I got the Sonnet running again this past weekend, and discovered a hole in the radiator. Since I can't find a direct replacement, I figure there are 3 options. 1. try to find a shop that will re-core what I have. 2. try to adapt a universal radiator. 3. find a stock replacement that I can make fit. I'm assuming #3 would be the cheapest option, but I'm not sure how to find a radiator that will fit. Is there any kind of cross reference that I could use to find something close to what I need? I could go to the junkyard with a tape measure, but I don't know when I will have a free weekend any time soon.
I really wish that a big parts reseller like RockAuto would make parts searchable by dimension. They have the info from the manufacturers, just give us access to it!
The closest thing I've found is filtering search results in the Summit catalog. I'm not sure if they have dimensions for non-universal radiators in there, but it's worth a try.
Maybe try searching for "radiator catalog" or similar terms, you may be able to find the rare mfg or distributor website which does NOT start off by asking you to select make-model-year.
Scrolling thru a 160 page pdf of every radiator made is not as efficient as searching based on actual dimensions, but it may be better than dowsing in a junkyard.
Some random results (no affiliation, not intentionally promoting anything, these just looked possibly useful)
https://static.shop033.com/resources/BE/6846/Other/Radiator%20Cat%202010.pdf
https://www.griffinrad.com/GriffinProductCatalog_2014.pdf
I've gone through this with my challenge car. In my case I was looking for something all aluminum, so the inlets and outlets could be cut off and welded wherever I wanted. The most common ones are the civic half radiator (92-00) and the Scirocco style.
Given that a sonnet doesn't make huge power, the civic radiator is probably the best option for a cheap and small radiator that can be configured however you like.
I also manually went through eBay listings. I found a seller that sold lots of aluminum radiators, then just opened up each item in a new tab until I had a few decent candidates based on the measurements in the listings. I'd also double check with Rock Auto for some more detailed dimensions (core only vs with end tanks etc)
I was looking for a heater core to use for an aux cooler for my classic Mini for really hot days - I just went to autozone and paged thru their heater cores till I found one that looked like what I wanted, the specs were right there on the page.....
