Occasionally I have to remind people that aluminum radiators are not exact reproductions. The method of assembly is different than the copper/brass radiators, whereby the end tanks are sweat soldered onto the headers. The aluminum radiators have the end tanks tig welded on with filler wire and that leaves a noticeable fillet weld where those rubber isolators mount. Every manufacturer has this issue.

The new rubber isolators fit on the edge of the stock c/b radiators like jello fits a mold. As they age and bounce around for years they don't fit so well, or look that good. So now you have two kinds of cushions, tight ones and loose ones, and to complicate that a little bit the reproduction ones seem to be made out of harder rubber, making them less able to adapt to change.

Similar issue but different....
The stock C/B "headers" (the part the cushion sits on) are 3.5" wide and the new cushions are REALLY hard to fit on. All aftermarket aluminum cores are 3.25" wide which makes it a lot easier to fit on the "new" cushions and it makes up for the fact it doesn't fit on the welded area perfectly. Conversely, used cushions and bent U brackets might seem way too big and the radiator wiggle back and forth a bit.

I find there to be a wide range of understanding and exceptance to this mounting issue. Some guys will buy the universal radiators and mount the u brackets (without cushions) on the core area where the fins are or over the end tanks because the radiator really is the wrong size and they don't care. That's one extreme. To the far opposite side you have the guy that's called our stuff inferior and bash the product for calling it Direct Fit. Somewhere in the middle you have the bulk of the people that realize these are not exact reproductions but rather aftermarket replacement parts and a perfect cushion fit is not required.

If you fall into the extreme where the cushion has to fit the radiator perfectly there is a way. There is a product called repo rubber that's available in a liquid form and a putty form. The putty is a two part product, where you nead the two together, stick it into the U bracket and squish it onto the area of the radiator. You can cast your own custom cushion to match the weld pattern and header edge. Trim off the excess material and install.

http://reprorubber.com/putty.asp

 

Thanks for the info. Very interesting.

 

I didn't know there was a product like that in putty form, that's very cool! I could definitely see a wide range of uses there.

 

I have ordered 2 radiators (separate cars) from you and have found no mounting issues. What customers have to remember is these are aftermarket parts. By the way , I couldn' be happier.