The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
One small update - I got the radiator mounted. I went with a Griffin universal cross flow, part #1-56242-X. I had a Griffin "direct fit" traditional down flow before - nice part but definitely not a direct fit. At one point I had it modified to put the water pump outlet on the other side of the bottom tank which was probably not the best idea. It worked but it was a heavy mess. This new one is shorter but wider at 27 1/2". It fits but it's tight. It was also WAY cheaper.
This thing is wide!
This radiator has flanges on the top and bottom of the core which I used to mount it. I ended up destroying a couple fins in the process and I'm hoping I didn't nick any of the tubes. Sometimes I do stuff that you just shake your head at. I couldn't find my center punch but I went and started drilling anyway. I did it like 2-3 times. I'm an idiot.
These are 4 1/4" bolts. I managed to squeeze the grommets in to absorb vibration and prevent the aluminum from getting wallowed out over time.
I used existing holes in the radiator core support. Took a lot of measuring since the whole thing is not centered. There is more room on the driver's side than the passenger because the core would not be centered in the opening.
I made a bracket for the bottom and used the center radiator support bolts to hold it. It needs to be trimmed down a bit and will also need to have some spacers behind it. It works though. I might trey to figure out some rubber grommets like the top so it's not metal-to-metal.
In any event, it seems pretty solid. Other than welding triangular brackets on the tanks, I'm not sure how else I'd do this.
For the hoses, my plan is to use -AN style fittings and woven hose. There's a place called Autoplumb that sells these kinda "faux" -AN fittings. They seem to be OK and will be an easier alternative than having -16 fittings welded on. Not cheap but they increase the cool factor by a bunch which is really what counts, right?
Here's hoping that this thing is still watertight after breathing on it. More to come.
One small update - I got the radiator mounted. I went with a Griffin universal cross flow, part #1-56242-X. I had a Griffin "direct fit" traditional down flow before - nice part but definitely not a direct fit. At one point I had it modified to put the water pump outlet on the other side of the bottom tank which was probably not the best idea. It worked but it was a heavy mess. This new one is shorter but wider at 27 1/2". It fits but it's tight. It was also WAY cheaper.
This thing is wide!
This radiator has flanges on the top and bottom of the core which I used to mount it. I ended up destroying a couple fins in the process and I'm hoping I didn't nick any of the tubes. Sometimes I do stuff that you just shake your head at. I couldn't find my center punch but I went and started drilling anyway. I did it like 2-3 times. I'm an idiot.
These are 4 1/4" bolts. I managed to squeeze the grommets in to absorb vibration and prevent the aluminum from getting wallowed out over time.
I used existing holes in the radiator core support. Took a lot of measuring since the whole thing is not centered. There is more room on the driver's side than the passenger because the core would not be centered in the opening.
I made a bracket for the bottom and used the center radiator support bolts to hold it. It needs to be trimmed down a bit and will also need to have some spacers behind it. It works though. I might trey to figure out some rubber grommets like the top so it's not metal-to-metal.
In any event, it seems pretty solid. Other than welding triangular brackets on the tanks, I'm not sure how else I'd do this.
For the hoses, my plan is to use -AN style fittings and woven hose. There's a place called Autoplumb that sells these kinda "faux" -AN fittings. They seem to be OK and will be an easier alternative than having -16 fittings welded on. Not cheap but they increase the cool factor by a bunch which is really what counts, right?
Here's hoping that this thing is still watertight after breathing on it. More to come.
