Fuck Buying a New Radiator

It’s not uncommon to question the condition of something mechanical that’s over four decades old.

I have the original 22” radiator for my 72 Plymouth Duster. A replacement piece is $300 goddamn dollars.

I took the original piece down to A-1 Radiator for a flow-test and leak repair. For $65 they fixed two little leaks and told me she flows 22 gallons a minute. Not too shabby; should work for the open road.

Except when I got it back from the shop it looked like this:



Some sanding brought her back to the land of respectability.



Figured I would give this stuff a shot, Eastwood Gloss Black Radiator Paint, at $13 FUCKING BUCKS a can. Eastwood recommended two cans per radiator as this stuff is super-thin.



Regular high-heat paint isn’t wise to apply to a car radiator, as it’s remarkably thick in spray-form, and will prevent the key word of “radiate”.

After many, many coats and extensive coverage, I only used three-quarter of one can. Assholes.



Looks sharp though, and the car runs nice and cool with the factory piece. I need a burger.