Shop ruined my '48 radiator tanks

[Newc]

With all the eng work done, I took my radiator [V8] to the hotshot rad shop cause the threads spun in the bottom tank. Bad petcock ect. and smashed overflow tube -old damage . Easy Fix??? Well 'they' bring out the rad and the bad petcock is soldered into the bottom tank now in a big goober mass of lead, and the overflow line is not touched. "We never done those", Well guys go to a parts store and buy some copper tubing Ok??? Ok. duh. Get a call--- Your top tank is all cracked, it's no good. HUH What's up. Go to shop and sure enough. 'they' tried to solder the tube to the top tank with toooo much heat and then Chased the cracks with the torch. Hey Mister you had a bad radiator to start with!! MY FOOT. #%$@&. It was a couple of twenty yr old kids doing the work in the shop and the 'Boss' just ran the front counter. A fancy pantsy big name local Oregon shop in Sweet Home, OR.
Good News a local V8er has another stock radiator for me! Yippee. And brasworks is 8 to 10 weeks out if you want a correct stocker for judged car. thanks for the Rant time guys Newc

[Karl]

I really worry about the future of our hobby as the skilled tradesman shuffle off over time.
With the aid of some of my old friends my 26 year old son is building up a 1930 Austin 7 special. Its taking a while because they are making him do everything. Every component is being rebuild even if not required - essentially they are teaching him how to maintain the car himself for the rest of his life because they worry no one else will be able to do it for him -Karl

[A bones]

Shame,, glad you found one

[Automotive Stud]

Originally Posted by Karl

I really worry about the future of our hobby as the skilled tradesman shuffle off over time.
With the aid of some of my old friends my 26 year old son is building up a 1930 Austin 7 special. Its taking a while because they are making him do everything. Every component is being rebuild even if not required - essentially they are teaching him how to maintain the car himself for the rest of his life because they worry no one else will be able to do it for him -Karl

That's fantastic! I'm 36 and I've learned if I want something done right I'd better do it myself. Even if that means learning and doing it a few times to have it come out right. Unfortunately that expands beyond cars, it's really a life lesson.

[51504bat]

Originally Posted by Newc

With all the eng work done, I took my radiator [V8] to the hotshot rad shop cause the threads spun in the bottom tank. Bad petcock ect. and smashed overflow tube -old damage . Easy Fix??? Well 'they' bring out the rad and the bad petcock is soldered into the bottom tank now in a big goober mass of lead, and the overflow line is not touched. "We never done those", Well guys go to a parts store and buy some copper tubing Ok??? Ok. duh. Get a call--- Your top tank is all cracked, it's no good. HUH What's up. Go to shop and sure enough. 'they' tried to solder the tube to the top tank with toooo much heat and then Chased the cracks with the torch. Hey Mister you had a bad radiator to start with!! MY FOOT. #%$@&. It was a couple of twenty yr old kids doing the work in the shop and the 'Boss' just ran the front counter. A fancy pantsy big name local Oregon shop in Sweet Home, OR.
Good News a local V8er has another stock radiator for me! Yippee. And brasworks is 8 to 10 weeks out if you want a correct stocker for judged car. thanks for the Rant time guys Newc

When I had Brassworks build the radiator for the 8ba in my '39 p/u I asked Lee how long it would be and he said 7-8 weeks at that time. He said if I had a problem with that I should talk to my local school board about teaching the trades in HS instead of everything being about college prep. He continued by saying that he has a hard time getting good help. Sad commentary about the current state of things and given by the lead time you were quoted things have gotten worse not better. Seems as if many now want a position not a job. OK, rant over. Glad you got things sorted.

[CaliforniaBorn36]

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I like to hand or recommend to younger people the book "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work". It is an interesting read and has opened a few eyes. In fact a co-worker at a previous job, left an IT Security job of 20 years to start a custom motorcycle header manufacturing company. Says it is the best thing he has ever done. He is so happy and he is bringing his kids into the business as well.

I've recommended it to many people in "Knowledge Jobs" and they all wish they had seen it sooner.

Also suggest to your school boards bringing back shop class.

[TJ]

The idiots in my school district just shut down the last auto shop class we had at the high school. I guess the administrators and board members don't need anyone to work on their cars when they break down or anyone to work on the school buses to get kids to school.

[1948F-1Pickup]

Originally Posted by TJ

The idiots in my school district just shut down the last auto shop class we had at the high school. I guess the administrators and board members don't need anyone to work on their cars when they break down or anyone to work on the school buses to get kids to school.

