My Austin seven has had the same honeycomb radiator insitu for at least 60 years that I am aware of but recently I had noticed that the engine was getting hotter particularly on summer days thus it was time to either change it or explore cleaning it out.Over a period of time I enquired with a number of people if they could provide some advice as to whether the core could be saved by cleaning or just bite the bullet and replace it with a new one. Every opinion was either it probably cannot be done or use an aggressive cleaner and hope for the best, this idea was dismissed as I considered that they could damage the copper and solder etc. I was also reticent to take the core to a radiator repairer as only the year earlier they had damaged one from my other Austin beyond redemption due to applying air pressure beyond a safe limit of 2 psi.Research continued and with the core removed from the car I thoroughly flushed it out with a garden hose which moved some gunk as a plan ‘A’. Plan ‘B’ was a tad easier, with the core lying flat and the holes ready to be sealed up I filled the core with white vinegar which I purchased from the supermarket. I allowed it to munch away for 24 hours and flushed it out then repeated the process a second time and the result was excellent and no damage to the core either.The product can be reused but not in the kitchen of course.
Restoration tips and hints.
What works for me #2
For over 50 years I have randomly driven my Austin sevens and enjoyed every moment of the experience however, as a classic car it can