Radiator, recore or replace?

[JC68vert300]

Just noticed today the radiator is a little wet along the bottom seam. No antifreeze on the floor and the level is fine. Just doing my usual inspection under the car. A/C car. Would like opinions on recore or just replace. I am leaning towards a recore. There are still some good radiator places here.
Fingers in North Brunswick and Hawthorne Industrial in Wayne. All well north of me. Thanks Jim C

 

['66 Fury I]

My first thought is to re-core. Was the radiator cooling well? Is the core bad or maybe just a seam in need of re-soldering? I have had several re-core jobs done with excelent results in all cases. I have usually added an extra row of tubes when "in the business", just for insurance. Lindsay

 

[Imperialist67]

I have often heard of replacement radiators not holding up as well as the originals. It may not be cheap or quick, but I'd recommend re-coring..........

 

[Big_John]

I just had one recored and it came out nice.

Are you sure it's leaking? A little bit of "wet" along a seam could be a lot of things... Overflow, spillage etc.

Fire it up and see if it holds pressure.

 

[polara71]

Re core!

 

[Samplingman]

Ditto on the recore if it needs it. Trouble is finding a place that actually does them. The guy I used a few years back retired, but still does them on the side out of a friends shop.

 

[FURYGT]

Re-core/repair. Consider adding an additional row if a re-core is needed.

 

[mrfury68]

Re-core. You are fortunate enough to have a few old school rad shops in your area so take advantage of that.

 

[JC68vert300]

my gut feeling was to recore, but I have seen so many aluminum replacement radiators at cruise nights and car shows that I started second guessing myself. Thanks for the feedback…100% in favor of a recore. The radiator is cooling the car fine. it looks like it is a seam that needs resoldering, but if it’s coming out of the car for the first time in 55 years, I might as well have it done right. I will use Fingers Radiator hospital. My neighbor used them for his 72 Dart, and was happy with them.

 

[JC68vert300]

Ditto on the recore if it needs it. Trouble is finding a place that actually does them. The guy I used a few years back retired, but still does them on the side out of a friends shop.

Fingers Radiator Hospital is located on rt1 in New Brunswick, NJ off exit 9 on the NJ Turnpike.

 

[Samplingman]

Fingers Radiator Hospital is located on rt1 in New Brunswick, NJ off exit 9 on the NJ Turnpike.

That’s about an hour north of me, good to know.

 

[JC68vert300]

Well, the radiator was in worse shape once we got it out of the car. I hadn’t really paid much attention to it since it hadn’t been losing antifreeze. The car also never ran hot. $625. Plus tax and 10 days at the radiator shop and it is ready to go back in. Here are before and after.

 

[polara71]

Nice. The only way to go.

 

[SPF Required]

It will be a worthwhile investment.