Did you also loosen the 4 bumper support bolts on each side to see if it would go any lower? Keep in mind, you don't have to be centered in that hole. If you get it where you can get your lower bolts in both sides, call it good. Let us know if it does raise the inner fender liner up off the frame too.

 

Ok , things have progressed while I was busy and sleeping here. I see your pics and method of operation here. Just remember your trying to reverse 10 YEARS of SAG . I would be thinking, of a time period of days or even weeks on this .

I hope you parked the car out of the way of everything.

 

Alright, first off, I've got to give a huge thanks to you guys for the assistance along the way, especially Mattoon for the procedure on lifting the body. It worked out great!!! I went very slow, did it over a couple hours...I'm pretty sure I held my breath the whole time

Both lower bolts are installed. I needed a slightly longer bolt to reach the core support on both lower bolts, so I didn't use the stock. I ended up using some grade 8 bolts I had, which I feel a little better with seeing these are really the only two bolts securing the support to the frame, and they seem to break fairly regularly.

The body on the passenger side was raised a good 3/4", which is clearly noticeably by the fact that the lower bolt hole lines up now, and the wheel well no longer sits on the frame!!

During the deconstruction I did break the brace rod that connects the center of the radiator support to the front bumper and has the vacuum canister bracket on it. I had soaked this with PB blaster a week ago, but still expected it to break since the rod is thin and just twists. I have electric headlight actuators, but I assume I should probably still replace this because it probably adds a little support for the radiator support??

I called it a day once I got the support all adjusted, shimmed and bolted down. I'm going to see if it's in the AIM, but does anybody have any idea on a torque spec for the core support side bolts? I don't want them loosening back up, but I also don't want to break one or one of the weld nuts. I just went pretty hand tight with a ratchet for now. Tomorrow I'll get the radiator and everything back in...I'm anxious to see how much clearance I picked up from the sway bar mount point.

On to some pics

Starting point on the passenger side




Lifting setup. I ended up getting rid of the jack on the right because really only the passenger side needed lifting.


Lifting progress


Getting there....


So close!!


YAHTZEE!


Here's how much the fender lifted. The top of the scuff mark used to be level with the frame!


Here's the support rod that I ended up having to cut off. It looks like it had been previously damaged as the bumper end was tack welded to the bumper mount bracket (was because I tore the weld off). I'm guessing it's supposed to be bolted to the slotted hole in the bumper mount which would allow forward/backward adjustment. Does that seem right?





As I mentioned above, I did have one casualty.... everything went fine up until I was pulling the old core support out. The driver's side lower mount bolt had broken the weld nut off the support a long time ago, so I had to cut the bolt. I forgot the bottom half of the bolt and the nut were still sitting on the support, and when I went to lift the support over the driver's fender it fell off and put a nice chip in my paint 😢 Of course it fell just to the side of my fender protector Sucks, but what are you going to do?






As a side note, heres my valance. You can see 5 holes to mount to the core support, and then a bolt in the front center installed by the previous owner. There was mechanics wire wrapped around the bolt and then around the bumper support where the hook used to be




Thanks again guys, I really appreciate the help! I'll keep you updated on how everything goes together, but so far its looking good!

 

That is awesome news 80vette21! It does make you pucker up when you are putting the pressure on the front end to get everything lined up. That is about the same size gap I have between the frame and inner fender. You are correct about using longer bolts in the two lower holes, you are going through more multiple layers of thicker metal than the other top 4 bolts. I would just make sure you have the bolts tight, they don't have to be 12" breaker bar tight. LOL. Just use a 3/8" drive ratchet and call it good.
I debated on how much that brace actually does. I am sure it does help some but most of the support is on the front at the single cushion/body mount. I kept mine on but removed the part of the bracket that holds the vacuum reservoir as I also have the electric motor kit for the headlights. Only thing I need vacuum for on my car now is the AC/heat system and brake booster.

I would probably get a piece of metal back on the to support the valance if you can otherwise the air down force may try to push the front of the valance down when you are at highway speed. The front point of the valance just sits on top of the metal bracket. Let me know if you need a picture of what it looks like.

Can you weld the rod back together or is it beyond fixing? Here is a link on Ebay for the entire setup. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-82-Cor...QAAOSw7ExcZHh-

Sorry about the chip in the paint. That sounds like my luck. LOL. Let us know about the clearances on the sway bar too.

 

So here's another issue I ran into the last time I had the radiator out of the car too. Had this issue with both the factory and Dewitts radiator.

I can't for the life of me get the upper brackets lined up. I can get the drivers side bolted up, but the passenger side is way off, like it's not even the right mount. I checked the lower pad cushions, and the radiator is sitting in support correctly.

