1926 Radiator Neck Repair

[1926DepotHack]

I’m looking for some advice on how to properly repair the neck on my 1926 Depot Hack radiator.

The neck originally cracked about a year ago. I wasn’t able to find anyone locally who felt confident making the repair without risking discoloration to the chrome-plated neck. As a last resort, I tried JB Weld (high heat) — cleaned everything thoroughly and applied a thick coat. It held for a little while with local driving, but after an afternoon giving friends and family rides, it broke down and I had to remove the neck again.

At this point, I’d like to get it fixed the right way.

Does anyone know of a reliable contact in Western PA (or surrounding areas) who could do this repair?

I’ll also be at Hershey and could bring the whole radiator with me — either to have it fixed there or to leave with someone to repair and return.

Photos are attached below. Thanks in advance for any leads or advice!

[Scott_Conger]

Proper repair is "solder", and it was a very easy fix prior to application of epoxy...now it's going to be a pisser to adequately remove all of the epoxy and get a good solid joint. It can be done, but it's too bad you have to.

I've done a number of these repairs and you have to work very hard to discolor chrome when you only need barely over 361F to get eutectic solder to flow. RMA flux and 400F with a clean surface and you'd have a beautiful flowed joint. Propane, MAPP, or a soft flame on Acetylene/Air and you're done.

It takes over 1000F to discolor chrome, so I'd look for a different expert in the future if it was their plan to lay that kind of heat into a radiator.

Last step is to put the motometer on the shelf and avoid future repairs altogether.

Finally, looking past your present conundrum, it looks like you have a very nicely done car...Kudos to you for that

[Norman Kling]

I/ve run motometers on all my T's with no problems. important to get the neck built up to the point where the motometer faces the right direction without over tightening. A plumbing rubber drain washer works very well or several pieces of gasket paper built up just enough so it is tight when facing the right direction without twisting very hard.
Norm

[Allan]

Yours is not an original Ford radiator, on which the neck was first crimped to the top panel, and then soldered. The repop radiators rely solely on the solder joint.
It is not a difficult repair to do at home if you have anyone who has done some soldering. The two mating surfaces need to be cleaned thoroughly and then tinned with solder. Sit the neck in position and then flow additional solder around the neck. it does look to be chrome plated rather than original nickel, so there is little chance of damaging the plating. Even so, any little damage is not likely to show above the radiator shell around the neck.

Allan from down under.

[Humblej]

Find a radiator repair shop and let them do it.

[TXGOAT2]

Your radiator shell may be putting pressure on the neck, which will contribute to issues. Solder won't bond to chrome, so be sure that there is no chrome on the area to be soldered. Silver Solder is stronger than typical solder, but I don't know if it can be used on brass.

[Scott_Conger]

It is absolutely true that lead-tin solder will not bond to chrome and that is an admonition that I failed to include...the chrome must be removed to expose the brass base. Solder WILL stick to original necks with nickel plate IF IT IS CLEANED THOROUGHLY which was my warning and lamenting the use of epoxy in my first post.

True silver solder flows between 1200F and 1350F and absolutely cannot be used on a radiator. Silver-BEARING lead solder (lead solder with a dash of silver in it) is slightly stronger than lead-tin solder but requires more heat than eutectic solder which entirely defeats the purpose of using a low-temp solder to solder quickly without heating surrounding solder joints. Silver-bearing lead solder is what most people call SILVER-SOLDER and it in fact is not silver solder. I believe its sole reason for existence is to make a simple job more difficult with little gained in strength. It is marketed as a solder which will produce a "bright joint" but if you are using so much solder that you're worried about its shininess, you are using too much solder in the first place. Additionally, it requires an acid flux for best adhesion and that is the last thing you want around any part of your car as it is the devil to clean up and has the potential to produce corrosion and corrosion related trouble for ages after use.

Years ago, I held NASA-STD-8739.3 and IPC J-STD-001 certifications for work on Peacekeeper, Minuteman and Space Shuttle assemblies. Radiators are a comparative piece of cake, but the same basic preparation steps and practice are applicable for reliable joints and helps immensely in understanding what you should and should not do to accomplish the job.

[TXGOAT2]

That's way too much heat for sheet brass.

[Allan]

Pat's point about the shell adding load to the neck may be valid. I had to shift the neck over 1/8" on my new Brassworks radiator to be able to fit the shell. Perhaps the shell should be fitted and the neck position scribed on the radiator top to set the neck in the optimum position.
The radiator on Henrietta, my barn find 1925 buckboard with high radiator, had a top outlet of rusted out pressed steel. I had never seen these in other than brass. i took it off and cleaned up a substitute brass one to replace it, but the hole in the tank was larger than the flange on the outlet!
I made a sheet brass spacer to adapt the new outlet and silver soldered this to the replacement outlet. This was then tinned with soft solder before delivery to the radiator shop. After a cleanout they used blind copper pop rivets to hold it in place before soldering onto the tank. This same procedure could be used to more strongly attach a radiator neck.

Allan from down under.