Actually I bought it when JC offered us bolters an extra 5% discount back in April. So with a total of 15% discount it cost me about 295.
Since American Classis helps support this site and JC offers us bolters a discount (last Dec. it was 25%) I would suggest giving them the business unless there is a Big difference in price elsewhere.
TRUCKERMIX: what did it cost you to recore when you had it done?
Blue50: what was the actual price quoted you to recore??

It helps us all to know the actual cost and especially in regards to the different parts of the country....or is mentioning actual dollars taboo around here?! ....or am I just to curious?! Perhaps mentioning prices, especially concerning vendors, will give them cause to be competitive and that my friends is to our advantage.

Alvin,
Both shops quoted estimates of $350+ to recore. American Classic, Jim Carter and Classic Parts are all around $380. LMC is still advertising $280 but not sure if that is correct....I will call them Monday.

Chuck

UPDATE

Well I never did buy a new radiator. In my business travels I came accross a radiator repair shop that has been in business for 60 yrs. When I walked in the door the old boy said "that's from an old Chevy pickup...don't see many of those around anymore" I knew I had come to the right place. A week later he called me and said come pick it up, it's ready. Cost me a total of $48. He even braised/welded (?) the support bracket that had come off and was flopping around.

He must have had 35 different repairs going from OTR trucks to a Ford 9N to some dirt track racers....1 man operation...said he was as busy as he wants to be....in a small town of 3000.

I just got done putting it back in the truck and everything looks like it's working fine. I will take out for a spin later this morning and see.

Chuck

Glad to here that your back on the road. Looks like it pays to shop around. Those other shops were more interested in making a couple of hundred bucks than 50 bucks.