Custom Radiator Crossmember

[Guest butlersZ]

Hey Guys,

I was out working on my Z today doing some undercoating and such and I noticed some rust underneath the radiator core support. So I started sanding with my DA and some 40 grit and found more rust than I thought there would be. After going over the whole core supprt I have come to the conclusion that it would be better to be replaced now than to have to do it later(while I'm at it I might as well syndrome) or even worse to have it fail on me while driving the Z. So I know there are some people that have built their own support. I was thinking about the process and this is what I came up with. Cut a couple of 2x4's to brace the front section between the frame rails with a very snug fit so there will be no distortion, then cut out the old core support and weld in some 3/16-1/4" angle iron or square steel tubing and be done. It's easier thought out then explained, anyway does anyone have any advice for building my own core support? and how about any pictures? It would really help.

 

Thanks,

James

[blueovalz]

I’d forget about using the 3/16” or ¼” angle iron because it would not be as rigid as thinner square tubing, and would be a good bit heavier to boot. What I used, to tie the frame rails together after removing the core support, was a piece of 1” X 3” rectangular tubing (thin walled). Then I used ¾” square tubing for the rest of the core support; one piece on each side of the radiator vertically, and a top crosspiece over the radiator (I’m using a Griffin aluminum radiator with side tanks). If I was to do it again, I’d use 1” square tubing for the top cross-piece, main due to the fact that I use the top bar to press down on the frame of the radiator, and the ¾” gives too easily when the brackets holding the radiator in place are cinched down. If using the OEM radiator, the top crosspiece could instead be placed in front or behind the radiator instead

[Guest butlersZ]

Hey Terry,

I was looking at your beautiful fiberglass work with your Z, how hard do you think it would be to make a G-nose replica using fiberglass and those sonotubes you used? I was thinking of going G-Nose but with some modifications to the front. The headlight buckets you made turned out pretty nice and looked pretty easy to make.I have done some fiberglass work to my Z already like making a rear tail light panel and such. Where did you get those sonotubes for the molds?

[blueovalz]

The SonoTubes came from Home Depot. My personal advice (what I would do if I were in your shoes) is to purchase a G-nose front end, and then modify it the way you want. The only reason I made my front end from scratch is because by the time I made all the modifications I wanted to an existing G-nose, I would have been better off starting from scratch. My hood is an example of what I speak of. It started out as a stock looking fiberglass hood which I then modified. The original G-nose was too long for what I wanted, and I needed a descent dam up front under the leading edge, which would have left little of the original G-nose left. But this can be a good thing because it allows a tenderfoot (in working with fiberglass) a firm and proper piece of body with which to start, even if the final product is vastly different from what it started out as.