Guest Anonymous Posted June 29, 2000 Share Posted June 29, 2000 I have been trying to gather information on the install of the '84-'86 Camaro radiator. I know of the mounting hardware sold by JTR, but I have seen other good examples of aluminum mounts. I would like to get this information. Whether they were fabricated or purchased and from who. Thanks for any info. BTW, the more and more I think about it, even after all the money I've put in my L6, I'm really considering going V8. As Darth would say, come over to the dark side. ------------------ Might as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 Mike Kelly and I have actually been discussing this of late. I was able to get a deal on that Camaro radiator of $190. Mike on the other hand had a better idea for his car - the Griffen "universal" radiator sold in Summit and Jeg's for about $190. It has bigger tanks than the GM radiator and is completely aluminum. Just as a quick aside - the radiator shop told me they cannot repair Ford plastic radiators ala Cobra but CAN repair the GM so repairability shouldn't be an issue for either of these. However the question fo rme was which radiator. Mike bought a 26X19 radiator. A pull of the tape measure revealed only 25.5 to 25.75 inches of room between my frame rails. Mike was nice enough to measure his Griffen and it comes out to just 25.5 inches, not 26! It would seem that perhaps Griffen hasn't measured their radiators very well. The other option, and one I'm tempted to take in case Griffen got their act together, is their 24X19 radiator. Before I do anything I'll measure the hole in the front shell to see how much of the core would be exposed regardless. Now then - mounting. Mike came up with a trick way of doing his that didn't use the JTR mounts. He's also found a nice chrome piece to hold the top of the radiator, not sure where he sourced it from. I don't know the details so hopefully he'll post them. I've got the JTR mount on order but could wind up using his method instead myself.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 I would be very interested in this. The chrome issue is of no concern. I would prefer to get the mounts powder coated. I have found someone with good prices and have bought an oil filter cover which looked very good. I was getting way to much shine in the engine bay. I need the color to set things off. BTW, I got mine for $140 from carparts.com(15% off and free shipping). Ofcourse, it took 45 days to get the right one. ------------------ Might as well. [This message has been edited by spot (edited June 29, 2000).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 I have a sort of half-assed description of how I put a camaro radiator in my 240 at http://240z.jeromio.com. I didn't use the expensive JTR mounting kit, but my solution involved welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 Thanks for the info. I had seen your site some time ago and thought it seemed to be the easiest way to tackle the mounting. I never could find a good pic of the radiator after install. You can catch some of it in one of the shots. How did you finish out the top or did you leave as is? On another site I had been scanning for this install they mentioned a '70 Nova top radiator mount and an S-10 lower mount. I must assume that these grab onto the seem of the radiator. Ofcourse no pics were available. Thanks for the help. I was going to go to the bone yard today and see what these mounts look like, but I got to much sun yesterday fishing. Can you say, burnt toast? ------------------ Might as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted July 4, 2000 Share Posted July 4, 2000 Need to find out from Mike how he mounted his and what chrome piece he's using - he can speak best for his own car As for the JTR piece - it's actually pretty nice! It's a metal strap with mounting tabs for the rubber and a stiffening rib welded top the bottom. No mounting holes though but I can handle that! Be awhile before I get to that point of my swap - waiting on the motor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted July 4, 2000 Share Posted July 4, 2000 I just installed the Griffin a couple of weeks ago. The one you need is the 24x19, $188 to my door. Quality piece and all your cooling problems will be solved. However, keep this in mind. It does not accomodate a trans cooler, does not have a petcock and requires a mod to fit brackets. I had 4 pieces of aluminum angle welded to the sides in a position that allows you to drill holes and use the original mounting holes in the radiator support. Scottie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted July 5, 2000 Share Posted July 5, 2000 The radiator upper support was from the Summit dressup section...standard GM upper radiator mount in chrome! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted July 5, 2000 Share Posted July 5, 2000 Just my opinion here, but watch out mounting any radiator (especially one that's all Al like the Griffin) solidly to the radiator support. There's a good reason that the OEs mount them in rubber mounts - the radiator support is not rigid and it flexes. This puts loads into the radiator it was not designed for. Can you say leaks? I know that the stock Z radiator was solid mounted, but hey, they leak from time to time. Sorry to rain on any parades, but this is important in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 5, 2000 Share Posted July 5, 2000 The flexing could be a good point. Mine isn't mounted too tightly and I suppose I could substitute rubber or poly for the nylon spacers. I ordered the aluminum one, but I think Carparts substituted a copper unit. It's painted black, and it is light, but I don't think it's aluminum. Also the overflow fitting was broken. It took so long to arrive and I got it so cheap that I decided not to hassle with returning it. Avoid Carparts.com unless you have a huge coupon like I did. I have some pictures of the final installation - just haven't taken the time to put them up yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted July 5, 2000 Share Posted July 5, 2000 I used rubber pads on all the contact areas so I wouldn't rub holes in the aluminum... Good Point to bring up Pete! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 5, 2000 Share Posted July 5, 2000 Just the answer I was looking for. Sad part is, I've had my new Summit book sitting on my desk for afew days, just haven't had the urge to splurge. All my plastics are almost maxed, due to Z and new PC. I think I can make one more buy to get the Z going again though. I hope. ------------------ Might as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted July 6, 2000 Share Posted July 6, 2000 WTF?! Two threads I replied in while away have my posts zapped... Anyway, I measured out my core area on the Z and it's just about 24inches wide. Mike's using the Griffin 26X19 and while the 24 sounds like it might be a better fit that 24inches includes the tanks which won't cool much. I may gamble on Griffin not noticing the .5inch under 26 and order one of these. Is anyone using the 24 currently and if so how's it cool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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