fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

I recently got a good price on a 31" x 19" 1.25" tube Griffin Radiator. Summit had them clearance last month for under $200. Radiator sits much higher than OEM so it requires a new upper mount. Here's small pics from my webpage There all linked to larger ones.

As you can see 2 rows of the radiator are above the mount location. This is after cutting the lower isolators. Time for a new upper mount!



I started out with cardboard template since it's easy to fold and easy to start over again if I messed up. Here's the piece after I got all the bends (which I measured) along with the bolt holes. This took a lot of measuring and using my large carpenter's square. I figured it took me around 2 hours or so to get it all laid out.



Next I transfered my measurements over to my piece of steel I got at Menards. It wasn't quiet long enough I was wanting a 26" piece but they only had 24". I wasn't about to pay $40+ for a full sheet. Anyways I used perm. marker since it works well and rubs away after done (I find this better than scribing the metal).



I bend it by hand using the edge of my work bench, a few large Vice Clamps and a few wooden boards. Which probably took me an hour or so. Would have been much faster with a bender, but I don't have one.



Here's it mounted on the radiator.



Back lip is for the fan shroud. Sadly all my pictures of the process of it are on my cell phone and it's not that great of quality. Basically I used a large aluminum sheet which was around $40. I measured it for core height and width. I want the overall height to sit on the lower mount outside lip and go up to the lip on the upper shroud to bolt up. I then measure it to allow 1 1/2" depth. This was because I planned on mounting my dual 12" electric fans inside the shroud some for more room. I used aluminum bar stock and rivets for additonal support after I cut out for the fan openings using some cheap sheet metal shears. I worked the fans around until I liked how there mounting flanges were and marked them on the shroud. I then used 1/4" threaded rod and 1/4" rod connectors, which worked great since the rod connectors were the correct length I wanted to recess the fans. I used jam nuts on the rods off the fans and regular nuts on the outside of the shroud. I used some old heater hose around the end of the fan mounts to prevent metal to metal if they ever bounce. I used 7/64" vacuum hose that I split around the shroud lips that touch the radiator and lower support. This will cut down on noise and prevent wear to the if anything shakes or shifts. I then drilled the top edge shroud and marked that on the upper mount, which I drilled after that. I used electric connection quick disconnects. Now I can literally pull the fans out for easy working after disconnecting them and removing the top bolts. Fans cool great too! I had them previously but the old copper radiator wasn't enough to keep up. Fans flow around 1650 CFM each. I went from 195* to under 180* after turning them on in less than a minute. I need to tidy up the wiring and zip tie it to the wonderbar but you get the idea.





I also redid the transmission cooler mount and moved it to an aluminum 1/4" thick bracket I made out of angle stock and bar stock. Angle stock actually sat prefectly in the dip where the AC condenser went before. It mounts to the car with 3 bolts through the lower tray that come out directly behind the air dam. I had to drill these because I couldn't find the proper nut to go on the OEM bolts from the air dam. Bracket is nice and solid. I might eventually mount my 10" electric fan back on it after I figure how I want it mounted. I'm thinking maybe another bracket off the core support brace in front of the X bracing.

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

Where did you get that coolant reservoir? Doesn't look like the Canton one or am I mistaken?

94_LT1_Z

Looks good. the only thing I would have done different was use rivets instead of a bajillion nuts/bolts to hold the fan shroud onto the upper radiator mount. Yes you would have to take the two out as an assembly to do anything with the radiator but it wouldn't be any more work and it would look a little cleaner.

fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

Yep, it's a Canton I picked up off the classifieds here. Old OEM tank was kinda warped from previous owner running the car for who knows how long without an air dam.

True, I might eventually go back and do that.