Radiator core

I have several two row Lark radiators laying around; would they be easier to recore with a three row then the original in my car, which is also a three row? I really don't care what the tanks look like as long as the thing fits and the capacity is the same. The car has always run cool and I don't want to spend money on a Lark core only to have the temp go up.. Studebaker George

I think they're exactly the same except for the little doohickey with the "caution-fan" decal. Not sure if the tanks are different between two row and three row.

nate

I am taking two newly recored (three row) radiators to South Bend. Trouble is.... they belong to Ray Fitchtorn and are not for sell. One is for a '63 Lark and the other is for a '64 Lark. I am sure the Hawk rad. is the same price, they did a '57 GH rad. for that price about 4-5 months ago. Local shop here in Douglasville (Kell's Radiator Service) recored them for me. $300 each.

I say one is a '63 and the other is a '64 because one has a nipple on the fill neck for a rubber hose and the other has a solid copper or brass tube.

Obviosly there are reasonably priced new cores available; maybe I need to change radiator shops. A shame, as I have been doing business with this place for thirty years. The old man recored my 38's radiator about six years ago and was very reasonable. The son isn't so easy to deal with. Just another example of letting a business slide due to apathy, I guess. The place wasn't very busy when I was there, and it used to be balls to the wall. Studebaker George

Did you take the old radiator in, or just ask him if he could replace the core on a Hawk radiator?

I'd change shops. Seems to me the radiator shops have books full of every imaginable core size and configuration, they don't HAVE to go by car year & model, so it's hard to believe they can't find one to fit your radiator, even if a standard core has to be lightly tailored... it's fairly common to have radiators modified with thicker cores for towing, etc. Maybe the son is not a craftsman but only knows how to replace radiators as an assembly. Or perhaps like a lot of auto shops, he makes more money by easy replacements (parts markup) rather than doing labor-intensive repairs.

I'm thinking the same thing...I brought the radiator in but did tell him what it was for. He knew anyway when I came in.... I am going to try the only other shop left in town tomorrow morning. Studebaker George

An obvious sign of decay in services in a general sense.

Of course, most radiators today are not repairable but surely there must be an experienced shop in your area. Fortunately, the old line radiator shop near me is still run by one of the founders, an old coot that I'm sure is in his 70's... Does gas tanks too!

JT

my last core came from a radiator shop supplier in Tampa, Fl.

My old geezer shop ordered a 4 row for my '55 from a manufacturer in Minnesota two years ago. $250 final price. I did the R & R. Have the prices increased that much in two years?