Auto Parts: Auto Radiators, radiator cores, radiator industry

Question
Dear Mr. Mike,

I'm a mechanical engineer %26 employed in auto radiator industry.
One of my client has asked me to provide Radiator Core made of PEWTER TIN fins. I have never heard of this term %26 we usually provide Tin bearing Copper as Fin material. Please help.

Answer
    Pewter is an alloy of tin which can contain copper, antimony, bismuth, and lead.  The copper and antimony are used to harden the alloy, the lead and bismuth lower the melting point.  Pewter has a very low melting point, between 170 and 230 degrees Celsius.  Pewter is almost exclusively used as a casting material, mostly for drinking and serving pieces.  Sometimes it is used as the base metal under silver plating.

    In short, I cannot imagine that pewter would be suitable for radiator cores.  It is not sold as sheet goods, since it is used only in casting.  I try to imagine why someone would want to use pewter in a radiator, and I can't come up with anything.  Copper is much more suitable.  The only possible excuse that I can think of for using anything else is for appearance' sake.  Even then it would probably be cheaper and easier to plate the copper fins with another metal than to actually fashion them from pewter.