Brass radiator, cleaning and repairing

[gavinnz]

Hiya people,

I don't want to go to the huge expense of having my 1923 Fiat radiator taken apart and professionaly fixed until I run the car (years away) to see if it's good or not...

So at this stage what should I do to it to make the most of what I have got?

Pressure test and solder any leaks for a start...

What about cleaning inside and out???

Anything else I should be looking into before I paint the shell??

Regards

Gavin

1915 Fiat 2B racabout

1923 501 GP/Indi style speedter

[olcarherb]

If you want to drive it, there are 2 choices as I see it. (1) Fill 'er up with water (now that it's warm out, or wait til it's gonna stay above freezing), start 'er up and drive it. (A) If it leaks a little, thank your lucky stars, go to your local auto store and buy some Stop Leak (looks looks little metal filings) and add to the radiator as necessary. That should slow down the leaking to a manageable level - even adding a few quarts or even a gallon or so of water two or three times a day is acceptable (and not that big of an inconvenience if you carry 3-8 quart/half gallon/gallon water bottles that you can refill at your convenience) if you're touring/driving occasionally. On one tour (first tour in over 35 yrs. for my car in a HOT, HOT, Hilly local), I must've added 50 -60 one and a half liter (a little less than a half gallon to us Yanks) bottles of water (about 20-25 gallons) over about six days with no problems. ( If it leaks a lot, you can either fix it right or replace it (temporarily) with a modern core in order to use the car. (2) If the car's not driveable but you want to test the radiator out, put the radiator cap on, and a hose into the top radiator pipe, plug up the area around the hose with a rag, towel or some other reasonably water resistant, pliable substance, hold the hose and turn it on and, when water starts to come out the bottom, hold your other hand (or your helper's hand) over the pipe the water is escaping from to block the flow and see what happens. Then see (1) (A) & (.

[Guest Ken G]

Cleaning: with GREAT care. I am assuming your radiator is a honey-comb, since I think that was the common design in the 1920s, so it is possible to find a thin brush (a bit like a pipe cleaner) and gently brush out the hundreds or thousands of cells. Many hours.

Repair: Well, I had a leaky cell near the bottom. I took it to a radiator specialist firm (no names) who soldered it, making an ugly mess, and it still leaked (to do them justice, since they couldn't guarantee their work, they didn't charge me, but I had to spend a long while with a tiny file cleaning up their soldering). Eventually, at the suggestion of a friend, I drained and dried the radiator, and attached a shop vac to one pipe. Thus when I put my hand over the other pipe, I had low pressure in the radiator. I then ran some epoxy into the leaking cell, induced the suction for a few seconds, and let the epoxy set. Lo and behold, no leak, and I can't even see which cell it was.

Ken G, 1925 Rover 16/50 (San Francisco)

[Mark Shaw]

I agree that the best test is to drain it, refill with plain water, and drive it until it gets up to temperature to find leaks. To stop leaks, I like the epoxy solution already offered, especially if it doesn't show. I too have had messy solder jobs from radiator shops.

If you already have it out of the car, backwash it from bottom to top (upside down) until you get nothing but clear water. Then just plug the bottom outlet and fill it to the top. Hold it at at 45 degree angle (right side up) with no cap on, and un-plug the bottom. If it shoots out over 2 feet before it hits the ground, it probably does not need to be rodded out.

Mark Shaw