Project Shark Attack C3 Corvette Radiator Install - Radiator Fallout

9 With the upper brackets welded to the cover, installation is easy. Be sure the cover has the radiator captured and tighten the bolts. We used all four of the original mounting points for the upper brackets. One of my personal dislikes is seeing the upper thick foam rubber seal between the radiator and core support always ready to come out of position.

10 The front part of the cover provides a lip for the '90 Corvette fan assembly to bolt to. We welded nuts from the backside so the fan assembly could be easily removed and replaced. The fan assembly keeps the cover tight against the radiator.

11 As you can see here, the bottom has the same retaining strip to hold to the core support. We used a piece of .065 steel angle iron and welded it to the bottom of the core support to retain the fan assembly. The same welded nut trick was used to hold the fan assembly to the angle iron.

12 We find it a lot simpler to tighten the hose clamp from the bottom. Make it a routine to tighten the clamp and then tighten the radiator drain cock no matter which fans you use. This is the only way to tighten the lower clamp with the engine driven fan and shroud in the way. Don't forget to use some liquid Teflon on the drain cock before installing.

13 We put a light coat of Permatex aviation sealer on the inside of the hoses to prevent cold water leaks. Cold water leaks occur because the clamps that retain the hoses loosen as the hoses heat cycle, even if the hose clamps are tightened regularly. The cold water leak also allows air intrusion into the cooling system, causing corrosion.

14 Hose clamps are often ignored. If you can clean up the originals, just reuse and tighten them up. In this instance, we used ABA hose clamps from Sweden because of their tightening capacity. The ABA clamps don't have any slots cut into them for the screw threads, consequently, the hose doesn't get cut as the clamps tighten. Notice that the upper part of the DeWitts tank has the correct radius and depressed area for proper hood clearance.

15 The proper way to fill the cooling system is to remove the outlet heater hose. This technique ensures that air is released and coolant is at the thermostat bulb. If the coolant is too low during warm-up, the thermostat doesn't open and then a stream of cold liquid hits the engine block and radiator. Not good!

16 To check the electrolysis, we connected the voltmeters negative connection directly to the battery. It only takes a few minutes to test and can save the engine and radiator. Remember to check the ground strap from the engine to the frame if the volt reading is higher than .5 volts A/C or D/C. The voltage should be checked while the engine is started. Starters produce high currents, and although it's for a very short burst of electrical energy, it can be very damaging long term.

17 Our radiator and fan assembly are now installed in PSA. Looks sweet and works great.