Hey guys,

The brace that holds up the radiator is starting to rust through. How easy is it to replace the brace? What is the time commitment?

Thanks.

 

Radiator support, maybe? Replacing one is a PITA.

 

I need to do the same thing on my 71. I also need to replace the front frame support/crossmember for the same reason. Because it is a more difficult and time consuming task, I have made that one of my winter projects. That's one of those jobs that you need to either replace or inspect/service everything in the surrounding area as long as you have it torn down ie radiator, hoses, belts and like I previously mentioned, the front frame support/crossmember (which is also prone to rusting).

Good luck

Terry

 

In the middle of that job now on the 76, radiator support brackets were broken so the radiator was touching metal. Soooo, time to replaced the radiator support or buy a new radiator support AND a new radiator and more.

Check for posts here for good advice. I pulled the hood off and ac coil out since the a/c was not working anyway. Also took the fan off. AIM shows all of the detail. Removing hood makes it easier, 2 people to handle hood and radiator is easier too.

And.... while that was all nice and open....I replaced control arm bushings, front brake lines (R was hard to seal on hose), motor mounts, wire brush, clean and paint, will fix a/c, fixed power steering leaks, ball joints, tie rods, ect. ect..

If you can resist getting the "while I am in there syndrone" and you had a helper, I think you could easy do in a weekend assuming all of your parts were on hand.

Hope this might help.

 

I discovered a three inch rotted area on my support - the part near the radiator drain plug. I hammered out all the rust, vacuumed the rusted metal, then - using JB Weld and biaxial fiberglass tape - patched the hole, attaching the cloth and goo to the surrounding good metal. The repair turned out well, and the rusted area is once again solid.

I know this is a temporary repair; eventually the support will have to be replaced. But since most of the support is still solid, I opted for the short term fix.

YMMV.

Dan G>

 

When the car is all together, it is a bit time consuming, but nothing really technically challenging. I pulled mine out of the 80 when I was swapping motors. At that point the radiator, condenser, etc.. was already out. Then it's just a few bolts and lift it out.

 

better check the whole frame and birdcage now, if you have rot in one area, it only means you have more somewhere else

 

Did mine a few weeks ago, the old one was shot.


I mean really shot, i swept the bottom half up with a broom......


Found a replacement. sandblasted and epoxy coated:


I do not consider it a major task, just unscrew a couple of bolts, replace stuff and screw the bolts back, nothing serious.


I would strongly advice on removing the hood.

After mounting the 2 upper bolts on both sides who connects the rad support to the body i lifted the nose a bit by putting a jack under the rad support before putting the last 2 bolt in who mounts the support to the chassis. Without the rad support the nose has a tendency to sag a little bit (or at least on my '80, but she has more rust issues on the chassis and birdcage)

 

What do I have to remove in order to replace the support? I have access to a garage and tools but I have to pay per day. Plus I have never done this anything like this before. So I need to know exactly what I am getting into.

 

I just did this on my '70.

-Take the fan off
-Probably take the clutch out too
-Removing the fan shroud will make things easier BUT its a pain in the *** with control arms still in place
-Drain the coolant
-disconnect hoses
-take hood off
-remove top brackets holding the radiator to the core support
-pull out radiator (or do it along with the core support)
-take front wheels off and unbolt (either 3 or 4) screws that hold the core support to the body
-remove 2 bolts from the bottom holding the core support to the front crossmember
-pull core support
-2 bolts on each side of the front crossmember which attaches it to the side frame rails
-2 bolts for brackets attaching the front clip to the front crossmember


Pretty straight forward, the dirtiest part is draining the coolant and disconnecting hoses. And pulling the shroud / installing it with CAs in place -->

Personal experience - the replacement core support was not an EXACT fit. i had to enlarge the bolt holes on the bottom and later it was very difficult to bolt in the shroud as well

I would say its a weekend job ~20hrs alone

 

watch out doing this, you get the "while I am at it" disease. This might take all winter!!! It is easy to keep taking parts off and clean them, paint them, then take more off and find things that need replaced etc. to get that factory look.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

I always remove the radiator support when I remove and replace an engine in my car, on my 1st 69 I did it twice and my current 69 I have done it once. I did it all by myself, but if you have help it will go much faster. I used my engine picker to take out and put back in.

1. Remove Hood; make sure you mark the hood at the attach point (hinge) so you can put it back on without any alignment issues.

2. Drain coolant, make sure the kids or dog can’t get to it.

3. Remove hoses, fan belt

4. I took my fan and Fan clutch off.

5. There is a lower support bracket, and a couple of bolts in the bottom of the radiator support

6. I believe there were 8 bolts (4 on each side) along the sides of the radiator support, I did leave the tires on just turned it out to make room to get in there.

7. I hooked up my engine picker and picked it up the whole thing, Fan shroud, Radiator and radiator support, the fan shroud has bolts to the front cross member. If you don’t have an engine picker you will need someone to help lift it out.

8. Disassemble on the bench, clean and paint Fan Shroud, Fan, and Radiator; if you already have the new support, have it painted already I used POR 15 on all of the parts.

9. Get yourself Phillips screwdriver’s for aligning up holes when you go to reinstall. This will be the hardest longest part, aligning up holes.

It should take you maybe 5 hours (by yourself, 3 with help) for the job, it would be great if you could let the paint dry overnight.

Remember this is for a 1969, I don't know if maybe some slight changes to your year.

Please if I have missed something, correct me.

 

I've done 2 in my restore life. 1 on an 81 and 1 on an 80 model. BOTH were done when I had the motor out , hood off and were a piece of cake. BOTH were in good shape, I just pulled the support b/c I also replaced the old radiator with a new one.I used the opportunity to clean /paint the support to prevent any future rust issues. It was a simple task , but having the motor out and the hood off made it simple. I'd say it is a 10-12 hour job with the motor in , hood on job.
Make the task simpler: Have any expected new parts on hand, and I would definitely remove the hood.

 

My advice would be to pay to have it done.

None of the lists above mention factory air - your car has factory air; no mention of radiator support shims, where they are, how many, etc; no mention of AT cooling lines and getting to them; support and shroud seals.

It wouldn't hurt to take a look at the AIM and begin to see what you're up against.

 

I have taken mine out a couple of times when I was putting my car together. It was not a real big deal then it just took time. The support does play a roll in the adjusting the height of the nose to some degree so be prepared to do some adjustments.

 

There is such a huge range of opinions here. Some say 20 hours some say 6.

How much would you say it would cost to have it replaced in a shop?

If I put this off for a year or two, is there a possibility for the radiator to fall out or are there other connection points?

 

As you can see on my pictures, the bottom of my rad support was completely rotted away. Nothing was supporting the radiator anymore and it was hanging on its hoses.

I would not recommend driving your car like this, the radiator can be get damaged. Mine was, the upper hose connection cracked, mayby as a result of excessive force. I had to braze the copper radiator.

But my rad support was in very bad shape, if yours is better and still supporting the radiator it should be fine for a while. You can support the radiator in other ways, maybe add some straps but eventually you have to bite the bullet i quess.

 

Call around for estimates. My advice concerning the possibility of farming out the job is based on your post regarding having to rent shop space and not being quite sure what you're getting into.

Post a pic of what you've found. Could be a little; could be a lot. None of us have seen it.

 

I found this, and kept driving for another 2 years before I got to replacing it. It all depends on how much damage you got, in what spots, and if the rest of the metal is healthy enough to hold it up.

 

Stingray, be aware that the radiator support also supports your whole front end fiberglass. Get a new support. Lou.