Oh what fun to get the 68 out in 103 degrees yesterday drive it to the house from storage unit to flush the radiator, and find out that its been leaking the whole time (coolant went dovn about 3 inches so not too bad).

It has its original Harrison radiator and will hopefully be repairable. I would hate to have to re-core it if at all possible but 1 leak could lead to many more if not properly addressed. I assume the shop guys will pressure up and identify and first the immediate leaks, and then repeat to verify that no other issues are apparent?

Anyone dealt with radiator repairs and if so, did you replace, re-core, or simply repair?

Thanks,

Kevin-

I had mine re-cored. Radiator guy gave me a choice between having mine re-cored or buying a aluminum radiator. Re-coring cost more than a aluminum replacement but is supposed to last longer than the aluminum.

Plus side is I still have the original radiator.

A lot more fun than starting the fireplace on July the fourth to heat the house. 42 deg. Man I wish my car would over heat. Global warming please come.
Kind of nice this afternoon though.

If it's a pin hole or rock damage repair it, if the thing has started to rot out you will want to re-core or replace. The guys at the rad shop will know.

Thanks for the comments. I will be pulling the radiator this weekend and will see what the shop comes up with. Don't want to deviate from teh original if at all possible.

Kevin-

Forgot to mention regarding BC weather. Haven't been back but was up near Atlin Lake in August 1985 at a little above sea level and saw 85+ degrees in the begining of the week and had 8inches of snow trying to take down our tents by the end of the week; this was a undergrad field camp for geology majors and I don't think it was tied to global warming. BC gets some pretty wild weather.

Kevin-

I just had mine recored with good results. It cost me about $75 more than a repo radiator. I figured the $75 was worth the originality and the fact hat I knew it would fit correct.

Definitely.

I used to work in a radiator shop. If they still use procedures like I did in the early 90's here's what they will likely do. If the leak is big enough, they will have to repair it before they can test the radiator. They'll pressure up the radiator with air and dip it in a tank. If the radiator has a lot of tiny bubbles coming from the tubes in the central portion of the core, it is likely bad and will need to be replaced. Air can escape holes smaller than water can, so some of these types of leaks may not yet be leaking water. If someone couldn't afford a new core, we used to add sodium silicate and seal up the tiny leaks, but that does not last long. Radiators that are truly shot you can press your thumb nail against the tubes and easily break through. They wear out from the inside out.

Repro radiators fit perfectly if you buy one designed for the car. The fitment problem comes into play when you go out and buy one of those Rodney Redneck brands. Also, you get what you pay for, the reason the correct repro is 3 or so hundred dollars more than the Redneck brand.

Back in the old days, a rad shop would tell you whether it could be repaired or a re-rod, and you could rely on their judgment call.

I paid $400 out the door for it. As Amervo stated, a repro was ~$300 and I assumed shipping would be around $25.

Well,

Real close to 5 Thomas Jeffersons later, the radiator has been recored. The car hasen't bee driven enough and the fluid wasen't changed frequently IMO and the guys at the raidator shop said flush +2 times to remove the rust (iron) from the block.

It becomes s pH issue if the fluid gets too old. I have a boat with a mercruiser 350 GM & heat exchanger/seawater system and the pH needs to be maintained at base neutral if posible (i.e. the engine has glycohol in the water jacket which is pumped through the heat exchanger to cool and lake water is pumped accross the HE to cool). No salt water here in WI but that is how the boat was set up and what I have learned about pH and coolant issues to preserve this engine.

There are a lot of incompatible metals in an engine (iron copper brass) which come in contact with the coolant and acidic coolant will accelerate the process. I am assuming this may have been the case with the 68. Waiting on the front support mounting hardware from Ames, should arrive tommorow.

Later,

Kevin-