I took the radiator for the Jetfire in to see about getting it recored. They quoted $500. I heard the price went up on this but holly cow! It is a 4 core and he said the new core designs have a better capacity for cooling. Anyone know if this is true or have any recommendations on a place to send it. Does this price sound about right?

 

500 is a lot of money on its own but what is really cheap today if its the original rad what would a new one cost if you could find one...probably double, I'm not really surprised at that price but definitly get some estimates

 

I just went through the same thing with my Van. The same "Holy Cow" even. Ended up buying a plastic tank model for about $300 I think. The price of metal has gone through the roof. Can see why they steal whole bridges in Russia !!
The recore was going to be $500 just like yours. New metal one, about the same. Inflation has reared it's ugly head, and they won't raise interest rates to fight it this time. Sorry....I digress...

 

R&R Radiator
Superior, Wisconsin.

Old school quality, great service.

No website.

 

I have a feeling material is the same price everywhere, even if they donated their labor. Unless you've had one done in the last year, you might be surprised. Then add shipping to the mix...and 4 core....yikes..

 

Price seems a little high, but maybe its jumped recently.

I had my orig 4 core re-cored about 2 years ago and it was ~$375 at a little hole-in-the-wall shop in Speedway IN. Real old-school rad shop called Kenny's Radiator Service. Dropped it off, picked it up ~ a week later, & it looked great.

Address shows them on W. Michigan St, but they're actually at about 10th at and Holt Road...

 

I've been getting Rads fixed since the beginning of time (well, the last 30 years or so), and I've had lots of work done. Many cars, many rads, and I only noticed the huge price jump in the last year. I also was dealing with hole-in-the-wall places at times. I'm very cheap (thrifty), and believe me, I don't spend $500 lightly. If you can find a place that recores rads cheap "today", then you're a better man than I.
It's entirely likely that you're a better man than me, anyway !!

 

Had my 4 core done last year. It was $400 at this place.
http://www.caparadiator.com/

 

Ha! The irony in my story is that I had the exact same shop repair the same rad 20-something years prior back when the car was my daily driver. Took a rock thru it, pulled it & hauled it down there. I didn't have much money back then so they did what they could for cheap.

Fast forward to when I took it in a couple of years ago. I told the guy about them band-aiding it previously & I thought it might have been him that did it. He looked at the repair and asked " What ? Were you poor at the time?"

Me = "Uh, yeah."

 

You got some serious good value for your repair money way back then. Seems to be getting harder to find someone willing to do the small, quick fix jobs. I get the feeling the shops all want to get rich off me now. Maybe it's my imagination....

 

Stay away from those folks.

They threw out my heater core that was there to get restored.

The owner is a TOOL.

 

Wow, That sucks. I guess I was lucky.

 

I called them today. I got a much better feeling about them than the guy i took it to. I went and picked it back up (they had not started on it) and plan to run it up there to this guy this week. I ask him if there were differant cores available. He said there is a standard replacement core and for many radiators there is a higher cooling capacity core available but they are more money.

Thanks guys!

 

nobody touched this idea yet here on this thread. 1. measure it. 2. order from jegs or summitt a universal aluminum there prices just a mere 30 to 60 days ago for our general size new about 200 for a lighter aluminum one check it out. i think that they also might be gouging due to the fact it is for a classic car. I due my homework and check around when needed then remember it or write it down in a log. 200 seems much cheaper and you can paint it black for a oem appearance easily.

 

I had thought about that but i want to keep it as original as i can.

 

hey if it is painted the right black color who will know? I say keep the hard earned cash in youre pocket for other things this year like enjoying it ! I like originality also but dam they are sticking it to you and it is a older radiator to boot. forget the original qoute and keep your money!

 

Also have to be careful. The old man recently got one for his 74 Corvette, and it came a different shape. The corners were almost squared off instead of rounded, and it took him days of modifying brackets to make it fit. He was really....annoyed, shall we say.

 

If you price a good aluminum radiator today, that $500 for a recored stock one is a bargain.

 

The guy I worked with, who seemed like the main guy, was very easy to deal with (Oddly, I think his name was Tim ..so, who is 'Kenny' ) & he a had a sub-dude or two in there with him.

A note: If you're looking for an 'concourse show quality' paint job, you might ask for them to leave it bare. He just rattle cans them with Generic Black Radiator Paint #1...runs & drips included. Mine looked & worked fine for my project, but I'm not going for the NOS resto effect...

 

I had one done over New Years 4 core it was for a 65 442, it cost me 500.00 small shop in Hastings Mn. The guy told me he got 125.00 labor the rest was the core cost. I had a aluminum one in there before but went back to copper. Very happy with it. Aluminum not so much

 

hey guys i looked up universal aluminum radiators not be cool custom fit just measure it and make a order around 190.00 dollars today look it up and keep your old one for originality or prices drop off then sell the aluminum one and repair your old one for much less then. like i said todays price online. check it out. we all need the extra cash to finish our rides.

 

The aluminum rads I've seen are very soft, among other issues. Be careful working around them. Doesn't take much to put a hole in a vein.

 

Got a replacement from these guys www.canadapartsonline.com. probably have a US affiliate as mine came from the US. Bought a 4 core rad looks like the original except has an extra fitting on the one tank. Assume its for a heater core return or something. Comes with a rubber cap to close it off. $276 + shipping. Looks like my original 2 core except but width of 4 core. Might not have anything that old though.

 

You know the Jetfire rad is completely different from the standard rad for the F-85/Cutlass.

Gene
Also check "KMJ performance" they have some great prices on radiators.

 

I dropped it off today. I was VERY pleased with them and had a great feeling when i left. One thing i was concerned with about having it recored was that the top of the radiator is visible with the hood open. The top rail of these original radiators have holes in them and the new cores will not have them. It is something that most people would never know but it would bother me because i would know.... This guy ask me if i wanted him to use the top and bottom rail off of mine on the new core because it is differant! I had no idea he could do that so i had not even asked. He said he would call me with a quote in the next couple days and would only take a week to have done.

Thanks so much for sharing the info.

 

Glad you went with a shop that did it right, our cars are only original once, I always try to restore a part, even though a replacement might fit, they never look like OEM..

 

Whatever you do, don't take it to a shop and leave it for 3 months without contacting them.
You might find it has been disposed of.

Roger.

 

They just called me. He literally ask if i was sitting down. I thought this couldn't be good. He said $471 after tax so the other guy was close on his estimate also. He said this core is original and uses 1/4 inch tubes. Also said the new one will have 1/2 tubes but not be any wider over all. (just less space between the tubes front to back) He said it will have much more cooling capacity than this original one does. He did say the same thing as my first guy did about my core. He said there is no way this would survive being roded out. Looks like i found my problem! I hope it works good enough to drive it on a hot day if needed. Before i could only drive it on days that were under 80.

Best part... they said it will be done Thursday and the cores are made in Michigan!