Subaru Impreza Heater Matrix Identification

 Subaru Impreza heater matrix identification is something that we have found difficult at Motoradsonline. To the left you can see a few of the heaters on sale on our Impreza page on the Motoradsonline website. If you read the information on the individual listings you can see that many of the model applications seem to overlap.
  It seems that the Impreza has had many different models, facelifts and limited editions, along with an array of imported versions. This has meant that as soon as we think that we have positively identified a  particular heater another grey area is shown up and we are back to square one.
  This is a shame because the heaters themselves are top quality and fantastic value for money. We have to rely on past sales, helpful enthusiasts and customer identification to improve our database and provide a better service.
 If there are any enthusiasts out there who think they can help with this database we would be very grateful, please leave a comment or contact us on sales@motoradsonline.co.uk

If you have a Subaru Impreza and cant source a heater matrix anywhere contact us and we will help. We can make heaters to a pattern at a fraction of Subaru prices



Alexander Dennis coach and bus heater matrix demisters

Alexander Dennis ALX400 and Enviro E400 heater matrix

have recently been adding a few items from our commercial heater matrix range to our online shop at www.motoradsonline.co.uk.

We have access to one of the largest and most varied ranges of bus, coach, lorry and plant heater matrices in the country and are now offering them to the public at bargain prices.

On the left are just a few of the Alexander Dennis heater cores that we stock. They are used as heater demisters and upper or lower saloon heaters. They have been used on the ALX400 and the Enviro range including use on the Scania N230UD, Volvo B7TL, Volvo B9TL and DAF/VDL DB250 chassis.

 It can be difficult to identify bus and coach heaters sometimes but if you cant find the commercial heater matrix you need we have the capability to make one for you quickly and economically

Can we repair this Singer Car Radiator?

A brief history of a recent recore on a Singer motor company radiator.

Very often at Motoradsonline we get contacted to carry out work on classic and vintage radiators. The pictures and description below are typical of the kind service we provide.

 Top left shows the radiator as it arrived with us. First tests showed that the filler neck solder was split and there were a few major leaks in the core. We had to seal these leaks first to get some pressure into the rad and check out the rest of the core. Unfortunately all that this did was to show that the rest of the core had more leaks than it would be possible to repair. This radiator had reached the point, after many years and previous repairs, where it would need to be fully overhauled.
 This gives us several options and decisions for the customer. Do we want a modern equivalent core or do we want one with the pretty fin pattern shown above?  Our speciality is the modern equivalent but the original type core is still available for a customer who wants it. The major stumbling block for this type of job is always price and whilst we wont go into exact costs lets just say that the difference is about £1000. This is down to the fact the core has to be made specially for this job and is very expensive. There is a 'dummy' cover you can get which is 6mm thick and goes over the front of the radiator to give the original fin pattern, this is a much cheaper option at around an extra £150.
 The Radiator was stripped down to its component parts and they were cleaned back to bare metal, any major dents or splits can be repaired at this stage. The new core arrived and you can see that it has straight flat fins and a different water tube configuration, this will work better than the original.
 After several hours of careful soldering and reassembly the radiator was ready for final inspection, testing and spraying.
  Using a modern core will give a very efficient, reliable and economical result which we can do it in a matter of days. This method may not always acceptable to the customer for many reasons, but if you are willing to wait six to eight weeks for the core and pay an extra £1000 then we can arrange that too.

My Morris Minor Radiator is Blocked

Morris Minor Radiator Blockage

 

 

 

 

This job was like a reminder of the past as its been a while since the last time we worked on a Morris Minor radiator. Many years ago they used to come in as regularly as a Volkswagen Golf radiator might come in today.

 

 This particular vehicle was over-heating and the customer suspected a blockage in the radiator. A quick inspection and a few tests confirmed that the core was blocked beyond repair and although the radiator itself looked in quite good condition there was no alternative but to fit a new core.

 

 The radiator was stripped into its component parts and these were then cleaned back to bare metal. As you can see from the picture the water tubes in the old core were pretty well blocked.

 

 Once the new core arrived all of the parts were soldered back together and after a final inspection and test the radiator was sprayed black to look as good as new.

 

 



A new lease of life for an Austin Cambridge Radiator

Reconditioning an Austin Cambridge Radiator

 

Whilst our website has new Austin Mini radiators for general sale to the public, our trade counter still sees plenty of other old Austin radiators in various states of repair.

