I'm feeling stupid at this point, so I guess it's time to ask for help... I pulled my radiator out a while back because it was leaking at the seams. After much thought, I decided to have it recored vs buying some new unit. Several folks, including techs at shops that deal in old Ferraris and classics, in town recommended a place and said that's what they do. I liked the idea of keeping the original unit with the car, since it's a fairly unmolested car. Anyhow... Got the radiator back. I was not impressed with the work, really. The new cores left something to be desired. You can see in this picture they're bent. Of course, that may not impact performance, but seriously, for $1500... Image Unavailable, Please Login The fins are also not amazing looking: Image Unavailable, Please Login I could get over all that, but it doesn't seem to fit into the car anymore. If I put it in the car, without hardware, and lay it up against the mounts, one side makes contact and the other is 1/4" or more off: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login There's also an offset that isn't shown, there's no way for the original hardware to mesh up correctly. If I try to bolt the condenser up, it also doesn't align anymore: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I email the company that did the work about this, they took the unit back to inspect. Came back and said they got the condenser mounted and everything else looks okay. What the meant was that they bent the tabs and such to get it mounted. Well, I could have done that, but I shouldn't have to. Tried to mount it in the car again, and of course it still does not fit well. Used some different hardware to make up for the offset and gap: Image Unavailable, Please Login But... the hood will not close with the radiator installed: Image Unavailable, Please Login At this point I feel like a moron, but I really don't know what I could be messing up so badly. I'm sure that the radiator is resting in the car as it should, nicely seated on the rubber bits inside the cradle: Image Unavailable, Please Login Any thoughts? Anything I may be missing? I'm tempted to order a new radiator but I'd hate to spend the money and time and find that it's got the same problems. Thanks for any thoughts you might have!
Just went through the same issues as you but on a 328.. The 328 radiator is an exact fit with no room for error in its size.. Mine had a few leaks around the bottom tank seams,, The shop told me it wasn't worth recoring as the core was in very good shape, they just rodded it out. They also told me that new cores probably wouldn't last as long as the original one with.. When I got the radiator back, it looked perfect unit I tried to re fit it.. The size was correct but the top tank may have been out by a couple of mm's which in turn didn't allow for the top mounting brackets to align up,, I was going crazy trying to figure out what the problem was and if it was me not remembering how the brackets went, but they could only go one way.. I decided the easiest solution was to elongate the holes in the bracket to allow it to fit..
Yeah, the shop admitted it was 1/8-1/4" off but said that was the best they could do. I'm not sure if the rubber mounts should capture both the chassis mount and the radiator mount or just the radiator mount. Studying pictures on BaT, I've seen it both ways. I assumed they should capture both. Switching it to the other model, capturing only the radiator, allowed things to work. Amazingly, that tiny bit of spacing did whatever and allowed the hood to close. Shrug. I suspect it isn't _right_ but it is workable.
Had multiple radiators repaired over the years & I have had this issue also, the new core must be exactly same size as original. The tech must know this and account for distance when installing the orig tanks! Most radiator shops do not get it right unless you warn them of the close tolerances upon giving them the task. If the new core is slightly too tall it will cause the top rubber washer/bolts to be be struck by the hood hinges after reinstalling. The old foam seal will compress a tad more when shutting the hood which is okay but can be very tight if using a new one, causing stress & hood gap issues. FYI, a recore from an excellent quality shop should be $500-$600 but at the height of criminal covid excuse greed is $800 maximum. Had one done in Dec, I can pm multiple receipts for you. Another tip is to look closely for any metal to metal contact between the condenser & radiator core when mounting them together. The new core can be slightly thicker than oem. Best to sandwich a 1/16" thin 1" wide or so rubber pad at all 4 corners to avoid damage. Then re adjust cooling fan distance accordingly by loosening the simple clamps , slide them back as needed & re clamp.
I think this is the kind of thing I was dealing with! I did not realize how tight everything was in there, but even a few mm seems to make a difference. I had to use different washers for the final install because the hinges were making contact. Crazy. Glad to know I'm not the only one tripped up by it, at least.
Sounds like if or when I need to have mine re-cored I will deliver it in a "tray" made out of 2x4s with a plywood base that the radiator exactly fits in.
Not the worst idea. Certainly if I was doing this again, I'd take some basic measurements, at least. A jig to fit it in would be even better!
