Andyrews Progress Thread, 1/16/22 A Trip to The Red Barn - Lets fab a Firewall! Options

[Andyrew]

Finally the upper section is built. The vertical radiator supports are joined by another piece of 5/8x5/8 U channel steel (glass stop). for the radiator to sit on. We have some bulb seal on the radiator and some foam seal on the radiator support. Vertical gaps are taken up with foam seal (weatherstripping).

The upper section is more 16ga steel and I am debating on tack welding it, but I most likely will bolt it down with bulb seal underneath.

Vertical gaps have not been taken into account yet as I havent bought my AC condenser yet.

And I am testing with using the strap in the middle to hold everything down or build straps on each side that connect to the factory mount tabs that I hacked off a bit to much. Still more thinking to do here.

[Chris H.]

Good start. That's gonna work well for you. I like how close you put the rad to the front of the trunk. Question...When you drilled the holes circled below did they go all the way through the trunk floor or not? It doesn't look like it. When I set mine up it looked like there were 2 layers of metal there with a gap in between but was too chicken to try drilling them out (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .

[Andyrew]

The goal was to put it as close to the front as possible. Yes I did drill through both layers which is why I want to tig the holes.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Chris H.]

So could I theoretically drill through ONE layer and have enough space to drop the rad mounts and hold the rad in place or are the two layers of metal right on top of each other?

On the bottom of mine I have a piece of sheet metal with mounts in it similar to the renegade setup but it doesn't get the radiator as low as yours so I can't get it as close to the front. I'm going to slightly trim the top mounts which will give me a bit more clearance.

[Andyrew]

They were within about 1/8" of each other(I'll take a pic tonight), If you cut the bottom of the radiator tabs down that much theoretically yes you could, but I dont think it would realistically work especially with how much you have to tilt the radiator at that point to make it fit.

[Chris H.]

Interesting...good to know.

Here are some pics of my setup in case it gives you any ideas to use. Ignore the wires taped to the floor. I'll move those later this year but it requires taking the entire system out which I don't feel like doing yet.







On the bottom There is a piece of sheet metal that is attached at the front to the former stock valance mounting holes. At the radiator there is a 90 degree lip bent upward about a half inch or so across and the radiator is bolted to it. at the very ends the metal extends another couple of inches and I installed rubber mounts to them which the radiator sits in.



It's a '75 so at the very front of the car there are a couple of nubs that dictate where your side panels that funnel air to the radiator can be. Since I was pretty sure I'd be playing with the setup I bent a couple of u-shaped pieces and attached them with the stock bumper shock bolts. That way no holes drilled or welds. They're in there good and there's downward pressure on the bottom piece. Most important thing is to get ALL the air to go through the rad.



The top piece which you can see in this pic slides in just underneath the hood seal channel pretty tightly. The back edge is bent so that is can be attached to the radiator at the mounting holes. When it's fully in place the radiator doesn't move AT ALL, but my plan is to put some fasteners in the channel and small bolts on the attachment points on the radiator to make sure it doesn't work its way loose over time.

I'd still like to get the rad setup closer to the front, but for now I'm gonna start driving it.

[matthepcat]

Looking good. Fabricating radiator shrouding is annoying....the fine balance of some flex but not too much flex....and how to keep the aluminum from rubbing holes into each other.

[Chris H.]

Right, loose enough to flex a little, but not too loose. Andrew's got the right idea.

Matt, what about that Subie car in the classifieds? If you're looking for one there's not a better deal out there.

Good point on the rubbing...last thing on my list is to trim the side pieces where they touch the rad and insert some foam or rubber to keep the metal on metal thing from happening.

[Andyrew]

This is the bulb seal that I bought from Home depot. Really flexible stuff and dirt cheap. The adhesive is very sticky as well which is a plus.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-E-O-...V25BK/202844545

Chris your setup looks really nice!

What is the small air bleed line going to, a heater?

[matthepcat]

Matt, what about that Subie car in the classifieds? If you're looking for one there's not a better deal out there.

Yea I checked it out. I want a turbo motor...I would be buying a whole care for a transmission, engine cradle and cable shifter.

[Chris H.]

Thank you. I finally manned up and cut a hole big enough to bring some air in to the radiator. Buttoning things up tonight.

Good call on the weatherstripping. Looks like good stuff.

The small line goes all the way back to my VW expansion/recovery tank. I could probably just do a bleeder valve there but it really purges air out quickly with this setup. One or two cycles from empty and it's good to go.

[Chris H.]

Matt, what about that Subie car in the classifieds? If you're looking for one there's not a better deal out there.

Yea I checked it out. I want a turbo motor...I would be buying a whole care for a transmission, engine cradle and cable shifter.

Ah...I get it. That's right you have a 6!

[Mike Bellis]

Nice! Should be driving any day. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Andyrew]

I decided to simply bolt the shroud to the body/support. 1/4 20 bolts with nylon nuts. I doubt itll come loose as I used the impact.


side pic

[Chris H.]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb3d.gif) Looks great! That thing's not going anywhere. The hood will lock it in place when you close it.

[Andyrew]

Still trying to dial in a body wiring harness... I've got one lead and hes getting ready to pull it.. So hopefully all that stuff comes in the next month and I can get started laying out the wiring.


I pulled the old radiator hoses, grabbed a plastic container and put all the radiator bits in the container. (NEED TO SELL THE V8 STUFF!)



I almost grabbed a spare engine but it got sold to quickly. Grabbed a spare 1.8 FWD trani for $60 delivered to me though (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Seller might have some other bits for me as well so we will see. This trani will have shorter gearing than the 2.8 trani I have but I am not yet sure if I will want that or not. Either way its a great pickup for me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Mike Bellis]

BTW, Conedodger has an wrecked Audi for sale with a new motor...

[Andyrew]

Hmm... Doubt I will need anything.. I just got a bunch of nifty parts and my wiring harness is being pulled from a guy in NY this weekend..

My car fund cash flow is sure in the red lately (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif). I think Im going to have a fire sale on the engine pretty shortly...

[matthepcat]

Put the motor on ebay/ craigslist before you go too low on price.

[Mike Bellis]

If I still had my El Camino, I'd be all over that motor! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)