To make it work last time I had to bend and grind the mounts and kind of get the radiator sitting in a jacked position. Oh yeah, i also drilled new holes in the core support and basically put the mount where I needed it. But, the factory bolt holes through the support are reinforced, and I'd rather use them if possible. I'd rather get it right this time. I'm going to see if I can figure it out, but any suggestions? I just have no idea why it'd be so far, unless it was the wrong size radiator.... But like I said I had the same issue with the stock one (unless it wasnt truly original)

Old support where I drilled new mount holes





Here's the passenger side mount with the new support, a good inch off from the core support bolt hole.


I'm thinking maybe the radiator isn't the right size, so it's not matching up to this core support? Anybody know what the dimensions should be? I don't see how it could be though, the 77-82 Dewitts radiators have specific inlets and outlets, so I know it's the right application.



Update:

So everything is definitely right, it's the cushions that are causing the issue. I removed all 4 (2 bottoms, 2 tops that go on the brackets) and I can easily get everything aligned. With them, not a chance. So, do I need to just keep playing with it, or should I trim them? I'm using the Dewitts specific cushions.



They fit and look great, but seem like they really need to be compressed to get them to fit. But, they're solid rubber and there's no way I'm compressing that lol

 

That is the wrong bracket for that side or not the correct bracket for your car. The leg that the welded nuts are on is wrong in relation to the bracket itself. Do both of your brackets look the same? Post a picture of both of them. I have the Dewitts radiator and mounting pads and had no trouble with lining them up, no modifications. Don't mind the dirty bracket, LOL, it is coming back off to clean and paint. My actual core is about 26 3/8" wide not including the tanks.



Left and right brackets.




Left is left looking at them from the engine side.

 

Progress

So I figured it out. The original brackets I had were correct for an 80 (they had the attachment for the shroud) but it you could tell someone had altered the passenger side ones looking at the welds. I think that's why it wasnt fitting right.

You're right, the brackets in the picture are not correct for an 80, they are for earlier C3s. I ordered them because I have electric fans and I like the cleaner look without the shroud bracket. The driver's side was a perfect match, but as I found out, the passenger side wasn't. However, my 1980 passenger bracket was too tweaked to make work. So, I decided to get creative.

I drilled out the welds on the new bracket and bolted up just the plate. I then secured the driver side bracket so the radiator was in the proper place. I took the other have of the passenger side bracket and mocked it up, scored the mounting plate, pulled both out, tacked it in position, tested fitted, welded it up, primed, painted and boom I have a perfectly fitting bracket with no shroud!

Here are some pictures. Mind you, I'm no welder!















I only had a couple hours today, but I got the radiator in and adjusted. I also found now that it's sitting properly one of my fans was hitting the driver's side upper a-arm, so I had to pull the radiator back out and remount the fans slightly off center.

Everything clears and looks great! Most importantly the radiator neck looks like it picked up some good clearance from the frame/sway bar mounting location. Hard to get a picture of it, but it's much better than before.

 

If you can weld ? The easiest way to fix would be to drill out the spot welds and reweld the two pieces of that bracket back together in the right position

 

Good job sir! Glad it is coming together for you. You are getting it back to correct as it should be. My brackets will be used to secure the electric fan and shroud so I will be using the old fan shroud mounting points.

 

Thanks, and thanks again for the help!!

Now I've got to get my Vansteel a-arms/coilovers, new sway bar, spreader bar, and my 18's!! I just can't decide on wheels. Theres some Weld wheels I really like, but I've only seen them on late model cars, not sure how they'd look on a C3. Plus they're $800........each

 

Always a pleasure sir! Glad you got everything worked out. That is a great feeling knowing what you have accomplished. LOL.....the parts buying never ends!

 

Seriously, I'd recommend a DIGITAL AIM vs. a printed one as how they organize the AIM is just insanely nutty.
-No real ToC. No page numbers, just Numeric Sections (that aren't referenced in the guide itself), with letter AND number sub-sections and a page count for each specific sub-section?!?

I broke down and had to put those little colored tabs on mind to be able to find ANYTHING in the paper AIM in a reasonable amount of time.


Adam

 

My 79 definitely doesn't have the extra core support, either.

 

Installed my new sway bar today to test fit with the radiator after doing the core support. The bar is 1 1/8", so larger than stock, but I was able to bolt it in! Before I wouldn't even be able to get it on. It just barely touches the radiator neck though. The bar can still rotate fine, but I am going to get some 1/4" aluminum stock and make some spacers for my own piece of mind. I can't see it really effecting the function of the bar?