amother radiator question, 36 coupe

[ford nut]

I just got a quote of $695.00 to recore my radiator from toms on orange ca. seems high to me, he said the problem was dealing with the fan well as it is part of the top header.it took 2 months just to get a quote. I sure hate being told "i'll call you in a few days" twice, and never getting a call back until I re-call him. that price is getting really close to a new u.s. radiator and that would be all new metal. I don't think I want an aluminum one, even if it's temporary. any ideas?

[51504bat]

Check with Fontana Radiator Service. They do everything from M/C radiators to heavy equipment and custom stuff as well. Cleaned out the radiator on a '40 big truck I used to own and redid the bottom inlets on a '39 p/u radiator.

fontanaradiator.net

repairing aluminum radiators, brass radiators, heavy equipment radiators and custom radiators since 1956.

17635 Arrow Blvd, Fontana, CA 92335

(909) 822-8737

[ford nut]

I wonder if I could cut out the well in my original one, leaving a 5/16 flange around it, and solder it in a new us radiator? what other fan options are there? electric? nope.

[tgarner317]

Bought mine through BrassWorks in Paso Robles. They build every kind of Radiator you can imagine and do quite a few one off builds for Pebble Beach type events. Cost was over a grand, but well worth the money. Now I’m making sure I don’t have to go through this again. I pulled my heads, found the cause was a leaking head gasket that blew my radiator. I’m cleaning all the casting junk out of the block b fore it all goes back together.

[ford nut]

Originally Posted by tgarner317

Bought mine through BrassWorks in Paso Robles. They build every kind of Radiator you can imagine and do quite a few one off builds for Pebble Beach type events. Cost was over a grand, but well worth the money. Now I’m making sure I don’t have to go through this again. I pulled my heads, found the cause was a leaking head gasket that blew my radiator. I’m cleaning all the casting junk out of the block b fore it all goes back together.

the brassworks called me back friday late afternoon and we had a nice chat. he thought the 695.00 price was good, I think his price was 1050.00, but wouldn't be able to start for 12 weeks! that would be plus the time to build! I don't even have the time to go down to orangs county to pick mine up. maybe i'll call them up and say do it. I'll make up my mind by Monday.

[rotorwrench]

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With an average shop rate of around $85 an hour (no telling what it is in CA), there aren't too many work intensive operations that aren't going to be expensive now days. Sweat the tanks & mounting parts off then do repairs as necessary, cut down a core to fit, clean & prep parts for solder, reassemble radiator & test, then apply some black paint. It takes a while and it's a hot and nasty work environment so folks are going to have to weigh that to decide what the right price is.

[tgarner317]

BrassWorks built a completely new Radiator for me. They hand-built the tanks and gave two options regarding the core. One option was to make it concourse show worthy using the exact same material and fins per inch as came off the line in 1936 or use a newer type core with more fins per inch made of a different material for cooling efficiency. The second option is what I went with as I plan on driving my car frequently. Cost for the first option I’m assuming would’ve been much higher because hey have to set up with different tooling etc. than they typically use. I can find and post some pictures if you’d like.

[51504bat]

Originally Posted by ford nut

the brassworks called me back friday late afternoon and we had a nice chat. he thought the 695.00 price was good, I think his price was 1050.00, but wouldn't be able to start for 12 weeks! that would be plus the time to build! I don't even have the time to go down to orangs county to pick mine up. maybe i'll call them up and say do it. I'll make up my mind by Monday.

When Lee at Brassworks did the radiator for my '39 with an 8ba a year or so ago he was 7-8 weeks out to build it. He told me if that was a problem to speak with my school board and tell them to start offering shop classes again. Lee said he's got work but can't get qualified help. Now that he is saying that he is 12 weeks out to start a job I'm guessing help is even harder to find now.

[Tinker]

He might be giving you a price to just go away. He might not be interested in doing it.


It doesn't seem like a real horrible price, but if you have a hard time getting a hold of him for an estimate, might be even harder to get the radiator back after you drop it off. That's just speculation.



Might also be a very good shop that turns around a great product. He at least knows there is a fan pocket, so he knows more then the average bear.


Most likely in the best type scenario you'll be lucky to get it back in a week or two. Maybe worth the wait.

[ford nut]

a week or two I can wait. even a month. the two months to get a price? very annoying. I think i'll probably have him do the job, just because I don't have the time to get down there and pick it up, and take it around getting prices. gee, I hope I didn't say anything to him that would make him not want to do the job. . . .

