Wood (or other material ideas) for radiator mounts

In reply to evildky:

I bet every Z car made from 70-89 also had a brass radiator, not an aluminum one.

In reply to evildky:

Mostly because the radiator doesn't have any mounting brackets on it, I don't have a TIG welder to add some and I don't want to pay to take it to a fab shop.

bgkast wrote: With the way the radiator sits and the fiberglass nose piece fits I don't have clearance for something like the pad pictured unfortunately. The radiator is almost tight to the inside of the nose on the bottom back corners. Further difficulties are that the chassis is only as wide as the core where the radiator mounts. The brackets in my picture are attached as far out as they can be. This mount isn't ideal, and can certainly use some "added lightness", but it will work.

so you have room for a 2X4, but you don't have room to not have a 2X4? weld a couple of tabs to locate everything, get some mounting cushions- i used to have at least a dozen sets that i kept from cars that i parted out for some reason, but i finally threw them away- mount the radiator, and move onto something else..

I mounted a radiator for a motor swap application by getting rubber exhaust hangars and setting the radiatior 'c' channel like you said on top of them.

They are at any part store, and are a 2 inch by 4 inch by 1 inch stick of high temp rubber basically. There are even holes in the middle you can use to locate the rubber mount to the chassis.

Maybe another idea?

Kenny_McCormic wrote: In reply to evildky: I bet every Z car made from 70-89 also had a brass radiator, not an aluminum one.

While this is true I ran an aluminum "upgrade" replacement with zero issues as have countless other Z dorks. Never heard of anyone having one of the aluminum aftermarket radiators break.

"Wood . . . for radiator mounts"

Why not ? ! ? !

I've used wood for floors, rocker panels, fender and body patches, inside door panels, radiator shims and mounts, body to chassis mounts, dashboards, sear bases, and more than likely too many other uses to remember. Wood is VERY strong, flexible, and can be made water proof with simple coatings.

Fiberglass over it and it's structural.

Using wood is perfectly OK ! Using scrap wood is good for the planet, plus it smells wonderful when you cut it up.

You can get chunks of phenolic material or micarta through various online supply houses for knife makers- that would be impervious to the temperature and elements it would be exposed to. It might be more than you want to spend though, and it is typically sold in thin plates.

If that doesn't work, I'd think about UHMW or some other plastics. Online Metals likely has what you need.

If you've ever had a hankering to experiment with fiberglass or CF, this is the best place to start- it doesn't matter if the finished product is ugly.