Hi Ben,
Tonight, I'm going to steer clear of all questions relating to US
geography - and restrict my comments to the things I've had first hand
experience with.
:)
The standard radiator mounts are fine on a standard car. The exception is if
you have a thicker than standard (i.e. heavy duty) radiator core.
I cracked a couple of tubes in my radiator about 2 years ago. A fully
rebuilt heavy duty core - 4 years old. I think it was caused by the same
stresses & vibrations which cause many Healeys to crack their shrouds in the
front corners. My BJ8 has stiffer suspension etc than most - and the way
they often fit the thicker core to a healey radiator is to 'flatten' out the
std radiator side frame (as the thicker core is deeper than the original
core and won't fit in the channel) - making a near flat side frame. So
rather than the stronger original 'channel' section frame - most heavy duty
thick core Healey radiators are no longer as strong as standard - the
reduced strength of the radiator allows it to twist - and you can end up
cracking the tubes.....
Anyway - that was the autopsy on my radiator. I decided that a flexible
radiator mounting was the most cost effective insurance for my new 'new'
radiator...... and the easiest fix.
Ok - so if you take the lower 'ear' mounting bracket from the left hand side
of your car; and swap it with the lower 'ear' mounting bracket from the
right hand side of your car, you'll have 2 lower mounts which are now about
1/2in away from being able to bolt onto your radiator. Then go to your local
spareparts shop, and look through the stock radiator mounts (which are a
threaded end-washer-rubber-washer-threaded end) arrangement. I found some
which had the correct thread to screw straight into the radiator bracket (I
had to shorten the threaded stud slightly so it didn't bottom on the
radiator side mounts) The rubber mount goes between the radiator side and
the ear mount. Flexible mount, reversible, without any damage if you ever
want to go back to a solidly mounted radiator. It actually looks 'correct'.
I used 2 rubber mounts per side. The rad mounts cost about $A10 or $A12
each.- which was about $A750 cheaper than the radiator ......
Best regards
Chris
www.myaustinhealey.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ben Prince" <blprince2@comcast.net>
To: "Healeys" <healeys@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 5:04 AM
Subject: Radiator Mounting
> My BN1 radiator is held in place by rigid brackets (each corner). It
> seems
> that shock mounting the radiator would be a good idea. Is this worth the
> trouble?
>
> Thanks,
> Ben
> BN1
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