Perhaps it's being tired (and looking up radiators for my Dad's 1979 Lincoln, there seem to be almost no radiators available for it!) but after searching here for quite some time, I really don't know what I should do. I have a 1977 Regal, 350 2 barrel , and the radiator is leaking, even after some stop leak (boo, but hey, it's my Daily driver, even if I don't drive all that far, I need to be able to drive it) Now, back in the day, I would head to Riverdale Radiators (I am on the southside of the ATL) and have it re-cored, but they stopped that several years ago. Are there folks that still do that, or is it like many things, a lost art? I see many folks here getting $500, $800 radiators , really can't afford one of those, plus, so many folks seem to have to modify trans lines, etc. Never had a Buick with less room, well..anywhere. So, if one was universal, it likely wouldn't fit properly. Plus, I am seeing fairly few options.... here is O'Reilly's "choices" only the cheapest is available, and....the reviews make it sound very universal, so issues likely Advance shows...1 exact fit...anyone heard of them, (Metrix)or used them? will it fit my Regal? Summit shows 2 possibilities, and both claim to fit, dozens of cars... last time I needed a radiator, 2014, 2015 (for a 1973 Mark lV, with a 460) ordered one from Adavance, and it was a perfect fit/replacement. So, do they not make exact replacements anymore? Is there some big radiator company I could order from? Oh, forgot about ebay, anyone you can trust there? Or should I just dig around til I find someone who can re-core the original???? Thanks!
You can still find a radiator shop and have it recored. I would call fancy restoration shops and ask them who they use... Maybe someone on here (probably) knows of a quality shop in your area... The two row Aluminum units with larger tubes do a better job of cooling, so if you can find a new one of those and don't care about originality, that is a good way to go.
If you want an Atlanta area shop: Sims Radiator. There’s one in Tucker and one in Conyers. If you want ‘off the shelf’: According to my old catalogs the DPI (industry) numbers were 360 for a 2 row, 161 for a 3 row and 165 for a 4 row. (That was when the cores were copper; aluminum cores should have fewer rows but the same overall specs. All three will very likely have a heater return line in the passenger tank that will be capped off and the trans lines will be about 8” apart). Patrick
thanks for the info guys! I mentioned on a Lincoln group on fb, and someone else mentioned Sims Radiator as well! The closest one is 36 miles away. pbr400, so glad you mentioned the part number, found it on RockAuto. going to see if it's the correct one. My car is the only one with working air, tough to go 2-3 days without this car. will call them to see what they would charge both for this car, in case I get a too generic radiator, and what it would cost for Dad's Lincoln.
