Thread: Mounting Radiator

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I think I knew that but wasn't considering it . Sometimes I miss things, that explains the top mount bracket.

Sean

I have been watching this post very closely. I am trying to figure out how to mount my radiator, but don't have a frame or crossmember to work with. There is a 71 camaro front end under my 37 Cadillac and I have no original mounting bracketry to work from. I had always been somewhat worried about how I have mounted the radiator so far and this post has confirmed my concerns...I think.

Take a look at the pictures and tell me if you have any ideas. If you look closely you can see that I have made brackets inside the doghouse/nose of the caddy. I then drilled four holes on each side and ran bolts through the mounting flange on the radiator. (In the pictures there is currently only one bolt per side and some clamps holding it all in place.) The radiator is supported solely from the sides of the radiator. It seems like I should have something supporting the radiator from the bottom but I am stumped as to what/how to fabricate a support.

Any ideas?????
radiator 1.JPG

radiator 2.JPG

radiator 3.JPG

...hummm, glad I saw this post! I just took my radiator out so I could pull my engine & the aluminum tabs that WERE welded onto the bottom of my aluminum radiator where BOTH broken off! Yep, I couldn't tell until I pulled the radiator out & both tabs just fell out onto the ground! THANKS Everyone! Bill

oh, & it was solid mounted to the frame....

Originally Posted by billlsbird

...hummm, glad I saw this post! I just took my radiator out so I could pull my engine & the aluminum tabs that WERE welded onto the bottom of my aluminum radiator where BOTH broken off! Yep, I couldn't tell until I pulled the radiator out & both tabs just fell out onto the ground! THANKS Everyone! Bill

oh, & it was solid mounted to the frame....

It would be intersting to see those welds. If they were welded to the bottom tank and fell off without leaving a big hole I would say they weren't welded that well in th first place. Most of us have run solid mount radiators for years without trouble. The main thing with any solid mount that it is not allowed to flex at the mounting point, hence the need for both upper and lower or full side attachments. BUT, you need to do what puts your mind at ease the most.
John

Originally Posted by 41willys

It would be intersting to see those welds. If they were welded to the bottom tank and fell off without leaving a big hole I would say they weren't welded that well in th first place. Most of us have run solid mount radiators for years without trouble. The main thing with any solid mount that it is not allowed to flex at the mounting point, hence the need for both upper and lower or full side attachments. BUT, you need to do what puts your mind at ease the most.
John

John, I will post pic's tomorrow. Now that I think about it my radiator is solid mounted at the top by 1 x 1 tubing that also doubles as my hood top mounting point. At the bottom the builder put solid mounts to the frame BUT he didn't put any bolts in {I guess he forgot?}. Well, just recently I bolted the bottom of the radiator down to the frame & when I bolted it down the brackets were still attached to the radiator. So in just a month or two of driving with the radiator mounted solid to the bottom they broke off..... Bill

[QUOTE=37 Caddy]I have been watching this post very closely. I am trying to figure out how to mount my radiator, but don't have a frame or crossmember to work with. There is a 71 camaro front end under my 37 Cadillac and I have no original mounting bracketry to work from. I had always been somewhat worried about how I have mounted the radiator so far and this post has confirmed my concerns...I think.

Take a look at the pictures and tell me if you have any ideas. If you look closely you can see that I have made brackets inside the doghouse/nose of the caddy. I then drilled four holes on each side and ran bolts through the mounting flange on the radiator. (In the pictures there is currently only one bolt per side and some clamps holding it all in place.) The radiator is supported solely from the sides of the radiator. It seems like I should have something supporting the radiator from the bottom but I am stumped as to what/how to fabricate a support.

Any ideas?????
QUOTE]


Take a look at some of the later cars.
They have a bent angle - or channel - U that fits within the nose of the car.
The radiator bolts solidly to the U as well as bolting to the front clip.

The U supports the front clip on a single center rubber mount that allows flexing of the front clip as well as damping vibrations.
The radiator floats along and doesn't need vibration dampers etc. because the U resists twisting etc. and vibration is damped by the single rubber mount.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the thin fender cars - A's Deuces etc. - a neoprene rubber mount works fine.
Especially so since the - usually - 3/16" stamped front crossmember resists flexing quit well.

A pic of my 32's radiator mount.
No probs in 48,000 miles and 14 years.


Hard to see, but theres a 3/8" thick neoprene pad there.
Make em yourself out of neoprene with a hole saw.
Drill the center hole after the neoprene has been in the freezer overnight otherwise you'll rip and tear the material.

I'm half convinced to pull the spring setup I have now and go with the rubber/neoprene

This is how I have done it:





The fan shroud is actually noe held up by the radiator. I made feets on the bottom of the shroud as well so it rests on them instead of hanging on the radiator.