learje

my winter project has been draggin along...beefin up my 402 with a roller cam, new carb / intake, clean up the engine bay, etc etc...

finally going back together and ran into this problem. the radiator shroud that came on my car had a single center bracket installed. the shroud was trashed, cut, cracked and bubba'ed badly. it didnt survive extraction



anyways i ordered a new shroud from willcox. today i loosened up the core support, leaned it forward, and installed my old rad and new shroud as a single unit as described here. worked like a charm! man im thinkin this is way too easy.. everythings going fine till i try to test fit my center bracket.. it sets too high on the shroud for me to drill/install the bolts. so i get to searching here. i see multiple mentions of early and late 73 shrouds, with either a center bracket or 2 side brackets. my aim only shows the center bracket install, but willcox lists a left, right, and center bracket. i spoke w a tech at willcox who promised to get to the bottom of it, but he asked that i post this here as well.

other interesting issues...my core support appears to have 3 sets of bracket mounting points. and the new shroud when fitted to the rad sets about 1 inch closer to my water pump than the old shroud did. i had a 2" spacer on the water pump shaft w a flex fan. (i know BBBAAADDD flex fan), anyways if i try to reinstall with the 2" spacer theres no enough distance between to fan and the shoud..the fan blades now hit the shroud at the top.

also, the center bracket available from Willcox is a simple 90 degree bent bracket, mine shown in the pix below has a completely different shape.


can anyone post any info, or pictures of 73 top shroud brackets and the mounting points so i can see what my options are?

thx!!

lear

HUSKEE73

learje, couple things here, on your second picture,the shroud is on the edge of your radiator top frame,the shroud should go on the top of the frame with the foam seal just under it(tight fit) this will give you a closer line up to your center shroud mount,may also help with fan blade clearance.is your flex fan same as original diameter? some of the new shrouds need a little heat gun application(do this off of the radiator on the floor) if you apply some heat to the upright curved areas on the new shroud it will relax the fit and allow you to get the shroud to line up better to your center mount.

Easy Mike

Check the AIM again. It is possible the small block and big block radiator set ups for 73 are different. That would explain the difference in brackets. Look for the LS4 AIM pages.

learje

huskee73 u are correct...once i got the shroud up on top the radiatore the fan clearance was fine. my center mount is wanked by bubba too. i believe my core support however was drilled by bubba for the center mount in the past sometime...theres no captured nuts, just 2 clipnuts. do you have a 73? does it use the center mount? do you have the other 4 holes i have on my core support?

ez im pagin through the aim again...and ive got some pros at willcox looking into it as well. imnot in any hurry, just curious now

more later

if any 73 and 74 owners can post pix of their shrouds and how they mount at the top it would be helpful

lear

HUSKEE73

lear, I have a 73, mine has the 2 side shroud mounts,no center mount. my core support has the 4 outer mount capture nuts as in your photo. you can purchase the 2 outer mounts,if you decide to go that route,the side mounts have 2 diff part #s as they are different shapes for r and l. I donot remember who I got them from,it was either willcox or zip.check their sites for photos of the 2 mounts.

learje

thx! thats what i wanted to hear.

fwiw i cant find anything in the aim showing the side mounts

chvet73

My 73 has both side and center supports. The center has captured nuts.

Blue73Shark

Pics of my replacement radiator and shroud I put in my October 72 (early) 1973, which has the original center mount:




Fran

DonnieP73

I just installed my new radiator and seals today on my 73. On mine, built in November 72, there is only a center support and the two studs on the bottom of the shroud. There is also an extension to the shroud.
Maybe these pictures will help you.

Donnie

You can see the extension here.



Bottom studs.






Seals on top of support and top seal on shroud.

learje

thx everyone, looks like anything is possible...weve got an all 3, a couple centers. blues is center only, and donnies has the mounting points on the core support for the outers also..

thx everyone

lear