Reusing original upper and lower steel radiator rails

[Mike S]

 The original radiator on my '67 needs a re-core. Looking at the top and bottom steel rails that span between the L&R side tanks and have the dimple in the center, they appear to be attached to the fins that are up against them. Has anyone successfully had their radiator re-cored using the original dimpled steel rails transferred to the new core?

Thanks!
Mike

[Sauron327]

I've mentioned this numerous times. I've used Glen-Ray.  Also recently found another local shop through a contact.  Do the research, qualified shops are out there.

[Mike S]

So it sounds like they can be reused. Looking at Glen-Ray it may be pricey, but I'll give them a call tomorrow to see.
I have a local shop here on Long Island (Cap-A-Radiator) that has done work for me before as well as other classic cars, and his prices are reasonable as well as his work. I haven't thought about the re-using rails until now though so I will call him to see if he can use them. I just learned Heartbeat City has a 3-row core with dimples but it is on back order and I see it would need a hole drilled into the rail to match my original. No problem though.
  I've taken tanks off before but never saved the rails back then. I have various torches I use for auto body lead work that work for radiator repairs. I just didn't want to remove the core yet unless I know for sure the rails were usable. They look to be attached pretty good to the core assembly.

Thanks!
Mike

[Edgemontvillage]

Mike, when I restored my original rad I took it to a basic local rad shop to have them disassemble it properly so I could assess, clean and repair the parts. I then took the tanks to my body guy to have him bodywork the few dents out avoiding use of filler. Once that was done and the parts were primed I delivered everything to the shop who had the correct core I needed and who I trusted to assemble the radiator correctly. All the stock parts including the rails were re-used except the core.



 



 

[BULLITT65]

That is one pretty radiator, Loyd. Well done on the resto of that piece.

I need to find the top and bottom rails for my white 69. I also need the passenger side tank, and the UH tag. I had made contact with a guy on team camaro that had many used original 1st gen radiators, but the guy never got back to me.

[Mike S]

 That looks great, Lloyd. I'm glad to see that it can be done. My 67's original UO radiator has 3 holes on each side of the dimple evenly spread out, in addition to the square and rectangles near the ends, so I want to keep the rails.
Speaking of UO, in addition to the UO tag found on the larger tank, I also found a much smaller rectangular metal tag (approximately 1/4" x 3/4") clipped on the left side of the radiator's narrower tank that was hidden under the fan shroud's side and has the letters 'CA' embossed on it. I'm not sure what that identifies.
  Thanks for the replies and PM's!

Mike

[dbaker55]

Yes I I bought mine and had it recored using the original rails and tanks last month from a person in New York. His name is Mike Smith and a phone number of 607-206-0521. He is great to work with. He has a shop that does the recoring for him. I believe the new core was $250 and the recore using the original rails and tanks was $150. Thus $400 total. Hope this helps.

[Mike S]

 Due to my OCD (Obsessive Camaro Disorder) I mistakenly said the rails had 6 holes. I looked again and see it has 4 holes.
Maybe the holes are unique to '67?
Here is a picture of my 67 04 with the original radiator with 4 arrows pointing to the holes.

Mike

[firstgenaddict]

I have seen rails with piercings which were used for retaining a seal.... never seen them on a Camaro before - THAT I CAN REMEMBER.
I helped a friend recently pull the rad out of his 19k mile LS5 Corvette - local Greenville SC rad shop charged $600 total out the door - new 4 core- transferring the upper and lower rails to the new core - and soldering the tanks back on. Very nice job with the correct fin count etc.

[Mike S]

Hi James,

I checked and see 4 holes on the bottom rail too as seen in the attached picture.
This is on a 04B LOS, UO March dated Harrison radiator.
Perhaps Harrison used these rails for multiple cars? 

Mike