Old radiator company

[Belliott3]

Has anyone ever heard of the State Radiator Company of Los Angeles? This brass Ford radiator has that tag on it and there is no Made in USA on it. Old reproduction perhaps? Nothing turns up on the inter web.

[OilyBill]

State Radiator may not have made the radiator, but repaired it at some point. I have seen these tags before on radiators that some company repaired. Usually they are just soldered in place. Unusual that they are riveted as in this case. Normally it was the last thing they did after doing a repair. A swipe of solder, a touch with an iron, and the tag was attached. The tags probably sold at 50 for a dollar, and they put them on whatever they repaired. I think partially this was to prevent fraudulent claims of repair defects by people who had a radiator repaired, BUT IT WASN'T DONE BY STATE Radiator. If they had done the repair, their plate would be on the radiator. No plate means it wasn't a radiator that they ever touched. The fact that it has a number stamped on the plate is so they can reference the previous work order, and see just what repair was done, before offering warranty coverage is further evidence of this type of verification.

[Belliott3]

I guess that makes sense, especially since the tag is upside down! And I’m assuming the radiator is a 1911 or early 12? From my understanding, Ford started putting “Made in USA” under the logo in 1912.