Hi

Can I identify if the radiator in my 68 (smallblock, A/C, auto) is the original?

 

Sure does look like mine and mine is original. A big 4 row Harrison would be correct for AC and AT cars.

 

Thanks, I getting it recored then.

 

Aren't they supposed to be Aluminum ?

 

68-72 non-air, 4 speed (and 3 speed), small block radiators are aluminum. Air cars and big blocks have copper radiators.

 

AC, big blocks, and smallblocks with AT got the big Harrisons.

 

That's why I said "68-72 non-air, 4 speed (and 3 speed), small block radiators are aluminum", but I guess I should have started my post with ONLY 68-72 non-air,.......... Oh well.

 

We're on the same page. I understood "three speed" to mean the base standard tranny, but the TH400 is also a three speed when you get right down to it.

 

Looks good by the tanks. Most dont realize the steel side brackets are distinct and these also look correct. Do not believe that the tag 16972? is original though and may have been added ad some time by a radiator shop as a way to tag it to correspond with an invoice number. Are you getting a dewitts core? If not, you will not have the same side brackets. All the cores that I have available to me other than dewitts have a completely different inverted type sidebracket. You may have that checked before your radiator shop orders a core from northern or another of the aftermarket core manufacturers

bigredbrad

 

I was wondering what that number was...

Thanks for the information, I did not know that. Unfortunately, I did not ask the shop what core they would use and its probably too late now. We have a local OEM radiator manufacturer (produces 10000 different radiator models) here in town, so I just thought they would get the core from there. Btw I live in Denmark (northern Europe).

 

If it was me, I would just have them remove that tag while they have the tanks off. I would ask them to sandblast the tanks to remove all the old paint and corosion prior to re-assembling everything. While the tanks are off, it is your only chance to hammer out all the dents and make the rounded corners all nice and pretty again. EVERY one we have ever had in our shop has lots of dents and gouges and it is much easier to hammer those dents out from the inside while they are off the core.

Regarding sidebrackets, the ones in your first picture look very original to me. The original Harrison cores had the steel sidebracket with a small square and small rectangle hold punched in each of the end. If the core is already ordered and the side brackets are different, and you are going for 100% originality, ask the shop if they can switch your old ones off and put them on the new one. This is definitely NOT a job for a rookie radiatorman, but if they have an old guy there, I bet he can do it.

Post some pics when done!

bigredbrad

p.s. to see a link to our website click here:

http://www.deansradiator.com/RadiatorRestoration.html

If you click on the first picture of the 427 radiator, you can see the incorrect, but current style inverted side brackets. Click on the picture to see it at full size and you can see the side bracket is shaped like a "U". This is technically incorrect, but this particular customer wanted the proper cooling of a new copper radiator without spending the extra money to put on the correct original harrison sidebrackets on. As you scroll down that page, you will see a sandblasted tank. Once all the dents are out, this tank will hold paint real nice and look great since all the old crud is sandblasted off.

Goodluck!

brad

 

Here it is



http://www.dewitts.com/pages/product...asp?ProdID=261

 

Thanks for posting that picture Tom. That is the same one that I bought from you to put in my 68 big block. Cools like a champ!

bigredbrad