aluminum radiator from china

[ghostdancingretro]

yesterday i ordered this: 

www.ebay.it/itm/Fit-Fiat-Seat-128-127-1100-1300-1969-1985-aluminum-alloy-radiator-radiateur-40mm/121110354091?fits=Car+Make%3AFiat&hash=item1c32bd58ab:g:kMQAAOSwzaJX6eKn

 as i was not able to find any other viable option to have a new radiator for my beloved fiat 128 coupè

do any of you gentlemen have experience with this firm and its products?

[ferny]

Looks like a generic one loads will sell.

I fitted one from a mini into the herald and did some research first.

General consensus seems to they're fine, except for the odd occasion. Mine is OK, but the spouts (?) are very thin and did distort when doing up a jubilee clip.

[ChasR]

Quality control can be iffy, and some can leak. I take it recoring is not an option?

[grizz]

A few Chevy truck guys buy from China and I have not heard complaints


I think to some extent we get what we pay for and you will be fine.

[ghostdancingretro]

thankyou...we will see..about re-coring, well i hate to have my old motor stopped waiting for labors\parts..and i guess here in italy recoring a radiator it's rather expensive also do not have big confidence in local shops..the only alternative would be a fiat fiorino (small commercial van) radiator, available new, similar but needs some modifications to fit the 128

[ChasR]

Sept 6, 2020 11:00:50 GMT grizz said:

A few Chevy truck guys buy from China and I have not heard complaints


I think to some extent we get what we pay for and you will be fine.

I think the problem with China is they will provide to people exactly what they ask for and in some cases dupe them in a cost obsessed world ; who cares if it's cheap?. So it's hard to know what is right and what isn't. A number of OEMs use China for parts but obviously with QC built in .

My brake caliper from China was a joke. An unplated piston in a caliper in addition to one which is 'made' to work like the factory one (it was a bolted up universal job if you look in my M3 thread) is why I'm more weary from buying from China these.

[ghostdancingretro]

well actually it wasnt so cheap, i payed 170 GBP for the radiator (shipped)..

[ghostdancingretro]

received very quickly from china.. poor packaging and poor mounting tabs design:result, bent tabs..i will must have welded some reinforcements before mounting the radiator on the car..i don't weld aluminium, so not a good deal at all