Morris Minor Owners Club

My 1952 MM's radiator now leaks so bad I can only manage about 8 miles before I need to refill. I am told I need a re-core. Has any member gone down this route and can they make any suggestions or recommend a contractor.

Many thanks John Campion

One is often ‘told’ this or that by parties interested in relieving one of one’s dosh.

It may well require a new core or complete radiator, but until we know how it is leaking, the most prudent or cost effective repair cannot really be advised upon.

I simply used the yellow pages and have been using the same local radiator repair company for years. Not often, thankfully. My usual repairs are expensive new cores for vintage tractors.

One thing is for sure - unless you take some remedial action, you may need lots more dosh to be spent on a damaged engine!

If it does not overheat, relieving the pressure by running with the radiator cap loosened, may reduce the leakage as a temporary measure. Over decades past, repairs have occasionally been made by blanking off the leak with plastic padding - usually to repair an otherwise good radiator damaged by some incident force.

I just googled county radiators, there in Rochford, Essex. Recored/rebuilt my rad many moons ago and still going strong.
The original tubes had become porous with one tube developing a largish hole which allowed coolant to squirt out through the grill!
I decided a rebuild was needed!

Alan

If you have a waterpump you may want the underside of the top tank to be raised slightly, as per the factory original. Flat bottom plate may foul the fan blades. BTDT

I really must brush up on my acronyms!

I had to Google it...

I suppose it's a change from those annoying Latin quotes we used to get from time to time.

I had to Google acronyms before I googled BTDT!
My MM didn't have a water pump fitted originally but did have the extra clearance on the underside of the header tank.

Alan