cutting the front out to fit in a new radiator

http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=26727 has a very good picture of my radiator and how it fits.

 

Rick, What time will you be there? That is 30-45 minutes minutes or so from my house. I would love to see it AND see a dyno work.

PM me directions and their phone number. I will head up there if the time is right.

I agree with Mavowar, it is MUCH cleaner and looks stronger than the crap that is in there now.

As for air going through my radiator, I have a pull through fan with at tight cowl that pretty much covers the entire inside of the finned area. The rest of the air would just be blowing around into the engine bay, out the cowl, or under the car (maybe take some of that header heat out with it).

 

Zoom, it looks like you pulled your radiator far enough forward that you were able to drop it in front of those brackets at the bottom. Mine almost fits in front right now. If I cut a little more out, it will easily fit there.

 

That's exactly what I did. I had a (huge) Al radiator for my '90 Mustang and used it in the Maverick. I bought a dual electric 'puller' fan setup ("Ramcharger" - not related to Dodge) and strapped it to the back of the radiator.

The are some draw-backs to doing this. Because of location of the OUT spout on the bottom of the radiator, it comes out right in line with the end of the DS frame rail.

I cut out the end of the rail to run the radiator hose into the frame and a slot in the frame on the same plane as the WP inlet for the radiator hose to come out of (if that makes sense).

I lined the perimeter of the slot with a rubber hose (with a slit cut longtitudually) and pressed it over the metal edge of the cut out to keep the hose from rubbing on the metal edge.

There's the (obvious) point I need to make about removing the radiator support completely. Since there is no place for the hood to latch, hood pins are a must.

Also, the grill needs a place to attch for support. I built a support using 1" wide x 1/8" thick "Z" brack that attached to the back of the Maverick emblem and then to a rigid location on the gravel pan (lower facia?).

Actually, the bracket would be an easy fix for any grill that has broken tabs (like mine does).

 

My hood already kind of surfs the air at 75+ mph, with the front latch and rear hinges holding it from takeing off and flying around like an airplane. The entire hood actually lifts up and floats 1/4 of an inch or so above the fenders. This is mainly due to my hood latch not being adjusted well and my hinges being worn out, but I can't see how more air getting in the engine compartment would be a good thing.

 

hey scoop, i really think any bigger then mine would be over kill, my car idles at 180 max in enclosed garage with no fans (other then my lil electric) blowing. and i should say my car isn't exactly a mild one :evilsmile

 

Now you have me worried...You have so much to live for :Handshake

 

don't worry man, i had the doors open, nice draft hehe

 

the garage doors, or the car doors

 

you crack me up

 

A little humor to start off your day...

I guess I am getting no definite NO-NOs regarding opening the holes to be more symmetrical...so I guess I will go that route. If I see that it is detrimental, in some way, to the performance of the engine or radiator, I can always fill them in with aluminum or something more "pretty" than the stamped steel.

I still can't help but think that getting more cool air into the engine bay and out the cowl or under the car couldn't help with a cooler air charge, and keeping the bay cooler by blowing cooler air over the headers. I guess, in effect, I am attempting to make my engine "air-cooled" a little (above and beyond the hopefully excellent cooling I get from the new radiator).

I guess I have a couple days for someone to give me a definite NO, since I won't start cutting until after I see Rick's setup on Sat morning.

 

My clearance issues are between the electric fan and the water pump pulley. No problems with the hood. In fact, it will mount UNDER the lip that the hood rests on.

 

Don't open the opening, close it! You want all the air forced through the radiator for max cooling.

There, now you have heard an opposing voice.

 

Scott how much clearance did you have from the water pump to the radiator core prior to the cutting? How much after?

 

With my stock radiator, I had enough room to mount my fan, but I had to mount the fan off-center so it missed the water pump pulley. For this one, the radiator is a little thicker, so with the fan centered, it hits the water pulley by about 1/2". So, if I sink the radiator about 3/4" minimum, I should be able to center and clear the pulley.

What do you guys think of using "pop" rivets to mount the aluminum stock to?

I have a flat piece of aluminum and an angle, and will run it the length of the radiator top and bottom (flat at the bottom) and was thinking about pop riveting about 6 or 8 places on each, then leaving an overhang of about 2" on each end for a tab. I will then drill a hole in the tab and the mounting surface of the car, and bolt it down with 4 bolts.

Are rivets worth a crap (for someone without the abilty to weld aluminum)? These are Arrow brand, the thickest rivets they carry 3/16" diameter. I want the braces to be permanent, and bolt brace/radiator assembly to the car...