Author Topic: Aluminum radiator on ebay  (Read 1733 times)

dakman29

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Aluminum radiator on ebay
« on: November 09, 2021, 15:38:55 »
I’ve seen listings on eBay for aluminum replacement radiators for w113 cars. Pricing starting at $399.00 US. Has anyone used one of these and if so what has been your experience?

franjo_66

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Re: Aluminum radiator on ebay
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2021, 01:56:18 »
I havent bought an aluminium version for my 230SL, but I did buy an aluminium radiator for my 1983 BMW 735i. It was a great replacement, fit perfectly and offers superior cooling, as this version had a thicker core
Franjo

1965 230SL Black/Auto/RHD
2005 Porsche Cayenne Turbo
1983 BMW 735i
1986 560 SEC
1991 500SL
1982 Holden Statesman DeVille

awolff280sl

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Re: Aluminum radiator on ebay
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2021, 02:52:12 »
looking at the photos, not sure if you could attach the oil cooler or mount a fan shroud.
Andy   Sarasota, FL
'69 280SL 4speed
'06 Mitsubishi Evo

114015

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Re: Aluminum radiator on ebay
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2021, 16:06:30 »
Well,
Personally I would not do that. If you had no radiator at all and can't find one quickly,
then maybe.
But it is always preferable to re-core the original radiator instead. Every good rad shop can do that.
Price is about the same as those alu replacements....


IMHO
Achim

Achim
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mdsalemi

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Re: Aluminum radiator on ebay
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2021, 16:22:52 »
Well,
Personally I would not do that. If you had no radiator at all and can't find one quickly,
then maybe.
But it is always preferable to re-core the original radiator instead. Every good rad shop can do that.
Price is about the same as those alu replacements....

I had my original recored at the time of restoration, going on 20 years ago. However, during hot weather, and/or stop and go driving, or stop and go in hot weather, I was close to overheating. So, after just about 10 years, I had my "recored" radiator "recored" again.

HOWEVER: and this is the big however, a traditional radiator shop will buy "off the shelf cores" that are not really exact or precise fits, and make them fit. They use what they can get, and many shops will have different core suppliers. I took someone's advice on the forum here and went to Gernold at SL Tech.

I don't know if this is still true or not, but at that time Gernold had found a place near enough to him that actually had the core-making equipment. So instead of using an off the shelf core he had this shop build 3-row cores to his own (Gernold's) specifications. Once I did that and reinstalled it, my cooling issues were a thing of the past. It was NOT cheap; before shipping, the cost back in 2011 was something around $550. I'd imagine this has gone up quite a bit since then.

Gernold has them fitted and supplies them painted to the proper color.
Michael Salemi
Davidson, North Carolina (Charlotte Area) USA
1969 280SL (USA-Spec)
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
2023 Ford Maverick Lariat Hybrid "Area 51"
2023 Ford Escape Hybrid
2024 Ford Mustang Mach Ex PEV