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My radiator on my '69 SB, No air, manual is shot. I was going to replace, but the price tag is a little troubling. i have taken it to a repair shop that is going to recore it, reweld some previosly performed tank repairs, sand blast and repaint the radiator for $275. Is this too much???
Anyone who has had a recore done, I would love to know what you paid.
From: Fairview Heights Illinois, near Saint Louis MO, STL C3 Shark
Obviously I just don't go around pricing stuff for Corvette years that aren't my own, but A-zone, oreilly's etc have a stock replacement for my 76 for $272 - free shipping to the store. So to me, $270 on a rebuild of original is not worth it unless your going for the gold.
Usually the A-zone, etc stores will carry an aluminum/plastic
replacement. For me, the re-cored original is the best bet.
I've never had an AL/plastic replacement last much more than
a few years.
I had my 76 radiator recored/cleaned and painted for $50.00 at Steve's Radiator in Yorktown, VA. Didn't need any welding, just repair of the fins that were crushed.
While I can't exactly verify these dollar figures, they sound like what I found when I had to choose between repairing and/or replacing my original aluminum (I couldn't stop the leaks) vs. a new copper/brass unit. Glad I did the latter, and I've saved the Al++ unit for the next owner along with the old radio & the old clock etc.
I had my radiator rebuilt during my restoration, I don't remember the cost but it looked new and worked perfect. So I guess it really doesn't matter re-core or after market. I just like original, so my choice was easy. Good luck no matter what you choose.
I had my 76 radiator recored/cleaned and painted for $50.00 at Steve's Radiator in Yorktown, VA. Didn't need any welding, just repair of the fins that were crushed.
For $50, it didn't get recored. Yours was "rodded out", which means they cleaned it. Recoring means removing the tanks, and soldering in a new core (the part with the fins).
I had my old radiator rodded for around $50.00. It lasted a few more years before developing a leak. Because I'm cheap, I ended up purchasing a new radiator off ebay for about $140.00. This radiator has 4 rows instead of 3 like my old one. Had it for 2 years with no problems to day.