is this a genuine cooper s radiator?

[evonaut]

following on from the 'radiator fittings' thread, i have a query. this has also been prompted by my restoration thread where it was kindly pointed out that the replacement rad fitted to my car was not of the original pattern, however it was a rather awful looking new thing. thank you Rich.....

I have spoken to colchester radiator services (CRS) and they have confirmed that they can re-core and re-fin my rad, and paint it, and offer a 12 month warrantee for £80+VAT.

considering that the replacement extra cooling upgrade C-ARA4442 rad has arrived from minispares, i thought i would send pictures to CRS so they could confirm whether my rad was a genuine cooper s one or not to help me decide which one to use (pics attached). the CRS view is that the C=ARA4442 rad is excellent for a slightly tuned car, and it does look similar to an original one. (they manufacture it for minispares)

having seen the pics, CRS have confirmed that the top and bottom tanks are genuine period mini ones that could be from a cooper s, or any other 60s mini, and the fins and core look to be genuine ones from a cooper s, however the side frame is not an s one.

I can't believe that my rad would have been recored in the past, to a cooper s spec and so my question is this, would a late mk2 cooper s radiator have the tell tale signs on the side frame such as letter c and different fixing bolts, or could BMC have changed the spec of the side frames as standard across the range to save a bit of cash and keep the price down of the cars? it certainly would not be the only thing done for this reason.....

result of this research and your welcome expert and varied opinions will hopefully inform my decision as to whether i re-core and re-fin my original one, albeit maybe not genuine s, or opt for a bit of extra cooling for a 1275 s engine with twin HS4 carbs and an SW5 cam, will that really run that hot? in london traffic in the middle of summer!!!!

many thanks

[Chalkie]

Personally Id run the Minispares one

if not run evans waterless coolant at the min

[Smiffy]

Original Rads where a lot flatter on the top.

[InimiaD]

This is the rad that came off my late 68 MK 2 S. It looks similar to yours although I can't be sure if it's the original item.

[evonaut]

This is the rad that came off my late 68 MK 2 S. It looks similar to yours although I can't be sure if it's the original item.

i think is all in the side frame and yours looks to have the square cut outs for a different fixing system, which would make it genuine....... out of interest, what did you put back?

thanks

evonaut

[InimiaD]

You're quite right. The side frames are different, but the header tanks look similar.
I think there is a date / numbers on it somewhere so those should be a pointer.

The S is still in bits / under restoration. It was going to be my next project, but bought an RSP to restore instead.
I haven't decided what Rad to use in the S when it's done, but would like to use the original, probably after a re-core etc.

Edit. The numbers etc are C ARA 2064 5168 which ties in with the build date of my S. I imagine the rad must have worked well in the past because the 2nd owner did some night rallies with it and didn't feel the need to install a "better" rad at the time.

[evonaut]

i'm going for the improved cooling of a 2 core C-ARA4442! will keep the old rad until i decide what to do with it........ seems a shame to scrap it knowing that £80 +VAT will re-core and re-fin it and get a 12 month warrantee.......

[surfblue63]

If you want to keep the original look then get your existing (or an original) radiator re-cored. Tim Harber (MiniMail) knows a company that does this. They re-cored my original IPRA Innocenti rad with the same core that Tim uses in his race car.

[Jamie]

When I restored my car I fitted the C-ARA4442 also, but it was something I always thought I'd like to change back to original.
I had the original radiator still but the Coventry radiators plate was damaged, eventually I found another one cheap enough on ebay and removed the plate from that and had it re-cored for similar money to your quote. I've since swapped them over (not a fun job!) and I'm much happier with the original appearance in the engine bay. Kept the Mini Spares one as a spare.

[evonaut]

When I restored my car I fitted the C-ARA4442 also, but it was something I always thought I'd like to change back to original.
I had the original radiator still but the Coventry radiators plate was damaged, eventually I found another one cheap enough on ebay and removed the plate from that and had it re-cored for similar money to your quote. I've since swapped them over (not a fun job!) and I'm much happier with the original appearance in the engine bay. Kept the Mini Spares one as a spare.

that is pretty good advice i'd say!

back in 1986, the water pump went and the replacement would not sit properly. over the 3 weeks preceding my driving test i took the rad out on numerous occasions to locate the fault. Had it down and could take it out and re-fit it in about 15 minutes...... amazingly, i worked out the problem and resolved it the morning of my driving test! vroom! we were off!

[Nick W]

I had my original rad recored by Auto Rads Sheffield , super 2 core but with original appearance , I think it was about £100.