The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk DIY - radiator re-core

I've been looking at my 3 row Rad on the bench and doing some testing [I filled it with water] And it would make a better watering can than anything else, end caps are good. SOOOOOO I was wondering if anyone has purchased core material OR stripped a core from something newer [still copper] and used it?

Iv never tried it but sure thought of it more than once.
With what they get for a re-core,it seems the markup is about 200%. And the new radiators from the suppliers are pretty cheesy.

I don't think of this as a typical DIY project.

I'm sure there are guys who can do it and you may be one of them. I'm not. I watched it done years ago and would conclude its something that takes practice to do well.

If you do take it on please post a description of the process and pictures so we can all learn about it.

If you DIY I hope you are able to pressure check it also when completed.

Hello All,

I've done this before. It really isn't that hard. I think the most dificult thing to do as far as the labor is to emove the tanks from the core without melting (some people get carried away with the torch and just heat the Crap out of them), and or warping, cracking, or damaging them.

Apart from that, the trick is to find someone willing to supply you with the correct core. For me that required a friend who worked at a radiator shop. After explaining things to his boss, he was able to piggyback my order to their regular order. My understanding at the time was that my core was actually made after ordering and wasn't a shelf item. They called it a cellular conversion core, that allowed the use of original Harrison tanks to mate onto a non-honeycomb type core.

As far as reassembly. It wasn't too bad. The trick was cleaning. It's basically like sweating a huge pipe that sinks heat very well, so getting the temperature just right so that the solder flows is really the trick. Using a good flux is very important for cleaning the metal so the solder could flow.

Pressure testing is not really that difficult. Use an expansion plug on the openings to seal them and use compressed air to pressure test. I've also seen this trick tool used at radiator shops to find leaks. It's basically a hand operated pump that is attached to an expansion plug that is placed in position of the radiator cap. They place it on your rad, squeeze it a few times, and take it to pressure and look for antifreeze. I dunked mine in water looked for bubbles. You don't have to go crazy with the pressure, because on the cellular conversions your only going to use a 7lb cap at maximum, and probably a 4lb or 0lb.

I did this before joing Stovebolt, so taking pictures was not even in my mind then.

Hope this helps, and I'm sure someone else out here has done this before and probably better than I,

54Monster

Hi OldSub YES not typical but sure hate being held hostage and paying the ransom too. But I think that a guy could set it up. I to have watched the pro guys at soldering and there is a skill there. I have done some in the past mainly leak repair.
NOW WHERE DID I PUT MY ROSEBUD TORCH AT yea right

54Monster Did I Miss something? Did you say that you put honycomb core on a harrison, what year?
MY BAD you went honeycomb to linear correct?

A local rad shop did mine and used a 4 row forklift core that matched the dimensions of the original for $250.00.

Curt B actually i'm hoping to beat the price you paid by some, but it's to soon to tell, I realy need to find a place that will sell a new core OR find a good used copper core, But the used stuff may have gone to the smelter in the last wave of high copper prices.
Do you have any idea of the price for you're core only.

Went from honeycomb to linear.

The original honeycomb was rotten and I'm not even sure if that is even available anymore.

54Monster Someone here or over at the GMC site has a web address for a place that restores honeycomb and other types, AND talk about skill level to solder one up.I'm sure you made the right move as to cost. the stuff they do realy high skill level stuff here it is, check it out Maine Auto Radiator.com way cool stuff

Yeah that stuff in the antique section is really amazing. If I had a car that demanded something like that and I could actually afford it I would like to have something like these guys offer. They just look beautiful.

Thanks for the heads up. Good to know that I just found yet another antique part for my cars still being made that I didn't think existed anymore. I always like telling someone that says "Problem is you can't get the original parts anymore." Beg to differ sir, yes you can and they are still built here in the USA.

54Monster