Projects Fixing Radiator Support

Putting this is context: the coupe was first put together by someone else: LINK. I had traded my 1967 Firebird for it last year and have been fixing little items ever since. I'm finding that the guy before me was a shade tree mechanic, I'm being nice when I say this...

So I learned after taking the coupe out for a ride with my wife that there was an issue. After the ride I saw that 2 of the support brackets for the radiator were broken. As I investigated further I noticed that the bottom of the radiator was no longer supported by ANYTHING!

This could have been a very dangerous situation, the radiator could have just dropped under the coupe and who knows what would happened next.

So what led to this? Well as I tore the front of the coupe apart the person that owned it before me had cut the radiator support. He did this so he could drop the radiator so it was aligned with the 4″ channel on the body of the coupe.



This all fine but instead of building and welding in a new steel support bar he instead built some aluminum pieces to hold the radiator. That doesn’t work, the frame flexes and aluminum doesn’t flex, this part of the frame needs to be strengthen not weakened!



So the process begins to build it like it should have been in the first place.


More pictures coming...

 

The tabs that where welded to the rad appear to be fine, but not finished, they need gussets. Also as you mentioned, you need to allow for flex. You have to have rubber / spring combo between frame and rad.

 

Nothing welded in that photo... Just a mock-up, going to do everything you said plus I have rubber/spring combo...

 

Why do you have a level on the piece you are going to weld onto the car? That would only work if the car was level to the world also..

Ford used long bolts with springs in the tabs so the radiator was allowed to work as the chassis twisted

 

A mountingre you mounting the radiator solid?

The radiator is going to shake & vibrate,no radiator can take that kind of abuse without damage,especially a aluminum radiator.

Use a spring mounting kit.HRP

 

Have it welded in, still need to add the gussets but need to mount the radiator to see if they go in the back or in the front. Need to make sure the shroud and electric fan clear the front of the motor.


Thanks for the replies guys AND yes I have the spring/bolt combo...