MTFCA Forum

Are the upper and lower tanks the same on a low and a high radiator? Can a high radiator be recored as a low radiator? Thanks, Art

Short answer is, "No."

The angle of the inlet for the top tank is different for the tall and short radiators.

That being said, I did it 50 years ago on my 1919, not realizing the differences.
I would not do it again.

Keith

Are the bottom tanks the same?

Short answer is yes. Just different in some minor appearance details in the cast outlet.

On the top tanks the header plate has a different shaped outlet hole to accommodate the two different styles of outlet fitting. This can be remedied by making flat brass adaptor plate. I had to do this on a high radiator one time. The pressed steel outlet, which I had never come across before was a different shape to the pressed brass one I used as a replacement.

Allan from down under.

I bought a recored low radiator off of EBay and when I got it I noticed the top tank and head outlets were way out of line. I made a spacer to get the correct alignment. Works and aligns fine. Not real noticable either. It’s made from a piece of flat 3/8” plate.

Mostly the same, can use the low radiator top spout on the high radiator but will fit better with a slightly longer hose, the low radiator uses the shorter spout 4003, the high radiator spout 4003B is longer and not a good fit to use on a low radiator.

Keith, to me it looks like your problem is due to using a low head brass radiator fitting on the head. That will not line up with any low or high radiator that has a shell.
Allan from down under.

I am wanting to recore a low radiator for a 1919 and the bottom outlet is rusted to the point there is nothing left for the hose to attach to. The top tank is good, the core is bad. I have a high radiator with a good bottom tank and outlet so I will have the low radiator recored and use the bottom tank off the high radiator. Thanks for the answers, Art

Art,
It sounds like you can cobble together parts to make a radiator work for your car.

Allen,
If I recall correctly (since this was nearly 50 years ago and I was a kid) the brass radiator outlet fit better than the black radiator outlet.

John,
I like your solution to make everything fit. Is your radiator tall or short? Is the hose connection on your radiator cast or sheet metal?

I could probably swap out my water outlet to the black radiator, make a spacer like John did, and trim down the outlet to make a hose fit. Or leave it the way it is.

BWT, to re-core a tall radiator with a short core, the side brackets need to be cut shorter and welded back together, too...

Keith

Sometimes aftermarket honeycomb radiator tanks lend themselves better to a re-core than original Ford radiators do. I have a re-cored low ( was a honeycomb )that is a great fit & a re-cored tall ford in a tall application & the inlet neck is not a good fit even with the tall outlet. The high cost of radiators is driving people to try options that where not necessary a few years ago.
JMHO
Craig.

That brass radiator has the top inlet 3/8th inch off center, but it is hardly noticed until you repair one with the part on wrong side out and then it is 3/4th inch off center.