New car show in town

Ever wanted to put on  your own car show? Well I did. So me and some friends got together (one of those friends happens to run a non profit charity) and we decided to start a new car show in town. This will raise money for the charity, help advertise for the sponsors, and be lots  of just plain  fun.

These pictures are from another car show that I'm part of "motorhead madness" in Poway California, which is a great show in and of itself.
So I thought it would be a snap to put on a car show but have had a rude awaking, its tough. The first people we hit was the sponsor's seems everyone is Leary on a new start-up whether its a business or a car show. But we did have some friends and colleges come through for us and now we have a little seed money to get started.

Next we started to ask car owners if they would like to participate, we made the offer as enticing as we could with prize  money going out in every judging category ( $100.00-$500.00) is the prize jackpot, plus we are having  several raffles and giveaways. There will be a live band, BBQ, entertainment ect. But so far the sign ups have been lean.

It will be happening in a month or so meaning we don't have much time left. So if your into cars and would like to come have fun with us please tell  your friends. This promises to be a great first show. Everyone is welcome. Bring your ride. Entry fee is only $35.00. Oh did I mention this show is bikes too? Yep Hotrods and Harleys that's the name and the theme of our new show. Check out our site!
http://www.hotrodsandharleys.net

Have any questions about automotive? Give us a call. http://www.intermountainradiator,com

Ten pounds of radiator in a five pound car!

Remember this Photo? " if it doesn't fit you must acquitt " The phrase that Jonnie Cochran quoted so many time in the news during that trial. Well we had a radiator that fit that description today.

This is a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer 3.0 turbo charged car. The radiator my customer bought on line from the manufacturer ( I have never heard of this one ) and had us install it for him along with new hoses and a back flush of his cooling system. See how close the exhaust heat shield is to the radiator.

It is so close the customer called the manufacturer and complained. I really didn't think it was going to fit. The radiator was twice as big as the old one ( Thick that is) the original was a one row of 1&3/8 inch tubes and the new replacement is 2 rows and over 2 inches thick. Emilio can't even get his finger in between the exhaust and the radiator core. When the motor rocks back and forth, hits a bump, loses a motor mount or any other scenario you can think of this man is going to have trouble keeping his coolant where it belongs.

Bigger I want Bigger. I hear that all the time from customers that think if I have a big enough radiator all my heating troubles will magically  vanish, not so. I like a larger cooling system just like the next guy but this is seriously over kill, he has enough radiator to cool off a V8. No joke.

So next time you need a new radiator think twice before buying it on line. I have people come in to the shop that have bought a radiator from an on line source, didn't fit or leaked and had to send it back of course they were out shipping so now the deal they got just got complicated and expensive. If you buy local or from someone you know its much safer. Radiator = radiator shop   :-}   Happy Happy!
Need help? We love to answer questions give us a call.
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Industrial truck radiator too many holes!

This is a typical OTR (over the road truck) radiator. It was leaking from the tank gasket which is also not unusual. The first thing we do when a radiator come in the shop is to look it over visually, pressure test it in out test tank to make sure it will survive the next faze of the rebuild process.

Here it is with the tanks off to inspect the gasket tape that's causing the leak. Notice all the bolt holes on the end?

Wow there's doubles! That's not right? Did some other shop sell this person the wrong radiator core and then made it fit anyway? Sure looks that way and this practice is not uncommon. If the shop had a core laying around they needed to get rid of they will pass it off like this. Shame Shame on you!

We will fix the trouble so this won't come back on us, the radiator has a good core so we will solder the extra holes shut before we re-gasket to save the customer the expense of having to buy a new radiator core.

Where the end of the screwdirver is was the point of the leak. It was leaking between the bolt holes. They also ovaled out the holes we will have to fix them to.

Yep you need to be carfule which shop you trust  with your work. This radiator core would cost between $1,600.00 - $1,900.00 to replace their not cheap. We see this more and more as the radiator repair industry slows down and more repairs are becoming complete radiator replacements the radiator repair men are getting scarce. There is no new blood coming into the field. We rely on the older radiator men (like me!) to lead the way but who know what will happen when we retire.
If you have a good radiator repair shop then good for you. If you don't you can always call us and we will be glad to refer you if your not near us.
Need questions answered? Call us anytime. Have a great day! David
http://www.intermountainradiator..com