Radiator Thickness

[Yellowbird]

Can anyone tell me what the original radiator thickness is for a '58 Bird?

Trying to fit the ABS fan shroud and the bottom appears to need a spacer to connect to the core support correctly.

Thanks.

[JohnG]

If I stand on the driver's side and measure the thickness
of the left "tank", I get 2 1/2". The tank is what the lower radiator hose goes into. (this may be the wrong word but you get the idea)

The radiator cooling fins in the rear seem to be about 1/4" recessed as compared to the solid tank. So if the front fins are also recessed 1/4" (guessing here as I could not reach them), the finned portion of the radiator is about 2" thick.

(I also have a '58; the radiator is original although re-cored). Holler if this is not sufficient information!

John

[Yellowbird]

John,
Thanks for the information. That's the same thickness I came up with on my '58.

I just wanted to confirm what I had there.

Thanks again.
Leonard

[JohnG]

I have an original Galaxie shroud I have never gotten
around to using. I could take pictures and/or measurements
of it for you.

John

[Yellowbird]

I appreciate that John. The issue I have is the shroud does not fit flush with the core support. I can either re-drill the mounting arms and move them forwad about 5/8" or put spacers between the core support and mounting arms.

I've made my spacers but I still may move the arms. Hoping to get this done this weekend.

Thanks for your help.

Leonard

[YellowRose]

Radiator Thickness

Leonard, it was my understanding that the ABS shroud should fit right on. However, I could be wrong. I would suggest that you give Don at the Bird Nest a call and talk with him, if you have not. He might be able to help. Like JohnG I have a Galaxie metal shroud on Rose. The mounting tabs at the bottom of it had to be moved to make it mount properly, as I recall.

[del]

I appreciate that John. The issue I have is the shroud does not fit flush with the core support. I can either re-drill the mounting arms and move them forwad about 5/8" or put spacers between the core support and mounting arms.

I've made my spacers but I still may move the arms. Hoping to get this done this weekend.

Thanks for your help.

Leonard

Hi Leanard,
I had what sounds like similar install issues with the shroud I got from Dearborn a few yrs back. I had to modify the lower mounting brackets a little to get it all to come together. Good luck!

[Yellowbird]

Thanks for the information Don. Getting ready to go out and tackle the problem.

I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

Leonard

[Yellowbird]

Finally got the fan shroud on.

Had to use 5/8" spacers made from tubing with 5/16 - 24 x 2" bolts to get the lower half to go on. Original bolts were too short. Top half fit perfectly.

Now......on to the next part of the project.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Leonard

[scumdog]

Good on ya Leonard, perserverence mate, perserverence!

[Tbird1044]

I would love to see some pictures of the installed shroud. I've been thinking of installing one, but haven't made the purchase yet.

[YellowRose]

Radiator Thickness

Nyles, you can see pictures of the metal fan shroud from an early 60's Galaxie that we use on our Squarebirds, by going to the Technical Resource Library. Here is the link to it. You will find it in the engine area section, Final Dress - Cooling System. This article will give you the measurements, and information regarding it. If you want the plastic ABS version, check out the Bird Nest website, look up Fan Shroud and you can see pictures of it. The metal one will require some slight modifications to the bottom mounting tabs, but it works well. I have one, as others do, on my '59 Squarebird. It works on the '60 and I would imagine the '58 also. I am aware that there are two broken pix of the ABS version. I have tried to fix those, but can't, so I have asked Dave to fix them for us. Hopefully, he will be able to do so.
EDIT: All fixed. Hit F5 & Ctrl together, to refresh the page. - Dave

http://squarebirds.org/shroud.htm

[Yellowbird]

Radiator Thickness

I've attached 2 pictures of the bottom half of the ABS fan shroud.

The top picture shows the shroud out about a 1/4" from the radiator. It is pushed up as close as it will go.

The second picture shows the mounting arm and the bolt that should go thru it.

Also removing the transmission cooling lines made it easier to fit.

I had to make 2 spacers 5/8" long to make up the difference needed. I then used 2 5/16"-24 x 2" bolts with lockwashers to complete the mounting.

The top half mounted without any problems. Once the two halves are joined together it makes a sturdy shroud. I can't wait to get it on the road to see what kind of temperature difference it makes during these Texas summers.

I'll try to post pictures of the top half later today.

Leonard

[Yellowbird]

Radiator Thickness

This is the top half of the ABS shroud. The top half fit without any type of modification. I was able to put both rivets in the top half. On the bottom half I could not put in the 2nd rivets on the mounting arms.
However, after putting the halves together I found that I really didn't need them.

Leonard