Model A Radiator

Posted by Rick Black on May 27, 1998 at 23:31:32

In Reply to: Model A parts???
posted by Jon Torkelson on May 27, 1998 at 18:25:34

Tough thing to do - put a value on a 70-year old part someone has described ....
I'll give it a shot - of course, this is in my opinion; others will vary.
There were two basic styles of Model A radiators: 1928-29 and 1930-31.The easiest way to recognize which is which is that the earlier ones had a cap that screwed on to a threaded neck while the later ones had the more traditional tabs at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock that fit into tabs on the neck.
Truck radiators were a bit thicker than passenger radiators; of course that would be hard to tell unless you could see two of them side-by-side.
We're assuming that this is a Model A you've found and not a similar car.
With all that in mind, assuming that the old thing isn't rusted out beyond repair, if it was in "good condition" it might be worth $25 - 50. I took my old radiator, which was in good shape but overheated occasionally, to a local radiator shop.They removed the core and replaced it with another, keeping the top and bottom tanks from the original radiator.The radiator was cleaned and repainted and installed in my car.It works great! Cost for the repair: $250.
A new, reproduction radiator costs even more, and I've heard that many of them don't work too well.Street rod radiator shops make very good ones that are designed for more powerful, modern engines, and the prices on those go above $400 (but they work REALLY WELL).
Hope some of this helps you figure out what the old radiator is worth.It comes down to being worth whatever someone will give you, doesn't it?

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