Radiator repairs

[BookerME]

I had a proper result today. I found this place for repairing car radiators.
Bryan & Son in Tunbridge Wells. A top-class bloke and gentleman. Old-school craftsman, no web site, no email, just a small, busy & full-on workshop that’s an Aladdin’s Cave of car radiators all shapes and sizes. His wife works with him, a smashing couple. I phoned them first then drove down there on spec.
He tested, modified and brazed up the header tank off of my 420 for £35 while I waited, after I’d interrupted the work he was doing when I arrived.

Mac

Their details:-
Bryan & Son
Address: 165A Camden Rd, Tunbridge Wells TN1 2RF
Phone: 01892 544635

[BookerME]

I've also just found this from Dec 2014 which more-or-less concurs with my experience today.

http://www.rickparkington.co.uk/the-specialist/

Incidentally, while talking to Bryan as he completed my repairs, I mentioned that I'd seen new, after-market, aluminium replacements for part C26871 at between £400 & £500 a pop. He warned me off them, saying they were rubbish.

Currently, I've got THREE spare old mild steel ones, all failed and all in need of serious repair. If anyone wants one (a 'failed one in serious need of repair' is still better than not having one at all!) let me know, you can have one for just the price of the postage - unless you want to drive over and collect it, then you can have it for nothing.

Also worth noting, unless you already know of course....

If you get into 420 header tank problems, be aware there's at least 2 types.
One has an inlet/outlet to the engine block (as the one on my '69 420 does), whereas the other type doesn't.
i.e. One type has two fittings, the large inlet/outlet hose, plus the small overflow outlet above the radiator cap.
The other has three fittings the large inlet/outlet hose, the small overflow on the rad cap and a third inlet/outlet with a narrower hose connection back to the engine block.

Another thing...
I did try repairing my failed header tank with Epoxy Resin but it just wouldn't hold under pressure. You may have better luck of course.

Mac

[BookerME]

Some images of the 420 header tank variations.
One from the official Daimler spare parts catalogue showing just two hose connections.
The other, a picture of one end of my header tank showing the 'additional' small inlet/outlet on the side that takes a hose connected back to the engine block.