Modifying a G-body Radiator to fit an L-body

[GLHS592]

I've had a few people ask me about this modification.

I wanted my Shelby Charger to look as stock as possible. Therefore, I wanted the radiator to bolt in while giving me room to run pipe to my front mount intercooler. Since a GLHS unit is hard to find, I opted for an intercooled G-body radiator with the brackets. After test fitting and measuring, I figured it would be pretty simple. 3 out of 4 mounts have to be relocated. The top driver's side mounting bracket is the only part that won't have to be modified.

1. Cut the end off of the driver's side bottom bracket and weld it 1/4" higher than it was (note, the radiator is upside down in the picture.).


2. You will need to notch the bracket so it will fit in the car as shown.


3. Cut the bottom passenger side mounting post off of the end of the radiator and weld it to a piece of metal. Measure the distance between the mounting points on the car's radiator support and position the mounts the same distance apart. Weld the mounting post to the radiator as shown. Also, trim the radiator as shown in this picture for clearance on the car's radiator support.



4. Cut the top passenger side mounting post off of the end of the radiator and weld it to a piece of metal. Measure the distance between the mounting holes in the top of the radiator support and position the mounts the same distance apart. Weld the mounting post to the radiator as shown.


5. Trim the top of the radiator as shown so it will stay under the top of the radiator support.


6. Use the rubber bushings from the bottom of the L-body radiator on the bottom mounting posts.

7. Use the L-body top mounting straps from the L-body radiator for the top. You will need to cut all the metal out of the side of the straps. You will also need to cut the rubber under the straps in the same manner.

[cordes]

I wish I could weld so that I could make my setup as nice as that.

Here is a page detailing how I put my rad in the car. It's not going anywere that is for sure.

www.omniglht.com/rad.html

[GLHS592]

Welding is no big deal. I bought a Lincoln gas wire feed welder and taught myself. I love to weld now!!

I cleaned it up and made the edges look better before I painted it. It doesn't look too much different than my GLHS's stock radiator.

[DC Turismo]

Do you have exact dimensions, Kevin, in regards to how much you need to trim off of the top of the radiator, and how far apart the bottom mounts are on yours?

I assume you simply repainted the entire radiator, correct? I'm glad to see how to install another factory rad/ic setup into an L-body seeing as, how you said, GLHS specific radiators are hard to come by.

Now if only someone can do the same to show how a factory rad/ic unit can be made to fit into a '90 VNT Daytona, since they, too, are hard to find! lol....

[CDNTurboZ]

[QUOTE=DC Turismo;130644]Do you have exact dimensions, Kevin, in regards to how much you need to trim off of the top of the radiator, and how far apart the bottom mounts are on yours?
QUOTE]

Yeah dimensions would be cool!, also how was your clearance with the rad overflow bottle??, as I know its tight in that area with the stock rad....

[GLHS592]

I will go down and measure some of the dimensions tomorrow afternoon. As far as the overflow bottle, it probably has more clearance than with the stock radiator.

[slasky]

When I did it for mine I just relocated two of the mounts on the car and left the radiator intact.

[GLHS592]

If you want it to fit perfectly and level, you will have to trim and move three of the mounts. You might get away without modifying the bottom driver's side mount, but it will bend the lower bracket. Like I said, mine looks factory.

[mo' parts]

When I did it for mine I just relocated two of the mounts on the car and left the radiator intact.

thats what i did. i welded an L bracket on the pass side lower mount to and i still need to adapt the pass side upper, basically just drilling a new hole and cutting one of the stock upper mounts like kevin did.

[GLHS592]

REMEMBER, the purpose of this modification is to make your G-body radiator look like a stock part for your L-body.

I went down and measured the distance between the top mounts. It was roughly 21 1/8" center to center. As you can see in the picture below, I used the outer holes on each side of the radiator support for the top mounts. The best thing to do is measure the distance between those holes and then measure the distance between the bottom mount holes and then go from there.



There is a reason why I modified each part. I'm not going to do extra work for nothing. I trimmed the top and bottom of the front side of the radiator for clearance. If you don't trim the bottom of the radiator, it will interfere with the area where the front motor mount is welded to the radiator support. I trimmed the top of the radiator so it would clear the top of the radiator support and not rub. The notch in the lower bracket was made to clear the bottom motor mount. I cut and rewelded the bottom bracket because the distance between the top and bottom driver's side mounts was about 1/4" shorter than that same distance on the radiator.

[Mario]

I wish I could weld so that I could make my setup as nice as that.

Here is a page detailing how I put my rad in the car. It's not going anywere that is for sure.

www.omniglht.com/rad.html

You have any cooling problems with your intercooler there?

[cordes]

You have any cooling problems with your intercooler there?

Not really. It can get pretty warm just sitting on traffic on Rochester road from mad heights to where I used to live in rochester when the temps would be in the mid 90s, but I doubt that has much to do with the IC. Look at the fan shroud I made for it in my gallery. It was super cheap to make, it looks pretty decent, and it relly helped pull the air through the rad. The fan I have on there is a bit on the small side, but it does the job.

[contraption22]

Eh I did it the easy way. I do not modify the part to fit the car, I modify the car to fit the part!

[Mario]

Eh I did it the easy way. I do not modify the part to fit the car, I modify the car to fit the part!

I'm thinking that's what I'll have to do to fit this Precision 750 Intercooler in my GLH. Sucks I'll have to do away with the sleeper look.

[TurboRon25]

I think this would be a great addition to the knowledge center. Can't get much better than dims and pix.

Ron

[GLHS592]

I've submitted it...

[cordes]

I'm thinking that's what I'll have to do to fit this Precision 750 Intercooler in my GLH. Sucks I'll have to do away with the sleeper look.

Oh, come on! That omni will have the sleeper look still. People will just think that you picked up a huge AL rad that fills the entire front of your car.

[Mario]

Oh, come on! That omni will have the sleeper look still. People will just think that you picked up a huge AL rad that fills the entire front of your car.

Yeah, maybe I'll have a filler neck tig welded on top with a nice shiny cap, too.

I'm thinking I'll mount it something like Mike's, or below the bumper, or in the same way you mounted yours, but with a different radiator. We'll see. I just ordered that last of my parts pretty much, so I can start building it now. Sorry for getting a bit off topic!