 

One of our customers bought this Austin Cambridge radiator in recently saying that it was starting to overheat when the car went over 30mph. The radiator itself looked in pretty good condition compared to a lot that we get to see so we set about doing some tests. There was a minor air leak which would have been easy enough to repair but the flow rate through the radiator was very low. A visual check through the filler and connector pipe confirmed that the radiator was blocked beyond repair as you can see in the picture next to the new core. There was also a lot of loose debris which isn't shown on the picture and that would have made the situation even worse.

The radiator was completely stripped to component parts and these were cleaned back to bare metal for inspection and further repair if necessary. The top tank needed some dents smoothed out and a couple of splits properly repaired but apart from that all of the components were in good condition. The new uprated core arrived and all of the components were soldered back together. The final picture shows the radiator after inspection, testing and spraying.



American Ford Pick up Radiator recore

Stages for the reconditioning of an American radiator

 Along with the standard Ford radiators we sell online we occasionally get an unusual Ford radiator to recore. This particular one came in recently requiring a little TLC.

 Top left shows the radiator as it arrived looking a little tired and worse for wear. The fins on the rear were beginning to fall apart, the frame was corroded and the internal tubes were blocked. There was no alternative but to fully recondition the radiator so we set to work. The top tank on this radiator was the old fashioned 'bucket header' type which is no longer available to us but a little clever work with the new core solved this problem.

 The top tank was broken down into three pieces, including a top, bottom and central baffle, all of these were fully cleaned back to bare metal. The bottom tank was removed and stripped back to bare metal, as was the frame. All of this was then reassembled onto the new core to be inspected and tested before a final spray.

 The final result can be seen in the bottom picture.

 

 



So you want a Classic Mini Heater Matrix?

Which Mini Heater matrix would you Buy?

 When we recently uploaded our Classic Mini heater matrix stock to our website we were reminded that there were a lot of different Mini heaters available on the market. A lot of the heaters out there were extremely cheap imported units and our experience with these units tells us that they are also very poor quality. In this case it seems that you do get what you pay for!

 Most of the Mini owners who contact us are enthusiasts who take great care of their pride and joy and want to fit the best possible parts, but judging by the heaters being bought on sites such as EBay this does not appear to always be the case. It may be that the people who buy these heaters don't realise that there can be a big difference in quality between these units and that it may turn out to be a false economy.

 Below is a brief description of the heaters we sell and why we think you should choose them.

 All of these heaters are made in the UK to the highest standards, they are all fully tested and come with a full manufacturer’s warranty. They are all made from top quality copper and brass even though some of the originals are plastic and aluminium. This means that they are considered to be more robust than the plastic technology heaters.

 These heaters were originally designed in conjunction with Mini enthusiasts and Mini Clubs to ensure that the very best results were achieved for fitting, function and strength. The designs have been sold successfully for up to 30 years in some cases and i can’t remember ever getting any returns. I'm pretty sure this can’t be said for the imported heaters.

1964 - 1984

The top two are real classic Mini Heaters and are based on the original heaters with the seam around the top of the tank. We have lost count of the amount of these we have sold over the years and sales have only slowed recently with the introduction of a plastic and aluminium import. Our only concern here is for the customer as they may require another one sooner than expected.

The only difference between the two is the corners that the pipes are mounted and you can find more info in the link above to our website.

 1984 - 1992

The next heater down is based on a plastic and aluminium original with a separate pipe set attached to a diamond shaped flange. This was one of the first heaters we came across which used plastic tank technology. Within a couple of years our manufacturer was being asked to reproduce this heater in the all metal format as the original was not considered robust enough. The pipes on our all metal version are silver soldered directly into the tanks for strength and to avoid any problems with the pipe flange seal. As above we have been supplying this heater for a long time, even against the competition of far east imports which don't reach the quality standard of the substandard original. We have found that the true enthusiast will pay that very small amount extra for a far better product.

1992 onwards

The bottom picture is the last of the Mini heater matrix range, again based on an original that uses plastic tank technology. Like the earlier heater it didn't take long before the manufacturer was asked about a copper and brass version. So as before the pipes were silver soldered directly into the brass tank to avoid the need for separate pipes and rubber seals which have the potential to leak. An extra consideration with the alloy pipes on the original is that they are liable to corrode to the point where you cant seal your rubber hose on, this means that they will need to be replaced. If you buy a poor quality cheap import it will not come with these pipes and you will end up paying another £20 for a set. Unfortunately you probably wont realise this until the heater and car are in bits and you have a useless 'cheap' heater in your hand.

 We do also supply the heater matrix for several other old Mini models so feel free to contact us at: sales@motoradsonline.co.uk