Looking at the core support on my SBC '69... it seems there are a couple of plate tack welded onto each side - these are not on BBC radiator core supports, are they?

Presumably these panels are there to funnel air to the smaller SBC radiator.

If I swap out to a Griffin Radiator, I take it I can remove these panels, yes ?

Overall Width (in):32.000 in.
Overall Height (in):18.480 in.
Overall Thickness (in):3.000 in.

Core Width (in):27.500 in.
Core Height (in):18.480 in.

 

They're not structural, so yes, you can remove them.

 

Coffman core supports for a 69 SB. Talk to them.

 

There were three different radiators and core supports used in 69. Small blocks with a manual trans and without AC, used a 19" wide, aluminum radiator. Manual trans small blocks with air, and all automatic small blocks, got a 26 1/2" wide copper radiator, and a different support. Big blocks used a copper radiator that was 27 1/2" wide, and a third different support (the widths quoted are the widths of the cores, without the tanks). The 19" aluminum radiator mounts by two pins in the bottom of it, that sit in a channel in the bottom of the support. The 26" and 27" copper radiators are installed completely differently, they sit on two saddles attached to the bottom of the support.

The support with the block off plates (and the one in rzvio's post), is the support used with the 19" aluminum radiator. I think removing the plates from the 19" support will result in a 26" opening, not the 27" opening that would match the 27" Griffin. Whether the opening is 26" or 27" after removing the plates, if the Griffin is designed to be a replacement for the 27" big block radiator, the way it mounts will still be different than the mounts in your 19" radiator support.

I'm not real familiar with the Griffin radiator, but based on the dimensions of the Griffin (27 1/2" wide core), I assume that it mounts by sitting in saddles, and requires a 69-72 big block core support.

 

Pure awesomness !!!! Thank you for taking the time to write all this. I really appreciate it. I always thought that the radiator I had looked ridiculously narrow for the job - cuz it is aluminum ! Ha ! I didn't know that. It also does have those pins at the bottom.