Thread: Mounting Radiator

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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!

"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!

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

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:





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.

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

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?

Originally Posted by kitz

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

Originally Posted by burrpenick

Where can I find a cheap local source for the rubber pads/washers?

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.

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!!