[quickchange34]

Brassworks has built serval radiators for me and they do super work. They are worth the price. beautiful solder work all brass tanks and copper . The finish is so nice you can polish the brass tanks if you want. They also make them in four row tanks. They keep any flathead cool even with a blower bolted on.

[Tinker]

quick, good, & cheap. Pick two. Quick and cheap might not be good, and good and cheap might be slow. Who knows...



I'm sure it'll be fine. Probably a warranty with brassworks. I have had a few recores. All still working. My truck upper and lower were in pretty bad shape also.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by ford nut

the two months to get a price? very annoying. .

Think I'd walk if you want to see your radiator in the next 6 months or more.


Maybe not, however. If I had definitive answers about things hypothetical, that'd make life a lot easier.

[tgarner317]

This is the old Radiator that was built by Brassworks back in 2003 when my engine was rebuilt by the previous owner. You can see where the seam blew out at the top right beneath the tank.. Sad day.



Here is a pic of my new Radiator they built at the end of 2017. I don’t have a picture of the backside showing the well for the fan.



New Radiator installed and was able to line up the chrome trim on the grille. It was always a little off and didn’t seat properly against the grille before now.



I dropped off my old Radiator at BrassWorks at the end of October 2017 and picked it up right before Christmas. So the 7-8 weeks Lee quoted at the time was pretty spot on. He’s a great guy to work with and the end result is outstanding.

[Tinker]

tgarner317 was the repair a warranty repair? Granted it was 14 yrs old.

[tgarner317]

Wasn’t a warranty repair.. Lee said they wouldn’t have been able to properly repair the damage; So a completely new Radiator was built.

[Tinker]

That makes sense after 14 yrs, just curious. Might have been able to fix it also locally too by brazing it. Water under the bridge. Brassworks makes a fine product for sure. No local shop would warranty more then a 1yr.

[tgarner317]

I first took it to a small local repair guy and he said he could waste my money and have him try to repair it but the repair wouldn’t last.. This was a known trusted Radiator repair shop that had been around for more than 50 years.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by tgarner317

I first took it to a small local repair guy and he said he could waste my money and have him try to repair it but the repair wouldn’t last.. This was a known trusted Radiator repair shop that had been around for more than 50 years.

Just asking.

[tgarner317]

I went out and took a picture of the backside of the Radiator showing the fan well.. Disregard the towel keeping dust etc out of the engine while the heads are at the machine shop.



Fordnut, hopefully you’ve already made sure the casting sand and any rust has been removed from the coolant passages while your radiator is out. I’m still in the process and actually need to lift my engine up again and remove the lower hoses to properly flush it out.. I couldn’t believe all the junk that came out from the coolant passages! Crazy.

[ford nut]

well, by Monday at 12:noon i'll make a decision. I know the brassworks great quality. does anyone remember if they require a deposit, or do they take the order over the phone?

[deuce lover]

After reading this thread,here is what I did.When I bought my 36(had a flatty) it had a Walker radiator and an electric fan .I replaced the 37 flatty with a 59AB.I still did not pay attention to the underside of the top tank of the Walker which is flat.I got the new motor in and buttoned up the sheet metal.I had decided I wanted the stock fan.When I went to put it in is when I saw that it would not clear the underside of the top tank even with the generator as low as it would go on the intake.I thought maybe of looking for a good original 36 radiator .No luck,then.What I did was trim each blade a little over 1" and all worked out very well.My good friend Jake Jacobs made a template which we transferred to each blade -outer curve and all- and used a metal cutting band saw for the cuts.Problem solved.
Here is a pic of the car.

[ford nut]

Originally Posted by deuce lover

After reading this thread,here is what I did.When I bought my 36(had a flatty) it had a Walker radiator and an electric fan .I replaced the 37 flatty with a 59AB.I still did not pay attention to the underside of the top tank of the Walker which is flat.I got the new motor in and buttoned up the sheet metal.I had decided I wanted the stock fan.When I went to put it in is when I saw that it would not clear the underside of the top tank even with the generator as low as it would go on the intake.I thought maybe of looking for a good original 36 radiator .No luck,then.What I did was trim each blade a little over 1" and all worked out very well.Problem solved.

very interesting. did you read my question wondering about cutting out the fan well from my original rad, and soldering it in a new walker/ us radiator? stupid idea? well i'm going ZZzzz. i'll check in - in a bit.

[deuce lover]

I did not have that option .You could do that and maybe you know someone with those skills.Worth a try.I'm in France and its 2:40 PM here.Pleasant dreams.

