frank burns Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I just purchased a 1920 Buick Touring car 6 cyl and I found a few areas of fluid leaking from core of the radiator. Question what are my options in repairing it. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Romberger Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Hi Frank. Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the forum! I will let the advice to the those more knowledgeable in radiator repair, but I wanted to welcome you to the adventure.Dwight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim65Riv Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Frank,Please post your location. A forum member may know of someone in your area who could help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Frank, I have a couple of solutions for you. I know that many will disagree, so hopefully they will chime in. It is worth a shot if the leaks are more of a weep than gusher to use a stop leak product. In the old days some folks used sawdust. Or you can pull the radiator and take it to an "old time" facility in your are and they can try to use low heat lead to stop the leaks. If the guy is good then this is a good way to go. But you have to find the right shop to work on the old iron. Lastly, you might must have to have a new core made. There are several that do this in the period weave, but it is expensive. Some will put in a modern core, but slice off a slab of the old radiator and put it in front of the new core to make it look old. What every you decided to do make sure that you do not put air pressure to the radiator or I guarantee you will blow out many more seams and the radiator will be junk. Good luck. Let us know what you decided to do and the outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Romberger Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 John,I never heard about slicing off a slab of the old radiator. That's a pretty neat trick!DwightI guess I would have to get a longer sawzall blade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank burns Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Thanks all for your quick response. The leaks are coming from inside the core and there are no damaged fins that I can see. The car only has 5500 miles on it and was always garaged . I am confident of the mileage and would like to keep this radiator. From any side there are no dings . Has anybody used a sealer such as Bars leak Aluminum or Blue Devel . This would be my preference if it has a good chance of working. I live in the Hartford Ct area and thank you for your input. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WEB 38 Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Hi Frank, I Also have a 1920 Buick 6 cly. Touring car K-45 In excellent original condition. Sorry I cant help with the rad. problem but feel free to contact me on any thing else. Bill WEB 38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Frank, Please refer to the thread a little further down about the 1923 Buick 6-cylinder radiator. I have a 1920 K-46 3-Passenger Coupe. My car has LESS than 5,000 ACTUAL DOCUMENTED miles on it since being built. Now, back to the radiator issue on your car. I have a good friend out in Rome, New York who has a 1923 Model 48. His radiator was seeping from the top tank area. The biggest problem for him was that there was no 'old time' radiator shop in his area that had the experience to fix it for him. He ended up sending it out to a radiator shop in Hutchinson, Kansas that has been in business for over 60 years. They had if fixed in less than 2 hours after they got it unboxed. Putting any kind of sealer in a non-pressurized cooling system is really not a good idea. Your radiator could not be hurt that bad with the extremely low mileage on it. What John said is for the most part correct about pressure testing a radiator like this. However, they checked my friend's radiator under 1/2 pound of pressure while it was submerged in the water tank to make double sure that there were no other problems that might be missed while they had it in the shop. The radiator is rock solid.Why don't you call or email me and let's visit about your Buick.Terry WiegandSouth Hutchinson, KansasPhone/Fax - (620) 665-7672eMail - terrywiegand@prodigy.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank burns Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Well, I lucked out as the leak was not in the core but i have question about my 1920 6cl touring car. What was the original surface of the running boards? Also was the front floorboards the same as the running boards ? Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WEB 38 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Frank, The front floor boards and the running boards are the same on my 1920 Gray battleship linoleum. Bill WEB 38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank burns Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Thanks Bill Looks like I lucked out again as my running boards and flooring are also a grey linoleum. I have another question, Did Buick paint the engine side of the firewall same color as the body of the car ? Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WEB 38 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Frank al of the 1919 and 1920 Buick touring cars that I have ever seen have been two tone with the fenders painted black and the engine side of the firewall also black. The origenal bodies were painted with a product called Japan varnish. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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