NRS radiator comparison.

[Robert Kiefaber]

Here is a photo of an original NRS radiator tank on top and a new Brassworks radiator on bottom. As you can see the new radiator seam around the edge has a lip. The original has no seam and is flush with the surface. Did they manufacture radiators with the lip originally? Were they made both ways back in the day?

[Hap_Tucker]

Bob,

Ford Motor Company did not produce their own radiators until the Model T production was well underway. The Model N, R, S and SR as well as the very early Model Ts had radiators with slight differences made by different suppliers.

Below is a photo from the Piquette Plant floor (I believe sometime in 1906 – but I don’t have my notes available). Note form memory I believe Trent said it shows the Model N with the very early radiators. They are a honey comb design. (note – I don’t have a high enough resolution copy to tell the type of core. If someone else does, would you please post it or send a copy of it to me. E-mail address via the forum should work. Just click on my name). You can tell they are Model Ns by the Force Feed cylinder tank on the right side of the engine and if you zoom in you can see the step plate for getting into the car behind the first chassis. I’m 80% sure that same photo was used in the Model R Sales brochure – but again I’m going on memory. (Books are stored due to home renovation.)

Below is a photo that my notes say Trent took of a very early Model N radiator that was hanging on a garage wall. It may very well be one from an N in the photo above. (OK that is a real longshot…) Note it also has the seam at the top tank.

And below is a photo of what I believe is a 1907 Model R Runabout. It also has the seam at the top of the tank. And I believe that is a typical Rome Turney radiator with the larger round tubes with individual crinkled washers around the tubes. Note the larger filler neck. My Dad's Model S Runabout has that style radiator and it also has the seam on the top tank.

And if you have a copy of Pate's Early Ford Automobile Encyclopedia, it has the photo Trent as well as other N, R, S & SR radiators. I highly recommend that book to anyone wanting information about the 1903-1909 Fords. It is available from Lang’s Old Car Parts at: https://www.modeltford.com/item/PATE-EN ... IpVp8Ac6uT

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off & I907 Model S Runabout

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Hap,

I believe the the Rome radiator you show is the style with a removable shell. Meaning, what appeasrs to be the upper tank is really just the shell, with the tank beneath. One of the spare parts donated by to the EFR by Oswald, was such a shell.

[TrentB]

Here are several photos of an early Model N radiator sent to me by a friend.

There are several distinctive features of early Model N radiators that distinguish them from radiators used later in NRS production. First, the core of the radiator appears to be of the honeycomb or cellular design similar to the photograph of the chassis being assembled at Piquette in the 1906 photo. Most period photos of NRS cars show radiators of the more conventional tube and fin design. Second, the radiator neck and cap are very distinctive. I have heard this design referred to as the “light bulb thread” radiator cap because of the size and design of the caps threads. The Ford script that appears on the top radiator tank is smaller and is stamped into the tank at an angle. The winged Ford script was used on later NRS radiators. It was larger and stamped horizontally into the top tank. Also, the tank on the early radiator similar to the design used during Model T production, while later NRS top tanks were a one-piece stamping.

All NRS radiators were made by outside suppliers. At the beginning of 1907 (according to Canadian duty documents) radiators were supplied by Whitlock Coil Pipe Company, (Hartford CT) and McCord & Company (Chicago, IL). Ford did not begin producing their own radiators until 1912.

Respectfully Submitted,

Trent Boggess