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Upgraded radiator 240 +t install

I went and picked up some brackets this afternoon during lunch from Lowes. 4 metal L shaped guys bolted together like this. Each one would then get bolted to the radiator support. I can bolt these together a couple of different ways but I'm going to try them like this first and see how it goes.

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That is too much radiator for a mild red block. Also I had 2 1994 Buick Roadmaster wagon both with LT-1. One with toe package and the SS clone with ram air. I bypassed the cooler in the radiator after have the transmission built ($(1500.00). Heavy duty everything. I finally realized the scanner I had for them could read the transmission temp. I had a stack plate cooler rated at 32,000 lbs GVW on it and the factory cooler on the other wagon. To my surprise the factory set ran a transmission temp of 137 deg running down the road. And the the bypassed one with super large cooler ran 176 deg under same conditions. Talk about a mith buster. Someone pull in front of me running posted speed LOL. I did not get a chance to put it back to verify before this. Not sure the results (walking away) been the same in a 240 .



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And with a little cutting it fits like a champ.

During with some sawzall.
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After much sawing and test fitting of brackets.
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I pulled everything out after the test fitting and coated the entire radiator support in black rustoleom paint to prevent any further rusting and to keep the new cutting from rusting.

It looks like the lower radiator hose is going to be in the way of the clutch fan so I may end up going back to the e-fan if I can't get it to route a little more out of the way. There's a, what looks like, service port for the AC in the hard line from the compressor to the condenser that is majorly in the way. Took some coaksing to get it moved out of the way some. I'm going to let the paint set overnight, trim the brackets some so the don't stick in towards the engine bay to much, and it should be good to go.
 
You had better have some sort of rubber for the radiator to sit on instead of the metal from those brackets or vibration will cause the steal to wear through the soft aluminum.
 
You had better have some sort of rubber for the radiator to sit on instead of the metal from those brackets or vibration will cause the steal to wear through the soft aluminum.

And to avoid galvanic corrosion eating away your rad.
Not sure if it is a real issue or not but if car mfgrs could have saved a few $$ on rubber mounting pads i am sure they would have done it. So i try not to re-invent the wheel and stick with what worked well for these cars :)
 
Getting close to having everything buttoned up. I sprayed the brackets with the black rustoleum paint to try to keep them from corroding. Got the brackets mounted up and bolted to the radiator support. The splash pan is kind of nasty so ignore that for the moment. I'll get it cleaned up before everything really goes back together.

The hoses I got from summit are too long and the overflow tank is going to be too big I think so I need to get some different radiator hoses. Going to see what Autozone has tomorrow.

Brackets bolted on and with some 3M double sided tape to mount some foam padding.
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Foam padding stuck on. I'm probably going to add some more going across to keep the radiator from moving side to side.
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Radiator and Intercooler installed looking straight down. The foam padding puts about a quarter inch gap between the radiator and intercooler and keeps the radiator from contacting the cut portion of the radiator support. I'm going to probably add some foam there just to be safe.
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From the side.
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And the reason for all of the shenanagens. Hood closes now :)
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Also might do some sealing of the metal edge where you cut it away. Do not want it to rust away again and having bare exposted metal it will happen faster...
 
Finally got the right hoses, overflow tank, and everything else put back together. Coolant temp is 100 percent rock solid now. I know cutting up the radiator support is scary to some but I'd do it all over again.
 
Looks good!

I do wonder why the OE stuff couldn't hang in traffic there. I was always fine in Florida traffic with OE 3 row rads and e-fans.
 
Everyone does not live in normal places. Out here in the desert a radiator that works great in Sweden simply is not enough, especially during the summer when temps can go up to 120+.

Just did a restoration on another brand car (British) and the radiator needed help. We took it out and re-cored it with a triple core version (stock was 2) and put it back in. Works great even with the A/C turned on and sitting in traffic. Now I have all sorts of folks asking where I got it done and the costs as they are tired of sitting there in traffic with the windows open to keep from overheating their expensive engines!
 
Looks good!

I do wonder why the OE stuff couldn't hang in traffic there. I was always fine in Florida traffic with OE 3 row rads and e-fans.

The rad that the car had when I bought it was a dinky single row aluminum core with plastic end tanks of unknown age. Atlanta, in the summer time, can be god awful hot. 90 degrees with humidity 60+%.

I would have loved to be able to buy an oe 3 row all metal unit but those have been NLA for some time.

I'll post up a picture of the set up later today for anyone interested.
 
Was the engine actually overheating or do you have a temp faker comp board failing in the WT gauge?
 
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