[ford nut]

well it's all been decided. i'm selling the car. . . not really. tom's radiator in orange is doing the job. he say's 2 weeks. we'll see.

[Tinker]

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Originally Posted by ford nut

well it's all been decided. i'm selling the car. . . not really. tom's radiator in orange is doing the job. he say's 2 weeks. we'll see.

Haha Any warranty?

[ford nut]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Haha Any warranty?

we talked about everything but that. I will bring it up though. I think I didn't bring it up though because I still want the brassworks, just not now. now it's all about having every thing here so when the engine is done it can go together. lets hope It gives me a fews good years though. he does have a good reputation. I've even heard him mentioned here before. reids speed shop in orange told me he does jay leno's work. who knows, he's got a nice clean little shop though. i'll post pics when it's here.

[Tinker]

I'm sure your fine. Look forward to your next post.

[tgarner317]

Yes, looking forward to it!

[Rusk]

Originally Posted by deuce lover

After reading this thread,here is what I did.When I bought my 36(had a flatty) it had a Walker radiator and an electric fan .I replaced the 37 flatty with a 59AB.I still did not pay attention to the underside of the top tank of the Walker which is flat.I got the new motor in and buttoned up the sheet metal.I had decided I wanted the stock fan.When I went to put it in is when I saw that it would not clear the underside of the top tank even with the generator as low as it would go on the intake.I thought maybe of looking for a good original 36 radiator .No luck,then.What I did was trim each blade a little over 1" and all worked out very well.My good friend Jake Jacobs made a template which we transferred to each blade -outer curve and all- and used a metal cutting band saw for the cuts.Problem solved.
Here is a pic of the car.

Same problem in my old '36 5 window with a 59A, same solution. My radiator had be recored by a well-regarded Bay Area guy...the car ran nice and cool at speed, even in 100+ Northern California summers, but it heated up FAST at idle. I checked into having the tank swapped or the recess added, but supposedly the way the core and tank are joined, it wasn't feasible (or at least cost effective). Had I decided to keep that car, I would have spent the $700 to have an original recored.

[ford nut]

Originally Posted by Rusk

Same problem in my old '36 5 window with a 59A . . Had I decided to keep that car, I would have spent the $700 to have an original recored.

that's what i'm doing, my 36 project came from Roseville btw. that fan well is unique to the car so I really wanted tp keep it in place.

[ford nut]

3 months, 1 week. nothing to report.

[Tinker]

Soooo...

[AnthonyG]

Brassworks the way to go. He'll work with you and build what u want but keep u on the right page. Built very stock looking unit for my '35 with extra rows of cooling tubes to handle 400 HP. Still fit into the stock config. I'll never push 400 but probably close to 200 and it's worked and looks great for 5 yrs. Nothing like solid brass and copper for a radiator cooling and longevity! Not sure what he gets know but mine was $800 5 yrs ago and worth every penny. As I recall I did 1/3 $'s as a deposit and 1/3 when he was ready to ship and 1/3 on delivery. All done w a Visa. Sorry about the size, my larger pics seems like the files are too big for the sight?

[Mike..Yorba Linda]

I had Tom's recore my 36 and rod out my 46 woodie....They do nice work and I think it took two weeks and I kept the old core for scrap and got 35.00. There was an issue with the 36 radiator but it was taken care of in a few days.

[1oldtimer]

I figured there would be a good old timey radiator shop in the LA area that could tackle the '36 radiator.

[ford nut]

seems like a total of 5 months,2 weeks is a bit much. 2 months were getting a price.

[Tinker]

This is one shop you are waiting on? any others? tried any others or waiting on one shop?


Did ya piss them off? ha ha I would think after a couple months it be fine or worry.

[ford nut]

talked to randy at toms radiator and he hasn't started yet. crazy time has passed. . . I feeling very stupid at this point but I just don't have the time to go down to orange to get it then take it around to other shops. brassworks maybe in my future? stay tuned. or not.

[Tinker]

Well it is your post/thread. Good luck to you, I hope it works out in your favor.




.

[cajunfirehawk]

I know this isn't the traditional form but I had an aluminum radiator made from Brice Thomas Radiator out of Gadsen Alabama, it does have the fan well as shown, this ran $595 shipped specific to my 36 Ford, YMMV

[ford nut]

I would like the copper/ brass, but who knows at this point. I have a griffen aluminum radiator in my 64 econoline that I had problems once, they fixed it for free so that was nice. . .

[deuce lover]

US Radiator has a radiator for the '36 using a flathead $701.Not sure if it has the relief for the fan.You might give them a call for more info.