Radiators again

[mole42]

Mine's weeping from the core, I had it rebuilt about 60,000 miles ago by a local radiator company but it needs doing again.

I was lookig at the various offerings from the usual traders and find an astonishing variety of pricing: EJ Ward: £228; Tony Hart: £445; Paddocks: £282; Robsport: £420. LDPart has stopped doing radiators but what's the difference between those on offer? I know Hart claims his are the only Supergill, but there's annother Supergill advertised for less money but is it/are they any better? Define better?

I'll probably get mine re-cored again, but it might be worth researching three-row or four-row and in-line or staggered cores.....

[jbuckl]

Beware , extra rows in the core can reduce airflow & therefore cooling rates.
The Soc test results proved this, many years ago.
However, slimline high airflow cores are available from reconditioning places that have been developed for jags & mgb v8s that do provide better cooling transfer rates.
My radiator was recored by Wolverhampton Radiators with such a core (4row)
If possible use original mounting brackets, as accuracy is very important for clearances in the stag… mechanical fan can be too close with reproduction bracketry.
imho don’t consider aluminium radiators for stag application.
after many years avoiding having an electric fan , my car now has one, but it’s primary job is to reduce the heat-soak after key-off, which can be an issue with modern fuels ridiculously low boiling point temperature.
Modern pump fuel boiling point is solely suited to injected engines, where the fuel is constantly recirculated & hence cooled.
Consider using recirculating the fuel too….
A small bleed is all that’s required… either at the pump or carb supply.
A recore is in the region of £120-£150. For copper & brass, which beats aluminium on many fronts, apart from the ‘magpie’ one!
Have heard of people buying outright radiators to save time, only to find the stud spacing is 1/2” off on the bottom bracket!
please don’t take offence if you have a nice looking aluminium radiator… they may look ‘nice’ but are functionally likely to be inferior to brass & copper.

Lastly, try to have the filler neck silver - soldered. Lead isn’t strong enough / can crack.

[richardthestag]

frank at viking radiators in uxbridge does Range Rover rads for me. also said he used to make the Supergill rads for HRS

https://vikingradiators.co.uk/

[hooky65]

I used Viking radiators to rebuild my Stag radiator, they did a great job.

[mole42]

I've had email correspondence with Frank, asking about 3-row or 4-row, he says opinion is 50/50 at the moment. Did you guys have any preference or did you just ask him to rebuild?

[Lingen]

Mole.
Apart from the very last cars produced which had 3 row cores, all Stags were fitted with 4 row offset core radiators. The three row ones did not perform well when tested at Gaydon.
Unless the cores available today differ greatly from those used during production I would go for a four row offset if you can get one, as they provide maximum exposure to the air for the water tubes..
4 In-line core is probably the next best choice.
For a while 5 row ones were available, but as they were such a barrier to the passage of air, they were a waste of time, and made belt changing difficult.
Mike.

[new to this]

Has anyone tried a Radiator from a modern car ?

[mike@thenook]

I used to have a Supergill of Tony’s years ago, when that gave in I bought one from Wards which was advertised as a supergill - that one didn’t last quite so long it started leaking in several places in the core.
This time (and I know many will say why) I bought an aluminium rad built by Radtec and fitted with an electric fan thermostatically controlled by a stat fitted in the rad. I removed the viscous fan entirely and being totally honest the cooling with this radiator is far superior to any of the others I’ve had, the fan works silently and effectively and In the most serious heat we have had so far sitting in jams or at highest motorway speeds I have not had the temperature above midway once.
They’re not cheap but they are superbly made, better than anything I’ve seen from anyone else.

Cheers

Mike