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I just put my Holley carburetor on and started it up and noticed the fan was not turning so I shut it off. The fan blades are touching the bottom of the radiator shroud and have about 2" clearance on top. Would the motor mounts cause the motor to sit low?
They didn't have big blocks in 82. Small blocks don't use spacers.
Both motor mounts broken? Maybe but when I break a motor mount the engine still sits OK. It just hops up when I drop the clutch and puts a star crack in the hood!
I think I would be checking a lot of things!
And a Holley carburetor on a 82? Sounds like a fair few things have been changed!
You didn't mention the engine was leaning to one side. So what's the odds of both front mounts breaking at the same time?
If the tranny mount disintegrated, it would have the opposite effect. Fan would strike at the top.
You sure your shroud didn't move?
I'm not sure about anything at this point, it was getting late when I fired up the engine after putting the carburetor on but that gives me something to check.
They didn't have big blocks in 82. Small blocks don't use spacers.
Both motor mounts broken? Maybe but when I break a motor mount the engine still sits OK. It just hops up when I drop the clutch and puts a star crack in the hood!
I think I would be checking a lot of things!
And a Holley carburetor on a 82? Sounds like a fair few things have been changed!
That's an understatement for sure when I got the car the horn didn't work, the headlights didn't open and two were really dim and one did not come on at all. The there were the brakes which didn't work much and the front suspension was shot and not to mention the Weber carburetor leaked gas and smelled of gas all the time... got all that fixed now and just need to get the front end aligned hopefully weather permitting next Friday.
So it sounds like even if an engine mount is broken but not disintegrated the radiator mount might be suspect.
Hope you got that thing cheep...lol
If you don't find something obvious, maybe post some pics... Did the car run and fan work before you started working on it?
How about a bent radiator support, or wrong radiator installation?
Hope you got that thing cheep...lol
If you don't find something obvious, maybe post some pics... Did the car run and fan work before you started working on it?
How about a bent radiator support, or wrong radiator installation?
60
That is the first time I ran the motor with the hood open. The engine ran fine with good oil pressure and steady temperature when I drove it home.
I'll check the radiator support today and like most things I fixed that Bubba touched the radiator could be installed incorrectly
I forgot to mention the center spoke of the steering wheel was at about a 15° angle when driving straight...
I paid too much for the car but it was the year and color I wanted at the time. Hindsight being 20/20 an 80 would have been a better choice I think.
If the rubber pads under the radiator were defective or missing, that would drop the rad & shroud down farther away from the fan.
That's not your issue.
C3s shroud do not have some of best mounting hardware in the world. In fact, the bottom of the shroud is supposed to just lay inside the rad support.
And I repeat, "supposed to".
A couple upper bolts missing somewhere or a former mechanic could have installed the shroud incorrectly or chopped on it.
You need to get the front-end up on ramps and inspect the shroud from below. Make sure the bottom edge of the shroud is in fact placed deep inside the support and has not worked its way up & out = striking the fan blades. See if the shroud is movable.
Many shrouds have been hacked, butchered, modified and so on because of the difficulty of removal & installing them.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Jan 11, 2025 at 09:24 AM.
If the rubber pads under the radiator were defective or missing, that would drop the rad & shroud down farther away from the fan.
That's not your issue.
C3s shroud do not have some of best mounting hardware in the world. In fact, the bottom of the shroud is supposed to just lay inside the rad support.
And I repeat, "supposed to".
A couple upper bolts missing somewhere or a former mechanic could have installed the shroud incorrectly or chopped on it.
You need to get the front-end up on ramps and inspect the shroud from below. Make sure the bottom edge of the shroud is in fact placed deep inside the support and has not worked its way up & out = striking the fan blades. See if the shroud is movable.
Many shrouds have been hacked, butchered, modified and so on because of the difficulty of removal & installing them.
Thanks for the reply.
I took a quick look between chores this morning and the drivers side upper mount bolt for the shroud has a slot and the shroud is all the way up so I'll get it up in the air a bit and see what's wrong. I might have bumped it or moved it rebuilding the front suspension.
You need to get the front-end up on ramps and inspect the shroud from below. Make sure the bottom edge of the shroud is in fact placed deep inside the support and has not worked its way up & out = striking the fan blades.
Bingo, you are correct both lower tabs are hanging in the air and the shroud is up too far... another Bubba fix in progress now.
I understand that they didn’t install BB’s in 1982. But did they put spacers under the motor mounts in that year? A/C was standard and in the earlier years in C3s that is what required the spacers. 82 was late enough to have motor mounts with the metal straps to keep the engine from tilting up during acceleration. Before the govt mandated metal straps, the mounts were just all rubber bonded and they did separate. I have seen both early rubber mounts failed on the drivers n pass side of the car.
82 Motor Mounts
