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+--- Thread: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please (/showthread.php?tid=1594)
Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Chris KC - 17-08-2018
I promised my car a new radiator some day. However the spare (scrap) rad I had in mind to re-core turns out to be the wrong type.
The one in the car has a 1 1/2" screw-on cap. (Right or wrong, I don't want to change this set-up).
The spare radiator top tank I have looks the same size and shape, but the filler neck is a die-casting affixed partly to the front of the tank an inch further forward and has a bayonet cap fixing.
According to Chris Gould's book it's a 1929-30 rad I need, or a genuine Ulster / Nippy. Given the cost of a new core my budget is already creaking.
I could of course re-core my existing rad, but then the car will be off the road again for weeks, also it's still quite serviceable as a spare.
Does anyone have a simple solution to repositioning the filler neck which does not take a lot of time or money? Logically it seems possible to remove the neck from my spare tank, fill up the resulting hole and solder on a new neck in the right place, but I would need to source a suitable new filler neck. Or if anyone has the right top tank and is willing to part with it for a tenner or two...
Parting question - was the original Ulster radiator a honeycomb type? or 'A' type film pattern (with vertical strips)? From my survey of period pictures I'm thinking honeycomb but I wonder if anyone can confirm.
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Peter Johnson - 17-08-2018
Chris
The Ulster would have had an A type core.
The most important job when changing a radiator core is to get the header tanks meticulously clean. A patch can be placed over the old filler, but you don’t have the best starting point. The better header tank to start with is probably the ruby as the filler neck is sat on the top of the filler so is easily covered with a flat brass plate. The bottom tank also needs to be modified as it has captive bolts for fixing.
Peter
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Chris KC - 17-08-2018
(17-08-2018, 03:40 PM)Peter Johnson Wrote: Chris
The Ulster would have had an A type core.
The most important job when changing a radiator core is to get the header tanks meticulously clean. A patch can be placed over the old filler, but you don’t have the best starting point. The better header tank to start with is probably the ruby as the filler neck is sat on the top of the filler so is easily covered with a flat brass plate. The bottom tank also needs to be modified as it has captive bolts for fixing.
Peter
Thanks Peter.
The bottom tank wouldn't be a problem as I can use the spare I have, which has no captive bolts.
I do have a Ruby rad, but I'm not sure about easier - yes the hole is easier to patch, but it doesn't have the big recess which accommodates the bonnet brace. There's still the question of a new filler neck as the Ruby one is different. Does anyone supply a suitable item?
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Mike Costigan - 17-08-2018
(17-08-2018, 03:40 PM)Peter Johnson Wrote: Chris
The Ulster would have had an A type core.
Peter
This was my immediate reaction, too, but looking at this photo of GO 6302 it looks like this car, at least, had a honeycomb core:
GO6302.jpg (Size: 209.61 KB / Downloads: 421)
(photo from Austin Harris' site)
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Chris KC - 17-08-2018
(17-08-2018, 04:15 PM)Mike Costigan Wrote:(17-08-2018, 03:40 PM)Peter Johnson Wrote: Chris
The Ulster would have had an A type core.
Peter
This was my immediate reaction, too, but looking at this photo of GO 6302 it looks like this car, at least, had a honeycomb core:
(photo from Austin Harris' site)
Yes Mike, that's the self-same picture which led me to think honeycomb. In most other pics I've found you can't make out the pattern.
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Motor-Mouse - 18-08-2018
Interesting thread, as I just acquired a car, and with it came this rad as a spare...
This one has a screw on cap, and yet on the Nippy itself the Austin motif radiator cap just twists on and off with a quarter turn with a really crappy spring clip and what look to be like 4 rivet heads...
Which is correct please, it's a 36 car on the logbook, steel body...
I'll admit now, I haven't measured the height of the spare one yet, so it may yet prove to be too tall... I'll measure next time I go up to the car...
Photos attached...
Regards
Stewart.
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Chris KC - 18-08-2018
A Nippy radiator has a 16" core (height) and a 4-pin 'bayonet' fitting cap. The 'crappy spring clip' you describe is a replacement for the original part which was a somewhat more solid casting.
I think you have the same issue as I do i.e. the filler neck is too far forward to use in your car. I can't check the Nippy neck in detail without dismantling the car I'm afraid.
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Mike Costigan - 18-08-2018
I think you'll find 'twas the other way round: the spring clip was the original Austin fitting, the cast block was found on aftermarket replacements - new old stock ones with the solid clip cropped up quite frequently in the 1960s. They came in a green and black box similar to Remax components, although I'm not so sure they were marketed by Remax.
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Chris KC - 18-08-2018
(18-08-2018, 01:05 PM)Mike Costigan Wrote: I think you'll find 'twas the other way round: the spring clip was the original Austin fitting, the cast block was found on aftermarket replacements - new old stock ones with the solid clip cropped up quite frequently in the 1960s. They came in a green and black box similar to Remax components, although I'm not so sure they were marketed by Remax.
I stand corrected Mike. For sure the 'solid' ones feel much more sturdy than the bent tin ones. I confess I'd always thought the latter were bodged up by our cherished suppliers to keep us going when nowt else was available. No offence meant to our suppliers of course!
RE: Radiator for 1931 Ulster Replica - Advice Please - Jeff Taylor - 18-08-2018
(18-08-2018, 01:05 PM)Mike Costigan Wrote: I think you'll find 'twas the other way round: the spring clip was the original Austin fitting, the cast block was found on aftermarket replacements - new old stock ones with the solid clip cropped up quite frequently in the 1960s. They came in a green and black box similar to Remax components, although I'm not so sure they were marketed by Remax.
Remax did indeed market A7 radiator caps - the Remax catalogue lists the following:
Remax P.N. TS100 (Austin B6-32) Chrome Plated 1933/34 and upright radiator 1935/36
Remax P.N. BA482 (Austin 1A746) 1935/39
They also listed petrol tank caps Nickel Plated 1929/30 and 1933/39