Interesting. They apparently have no idea that the automotive aftermarket & dealer-based repair business need over 1M techs in the pipeline..... pretty much immediately.
In your neck of the woods, Solano Community College has a really vibrant program, with their automotive training facility located in Vacaville.

http://www.solano.edu/auto/

[Kruzn40]

Originally Posted by TJ

The idiots in my school district just shut down the last auto shop class we had at the high school. I guess the administrators and board members don't need anyone to work on their cars when they break down or anyone to work on the school buses to get kids to school.

Most likely, the "idiots" shut down the auto shop class due to lack of interest on the part of the student body. In this day and age the kids know that they can do much better writing code for computer games and other software than they can getting their hands dirty working on automobiles.

[Sal]

Sad but true!!! Kids now are not really interested in the trades. There will be some that do take up trades and will do will do to the lack of skilled people.

[Robz51]

I've been reading these posts and have to say I feel sorry for some of you. It's easy to dismiss or label young people. I'm in my 50s so I'm in the middle and I really try and resist falling into this mindset. If you want your hobby to continue perhaps you should try relate to the younger generation. If you do maybe they might actually BE interested and KEEP this hobby going. Just my opinion. Rob

[Ggmac]

Sorry they screwed it up . Glad you had a alternative. It is sad , my wife always says just call a repair man , fence , gate opener ,security cameras , Irrigation pumps , etc ,i say no way . Remember the last time we called a professional ? Oh , i forgot she says , sorry dear , when can you get to it ?
Its a shame , no new blue collar hands on training or apprentice programs . Heck you kids dont even want a car or drive one .
I just dont get it .

[Aarongriffey]

I am fortunate to have a REALY good radiator shop right here in my town.
But as far as I know it is the only one.
When you need tubes for overflow on radiators and gas tank tubes buy brake tubing.
It looks better and comes in the right sizes and bends easily.

[Frank Miller]

I volunteer at my friend's machine shop. In the past year I've learned to run a tathe, a milling machine, how to TIG weld, build a louver press and dies as well as a few other things. Actually it is more of a sheet metal shop and he teaches classes to people from all over. Occasionally he gets fathers bringing their kids because the kids are for free. The last kid there has a dream of building a truck for SEMA and had a plan laid out. While kids today are not like we are many of you had parents who could not understand why you brought home that piece of junk.
I hesitate to categorize any age group and work on not letting myself turn into a miserable judgmental old man. Damn. Look what you made me do.

[flatford8]

I’m happy you got your radiator sorted out!......all things change with the generation....I’m way more interested in old vehicles than my father ever was.....modern vehicle repair is very connected to tech and computer knowledge......there’s way more new cars to work on than old ones....
Frank...can I contact you about the info in your post?......Mark

[JWL]

My story is similar and I feel your pain. I took a beautiful radiator with perfect top tank to the "recommended" local shop. The requested work was to remove the top tank and install a brass brace from front to rear of the tank. I explained the radiator was for a 1940 model car and much care was needed to preserve it. When I got it back I refused to pay. But that did not make me feel any better or straighten my damaged tank.


And don't even get me started on our "education" system.

[Mart]

I tend to try and do my own radiator repairs. Then if it turns out less than perfect I only have myself to blame. At leasy mine turn out ok, better than risking them being ruined.
Mart.

[MMB]

Sorry to hear your tale of destruction but i have also had a radiator "repair" shop destroy one of mine. It isn't just the inexperienced that can make a mess of things some folks in all age brackets just are not craftspeople. I've had luck mending cracks in brass radiators with silver solder.

[VeryTangled]

Not sure if radiators or education are the subject here. Among other jobs, for almost twenty years I've taught the most basic classes at a community college auto shop, AT-101. Each passing year the college treats us more and more as a boat anchor. Thank goodness we have a few strong supporters in the administration. Our staff is expensive, our facility goes through gobs of materials, spends on updating and repairing equipment, and database subscriptions. It's just a heck of a lot cheaper to be involved with many other disciplines.

The same building as the auto shop has: HVAC labs, welding, construction, digital fab lab, computer repair, apartment maintenance, and related "workforce development" trades being taught.

Because it's the DC area, and one of the most affluent counties in the nation, within ten miles of the college are two dozen dealerships for every imaginable make and a few hundred other auto related shops.

In my experience we don't see a lot of students that are really going to make it a career. Higher education is like that a lot of times.

[Oldbluoval]

Now days there’s little “fix”.......
It’s almost always replace.
Too many computers and plastic