C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

[Florian W.]

I have a March '60 build date fuelie that originally came with a 3147516 aluminum radiator. When I bought the car, it had a later 3151116 unit in it which may have been a service replacement. I've purchased the correct earlier radiator from DeWitts but neither they nor I am sure if the side brackets that go between the radiator and core support should be painted black (DeWitts sells them unpainted). The ones in the car are black, but that could be because the old radiator probably was a service replacement. Does anyone know the correct finish for the aluminum side brackets?

Thanks,
Lee

[Loren L.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

I'm looking at a photo of Dr Dick Thompson alongside the course at Sebring, chasing a gremlin; distributor is out, etc. - only the top tank is unpainted, it's aluminum and without the later ribs.

[Jim D.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

Everything I've seen and read show that the original radiators and brackets were unpainted. I have a Dewitts "516"rad. but my brackets are original to the car and were never painted. Build date of 2-12-60.

Jim

[Jim D.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

I'm looking at a photo of Dr Dick Thompson alongside the course at Sebring, chasing a gremlin; distributor is out, etc. - only the top tank is unpainted, it's aluminum and without the later ribs.

That has no bearing on what is original since painting them black was an old racers trick in an attempt to make them run cooler.

[Michael K.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

Florian, the original radiator and brackets were unpainted from Chevy. The service replacements which have later dates were painted. I have an original unit with the brackets in untouched but dirty condition with the original fasteners and it is natural aluminum. If you have the old brackets you should consider cleaning them up and using them as the Dewitts ones are not quite the same. Tom made that suggestion to me.
Good luck, Mike

[Loren L.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

Everything I've seen and read show that the original radiators and brackets were unpainted. I have a Dewitts "516"rad. but my brackets are original to the car and were never painted. Build date of 2-12-60.

Jim

What you've read is that the "instruction" to paint them was missing from the initial blueprint; if it was an "old racer's trick" to paint them for more cooling, do you REALLY think that Harrison Radiator was NOT aware of that?
The other photos to ignore are parts buck engines, test photos of the radiator in the previous year car, etc.

[Loren L.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

That has no bearing on what is original since painting them black was an old racers trick in an attempt to make them run cooler.

That IS a photo of an original engine compartment! The "built" engine appeared only at Le Mans.

[Jim D.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

What you've read is that the "instruction" to paint them was missing from the initial blueprint; if it was an "old racer's trick" to paint them for more cooling, do you REALLY think that Harrison Radiator was NOT aware of that?
The other photos to ignore are parts buck engines, test photos of the radiator in the previous year car, etc.

Sorry Loren but I have to disagree. No need to paint them on a street engine so why would Harrison care about cars that were being raced? Parts buck engines were never installed in cars. I guess the bottom line is, why didn't my original, or the many that I've seen, come painted? The answer is -production cars didn't come with painted radiators. That has been well documented. Have you looked at the Judging Guide lately? It's spelled out for you right there in black and white.

[Greg M.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

The brackets on my May 1960 corvette with aluminum radiator are unpainted.

Greg
#30406

[Florian W.]

Re: C1 Aluminum radiator bracket finish?

Thanks for the timely replies, everyone. It looks like the general concensus is that the brackets should be unpainted. The black paint on them was easily removed, but the primer underneath was so tenacious that sections of the original anodizing were also removed, even with a fine sand in the blast cabinet. The aluminum is now somewhat mottled and has a grainy surface unlike the original smooth finish from rolling. I may try some aluminum color paint unless someone has a better idea.

Thanks,
Lee