• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Radiator Advice

Share this page

HealeyRick

HealeyRick

Yoda
Silver
Country flag
Offline
I want to recore my stock radiator since it's been 30 years since it was last done and the car has been running a bit hot. It's a 948 motor with a 12G-295 head from a 1098, 88G-229 cam, flat-top pistons with a .060 overbore, LCB exhaust and HS2 carbs and manifold. I want to stay with a stock appearing radiator (no ali ones on this car.) Any suggestions what kind of core I should be askig the radiator shop to install? (I've added some pics, since most of the pics on the forum are of my big Healey. I finished its restoration in 1986. Think I'll buy it a present of some more vintage looking competition seat belts this year.



(Nice of Massachusetts to issue a complementary color plate to Cherry Red in 1959.) Colin Dodds 50th Anniversary Sprite emblem



Bunch of dash plaques and a John Sprinzel autograph to the left of the starter button from Rick Moses's Sprite events.



I got the "BUGEYE" plate made up at a Halford's in England when my wife and I visited in '78. Shop owner thought we were daft. The badge on the front fender is from the original selling dealer in Kassel, Germany (it was brought over with a returning GI)



At Speed!
 
Last edited:
Hi Rick,

I'm not sure what's available today, and the great radiator shop I used to have here no longer does the rebuilds, but I think what you want to find is a 3 row core (4 if they exist). Not sure if that's what you mean, but if you have a good shop in your area (do they exist anymore?), you might see what your choices are.
 
Rick,
I googled radiator recoring in MA and got several hits, but not sure where you are located. My Bugeye was delivered in Germany as well, but was noted as European spec on the HC...it also came with a white hardtop which is long gone.
Rut
 
Thanks, Rut.

Here's the dealer's tag:



The hardtop was "on loan" to me from a friend when we decided it was the best option for driving to Carlisle, PA from western Massachusetts in a deluge.

I can find a radiator shop already, I what I'm looking for, which Gerard touched upon, is the most efficient stock looking core core I can use.
 
Rick,Gotcha...reread you original post and I got nothing!
Rut
 
About a year ago I needed a recore and checked around locally- ALL of the shops said that it would be more to recore it than the $250 that Moss is asking for a replacement (new one).
This is the first new radiator that I have ever had in a Spridget and it works great and is worth every cent!
BillM
-edit- I guess that it was on sale at 250 but it is still worth it!
 
The Bugeye Barn in Australia... They figured out you can swap the upper and lower tanks onto a modern Toyota (IIRC) core. They don't charge too much to do it, but the shipping costs kill it.
 
Billm said:
About a year ago I needed a recore and checked around locally- ALL of the shops said that it would be more to recore it than the $250 that Moss is asking for a replacement (new one).
This is the first new radiator that I have ever had in a Spridget and it works great and is worth every cent!
BillM
-edit- I guess that it was on sale at 250 but it is still worth it!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Bill. I hadn't considered a new one and if it cools in California it should be ok in Massachusetts.
 
In 2012 I bought a new one that wouldn't cool. I know it was the radiator's fault because my old radiator was working fine just weeping and pretty bent up. I do not remember where I purchased the new replacement, but I eventually replaced it with a cheap aluminum one. I've only heard of one other person complain about a new radiator that wouldn't cool and he claimed he'd heard from only a few other people, so I'd guess the bulk of them are OK.
 
I took my rad to a local shop and honestly just followed their advice - the increased the capacity with the - 3 or 4 row (can't remember) IIRC it cost about the same as the Moss one but, it was local and pretty quick and I have never ever had a problem.
 
Oh, and I had them install a drain **** on the rad - which I love EXCEPT if you do it get it on the front of the rad and not the rear (at least for a square body)
 
Back
Top