Just wondering how you mount the radiator. Do you need the spring bolts??
Sean
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Just wondering how you mount the radiator. Do you need the spring bolts??
Sean
Good question, my Son and I just had this discussion about his car. He is going to use the spring bolts, but I have always just used a fat rubber fender washer under each side between the radiator and frame. My theory is, if you have no frame flex in that area semi-solidly mounting it is ok.
It will be interesting to see what others think. Good thread. :)
Don
SGO70,
I agree with Don, make your chassis rigid and you will have know problems. One other thing I have learned is I mount the radiator off the sides instead of the bottom. By using 4 mounting points instead of 2 it spreads the vibration loads over a larger area. If you look at my roadster build you can see the frame work that I use to mount it.
Ken
The spring system was used before we had the roads we enjoy today. Look at modern radiator mounting systems to answer your question.
The main thing about mounting an radiator is to let it sit on its own weight, cuchioned somewhat, and have the ability to flex independedly from the frame
If your mount it hard or by more than 3 points , it will always have stress introduced with frame bumps or twists----let it float!!!!
I originally had mine bolted in with good ARP bolting but since it is an aftermarket chassis (TCI) have my concerns as to its' rigidity. I have the spring bolts there now - but sure would prefer just some rubber pads and back to my ARP's assuming I can still find some in my bolt supply.
It just kinda puzzled me to mount them on the springs, I thought if you were driving at highway speeds it would be pushing a lot of air. Wouldn't the flex would actually be hard on the mounts? I thought if I mount it to the shell on the side mounts and then mount the grill shell solid the shell would take the flexing or force from the air if any. Or am I crazy??:whacked:
Sean
We forgot to tell you one important aspect..........you don't mount the radiator solely by the base, you also need some support rods. Either run one on each side from the top section of the radiator to the firewall, or on an angle down to the frame. You need to fab up something that will clear your engine but act as a support for the top of the radiator.
I had to make my rods intersect the radiator about mid way up and go to the firewall. Every car is different.
Don
I used spring mounts and 3/16 rubber pad underneath. It's a good idea to have some damping particularly when using the newwer aluminum rads due to fatigue issues with the mount weld areas. at the radiator (when applicable).
Kitz
I think I knew that but wasn't considering it:o . 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?????
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...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....
Go look at about anything OEM---the radiators mostly just set in a rubber cuchion held by a type of channel strip running across the front
[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.
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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.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ubberMount.jpg
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:eek: :whacked:
I have removed repaired and reinstalled hundreds of radiators.many older cars and trucks were directly bolted to the car by the radiator straps. never seen any problems due to twisting in the mount unless due to an accident.ford trucks and jeeps were all mounted ridgedly in the trucks in the 60s and most of the 70s
This is a good thread! One more thing to think about! Thanks for posting this!:D
"37 Caddy" may want to consider using rubber grommets with metal sleeves where each flange mounting bolt is located. The sleeve will keep the bolt from crushing the rubber insulator. Just a thought. Don't get many!
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by billlsbird
John
Billsbird's post described damage that is inevitable with aluminum if mounted too rigidly. Aluminum will fatigue and eventually crack when mounted this way and much sooner that other metals. The '32 Ford frames are going to flex, some more than others. '32 Ford aluminum radiator owners should be prepared to possibly find what Billsbird found. Henry didn't help things when he hung the grill and shell as well as the hood on the radiator! He sure built a beautiful car though!
Here is my 4 cents worth of opinion. You actually get very little flex in the radiator area. Where most of the problems come in is tying the radiator to the cowl with struts. It's like a catch 22, but solvable. You shouldn't do one without the other but don't do both. Either grommet mount your radiator and tie it to the cowl, to allow the flex from the cowl, or solid mount it independently strong enough to handle 100 mph head winds.
Ken
This is how I have done it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...n_shroud_9.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2..._shroud_10.jpg
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.
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..... BillQuote:
Originally Posted by 41willys
I have a somewhat different approach to mounting radiators. I always find a top and bottom tank that fit in my rad shell at the local rad. shop, and have them put in a custom length core to suit my application. this costs about half what an aftermarket radiator costs. I get the rad shop to add a peice of sheet metal twice as wide as the core to each side of the rad, running between the top and bottom tank, extending out from the core on the engine side. this gives me a nice flange to bolt thru on the sides. I build a "cage" out of 3/32" sheet metal that bolts to the top of my front crossmember. the rad slips inside the cage and bolts thru the side flanges---The rad shell fits over the cage and bolts thru the side flanges of the cage. The supports for the underside of the hinged hood top run out from the firewall and tie into the cage, and this strengthens it to the point where I don't need the strut rods which would normally run from the firewall out to the top of the radiator. This has always worked very well for me.---There are more than one ways to skin a cat!!!.
You know brian, i bet you could sell that as an aftermarket kit. That`s a really nice solution!
Where can I find a cheap local source for the rubber pads/washers?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kitz
The last time he posted was in Aug of 2010, almost 4 years ago, so I'd say your chance of getting an answer from him is slim to none.Quote:
Originally Posted by burrpenick
It made interesting reading though; with names we haven't seen for ages!
I get rubber washers from Ace hardware. Seem to have many sizes that might work, now if you need the rubber bushings...go to Napa auto parts.
Hey burrpenick, welcome to CHR. Not sure exactly what you're wanting, but Speedway has the standard SS bolt & spring kit - Radiator Mounting Kit, Stainless Steel - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop or they also have it in black steel for $5 less. Hope that helps, and hope you'll stick around, too!!
