72 TA : New Project

[njsteve]

I took a little break while getting the Camaro sold and delivered, so now it's back to work. I sent the original radiator out to be recored and got it back a week later. I went to reinstall it and it wouldn't fit. Very strange, it was 3/4" too wide for the saddles. The following Monday I called the radiator guy (very reputable, long-time radiator overhauler and custom tank fabricator) and he was scratching his head also. Until finally he says: "Hey wait a minute I was recoring a Camaro radiator the same week...could I have switched the cores? He picks up the phone and calls the Camaro guy and asks him if he installed the rad yet. The guy says: "I was just about to, right now." The rad guy tells him: "Just bring it back now, I'll explain later." Turns out he did swtich the cores and there was a 3/4" difference in the widths for the same year cars. He redid my radiator with a new corre (and the other guy's too) and had it back to me in a few days. No charge. I have to say he was a stand-up guy about the whole thing, no questions, no excuses. You don't find that very often these days in service industries. I would definitely recommend him: Arts Radiator Fabrication in Flemington, NJ. He was surprised that I wasn't angry. I explained it this way: if it was a simple mistake that I could have made, there is no way that I would fault anyone else for making the same mistake. So I guess the lesson for all of us is the old saying: "measure twice and cut once." Or in this case: "measure twice and install once."

I also found a correct, original master cylinder on ebay for $18, complete with the bleeder screws and had my local auto parts store send it out and had it rebuilt. I installed it and filled the system with silicone brake fluid and bled it. I prefer the silicone fluid on restorations because if you ever have a leak or a drip, it won't hurt the paint. Easy insurance.