Well, I went the Repro route for the Radiator. I did keep what came with the car but can't confirm it to be original. So I bought this item. https://www.thepartsplaceinc.com/pr...e-radiator-for-manual-transmission-cars/49458 I believe I have read in Brett's thread there wasn't a 4-core available, but before I venture into this, I want to know what is the right items? Troy
Troy, The originals would have only been 3-cores, with the rad cap basically parallel to the ground. I also believe the 71 Buick’s came with the automatic style radiators with the flat “screw plugs” capping off the automatic tube in the passenger side tank. If my memory is correct Ken Lisk’s 71 4-speed GSX, with the original radiator was like that. Duane
Duane is correct. 3 core was as big as they went with the Harrison radiators and the tanks (I'm 99% sure) are stamped CF/IA, with the date code stamped with a smaller later between the C and F. Ken Lisk may be able to further identify if those were the ones used on the '71 big block cars but having done a lot of research in terms of these the last few years, I don't see why they wouldn't be.
Ken’s was the big 3-core and I believe was a 455 4-speed car with AC. (SW radiator) The CF/IA combination had a few different radiator codes, including SJ. Again if my memory is correct it was an automatic radiator with the plugs installed. Troy, What are the codes embossed on your tanks? And what is your engine combination and does it have AC or is it a non-AC car? Duane
Well, darn...The radiator I received in the car package has no markings on the tanks. Doesn't appear to be what I need. My car is '71 Stage 1, 4-speed with AC It appears I need to create a new ISO SW radiator, with IA and XS tanks? and tag. Thanks for the information and pictures! Troy
IA seems to be the most common one that was used brand wide for GM. I've seen XS tanks on eBay. I'll keep an eye out. What's your build date? It may be difficult to find the right date but then again - you can't stand in a bread line and ask for toast.
XS was non air, as Zach posted above. I'll reach out to Ken and see if he can send some pictures of his.
"XS" was not for a non-AC car, at least for every instance. Zach'c car is a GSX. First off the radiators were listed differently for different model years, so you need to look at the charts for your time period If you look at the 71 radiator chart it states that the GSX cars and Stage 1's were supposed to get the Big 3-core Radiator "SW" with the larger tanks. Regardless of the trans or whether it had AC or not. However, we all know they did not follow the chart for every instance. I had a 71 GSX 350 non-AC car with a 2-row tank. The car was all original, the rad was date coded for the car, still had the rad tag, and I bought it off the original owner. Duane
...as Duane said, '71 Stage 1 got an SW (HD Cooling) per chart, which used IA and XS tanks and a 69 core. A build sheet would be final authority...
Here is a picture of the tank embossing and the tag on my ‘71 GSX non-stage 455 4-spd AC car. Looks to be the same as Zach’s.
PS. I don't believe any of the reproduction radiators have any codes embossed in the tanks. I believe the reproductions are more worried about the correct size and appearance rather then being code correct. If you want something like that then you have to go the original tank route. Duane
@tdacton I'm sure original tanks you need are out there and then have re-cored - You'll be happier in the end and I wouldn't worry about the date code being correct. @Brett Slater just had one done for me (may be the one he pictured above) for my stripper '70 350 4-sp. (just happened to even be a pretty close date code) as I'm adding HD cooling to the car. Very reasonably priced. I can check and see what, if any tanks I might have. The tags are reproduced - Not sure if the exact one you need is but I bet someone has one - Looks like you need a "SW" & "IA/XS/69" tag & IA & XS tanks. I'd try messaging @cole too (he may see this). Radiators don't take such a beating up north. You almost never see a car w/an orig. Radiator in AZ - I've never seen a city w/SO MANY Radiator shops as Phoenix, lol. @Duane: What are you (i.e. Judges) looking for in the Concours class wrt the radiator? Correct tanks? Correct tag? Correct clip for the overflow tube? Etc.?
When I judged the cars, and I generally did the under-hood part of the judging, I never looked for the codes embossed on the tanks. Now I did look to make sure the radiator cap was angled correctly for that year, and for the radiator tag, and the overflow hose and clip, to make sure they were there and routed correctly, but that was it. You need to remember we were not looking at the car as if we were going “to buy it”, but we’re looking at the cars to make sure what was supposed to be there was in fact there. We look for fit, finish, workmanship, cleanliness, etc. AND we look for correctness of parts within reason. We never took off points for reproduction tires vs originals, or replacement interiors vs originals, or for replacement non-cogged belts, vs the original heat embossed cloth wrapped originals, or for reproduced vs original spark plug wires. The above things were fine for this class, but would most likely BE deductions for a class like “top flight” etc. Now with all that being said, if I wanted to buy the car then I would like to see the correct radiator in it, as well as verification that it was indeed a Stage 1 car, if it was advertised as such, ……………….. but on the show field, if the car appears correct, is built within the correct time period, and at the correct plant, then we give the owner the benefit of the doubt. If we can’t prove the car is not real, then we judge it as it sits……..but….. if it is wearing Stage 1 emblems and has painted valve covers then someone is lying and points will get deducted. Duane
Thanks! So to clarify, are you looking to see that a radiator tag is present, but not necessarily that it's the correct codes(s) for that particular year/model/engine?
No if I understand you correctly, I am not looking for a “PP” radiator tag on a 70-72 Buick. I am looking for the correct rad tag on the car, and will make sure you are using the right “size/type” of radiator. I would nail you if you tried to jam a 4-core in the car, or a 2-core for that matter, for a car that required a 3- core rad. What I didn’t care about was if the tanks had codes or not. Once you start going down that road then you are aiming at another class of judging. We also do not check to see if you are running a Stage 1 distributor, or carb for that matter. As long as they are year correct “appearing” parts I could care less what numbers you have stamped into those parts………again we are not looking at them like we are buying the cars. Duane
PS, I have seen original pairs of “XS” /“IA” tanks going for $300 or more. I personally paid 300 for a pair. Then you send them out to be straightened, recored etc, and it gets to be a very expensive outing. Plus now they are getting to be hens teeth. You can find the tanks for the “SJ” radiators rather easily because they were on lots of cars, but the tanks for the “SW” rads are a bitch to find. Duane