Question about original 3A Harrison radiator tanks

[squidtone]

I know this is a long shot, but I was wondering if anyone has ever "sweated" off their Harrison radiator tanks from the radiator core.
My jeep has it's original 1950 radiator. I've searched on how to de-solder tanks from classic copper/brass radiators, and I've seen that it can be done. But the types I've seen success with use a core with a tray style flange with a perimeter lip that the tank fits into.
The Harrison style that I have does not have this perimeter lip tray. It's not obvious where the joint is for the tank to core.
Any hints out there?
I have a few leaks and when the Jeep heats up and leaks, the fan coats me with a film. Bleah.

[athawk11]

Squid,
Lew Ladwig did a pretty nice write up on rebuilding his MB radiator.  Check it out here...

http://www.1943mb.com/c-92-G503_WWII_Jeep_Radiator_Rebuild_Restore.aspx

[squidtone]

Ah yes, thanks! I've seen that and that's the article that initially got me thinking I can do this myself. But the radiator he does is much like most other radiators I've seen: The core has a "header" with a lip flange around the perimeter that the tanks fit into.
The harrison tanks on our 3a's don't have this same style. I can't for the life of me figure out how to sweat off the top tank. The top tank brass wraps around all the way to the core itself, and there is no solder joint that I can see. It almost seems like it's crimped or something.
The bottom tank seems to have a solder joint that I can see, but still not like the conventional type typical as seen on that 43 MB radiator.

I dearly love a challenge, but I do not feel confident setting a torch to my Harrison for fear of ruining a beautiful radiator (despite a couple small leaks).
I searched for a radiator shop near me that does old stuff and the nearest one I found is an hour and a half away. I'm thinking there must be one closer, but they prolly don't have www presence. I'll have to ask around for one closer.

I saw Carlsjeep post on swapping in an aluminum 3B type radiator, but I don't relish making all the changes that required. He also discussed fitting an aluminum 2A bottom mount style, but that also requires mods to fit to a side mount 3A Jeep. Then there's the folks who use Falcon/mustang radiators which seem to be copper/brass for about 130 bucks, but documentation on fitting one to a 3A is sketchy....not sure how many mods those would require.

Well, I'll certainly update this thread if I find out how to do this.
Dave

[squidtone]

Okay. I've learned more about radiators than I really ever wanted to know.

So the deal with these CJ3A radiators (original Harrison) is that they were not conventionally built. Most brass/copper radiators (including the MB one highlighted on Athawk11's link) from the good old days used a core assembly which is tubes with copper fin material in between the fins. The ends of the tubes are stuck into headers and soldered. Specifically they're called "bucket" headers....that is,the header has a lip all the way around to help place and locate the tanks.  The tanks are then placed onto/into the shallow "bucket" headers and soldered together.

The ol' Harrison like I have does not use headers. The upper tank actually is folded around with two 90 degree folds and then soldered to the "core". The core is also suspiciously not tube-like. It actually looks like it's rather like a mesh stacked up and soldered.  I actually could not find any other examples in internet land. I suspect this is an old fashioned design even by 1950 standards..I just don't know. Anyway, this design really does not lend itself to de-soldering. I think you'd need to heat the whole thing all at once rather than melt out solder around a seam like the conventional radiators.
I understand now why it's so darn expensive to get these fixed by radiator shops...Maybe some of them can't handle this odd type of tank.
I looked at the new CJ3A radiators offered by Walcks, and I noticed that while it does look like it fits, it's NOT the original tank design; it uses the conventional header/tank design, and they're also 475 bucks. gasp.
So, after looking at alternatives, I'm thinking of just getting the one aluminum design made for bottom mount CJ2a's. I think perhaps I can modify it with side mount flanges. I'll post back if I do this.
Sorry for the long winded update.

[athawk11]

No need to apologize.  This is interesting.  I learned something new.  Sorry to steer you toward the Lew Ladwig link.  I get tunnel vision at times.  I have earlier 3As and a 2A.  They all have bottom mount radiators.  Just figured the side mount would be similar in design...other than the bottom mount vs side mount differences.

Tim 

[Austin]

There are still a number of shops out there that repair radiators. I had one done in my 69 gmc and my 51 Willy's and a big hyater forklift I have. It cost me about $100 each just to rapair the leaks. The guys who do this are getting harder to find.

[squidtone]

Yes, I did a search for some local radiator repair shops and found that they are "few and far between".
I did make an attempt to re-solder my top tank along the edge where it meets the core (bubbles showed during a pressure test along 8" or so) but after a getting closer and closer to soldering it all up, I noticed a bubble coming from the middle of the tank itself by the "50 G" date stamp on the front. Ohhhh rats the tank's got a small crack. So I gave up on it.
I ordered a CJ2A aluminum radiator from eBay for 135 bucks to my door.
I would prefer an original type radiator, but 500 clams is a barrier (by hundreds!), so I'm going aluminum.
I'm waiting for it now. I'll report back on how I make it fit!

[squidtone]

Update: See my report on fitting an aftermarket aluminum radiator to a side mount CJ3A in a new post in the Tech section of this forum...