Radiator mounting advice

[bmtsheets]

I'm in the process of restoring a 76 chevy c10 that was originally an inline 6 but has since had a 350 crate motor dropped in. I bought the truck almost 2 years ago in Kentucky and it made the 14 hour journey back to North Carolina without an issue. After returning home from a deployment I have started to tear it apart, suspension was my main focus as well as raising it back up to stock height (it was slammed to the ground).

I recently pulled the radiator and went out and bought a nice 4 row radiator to drop into it. I'm having a few issues though. The radiator I bought is for a chevy c10 with a 350 in it but it's about two inches shorter than the previous radiator and doesn't fill the radiator support area behind the grill. This is also requiring me to do a little bit of custom work to the top support bracket.

My only hang up right now is the lower supports for the radiator. I'm thinking of fashioning some 2 inch tall rubber supports that I can bolt into place and then set the radiator on top of that to raise it up. Before I do this, am I missing something? Since the truck was originally an inline 6 do I need to get a different lower support for this radiator? I've looked all over LMC and other various sites but I can't locate what I'm looking for and I also can't find any after market supports that will raise it up.

Thanks for any and all help.
If pictures are necessary to further explain this let me know. I can run home and take some.

-Brandon

[69heavychevy]

The I6 and SBC radiator are 17" tall and the BBC radiators are 19" tall. Hope this helps.

[bmtsheets]

That does help. I appreciate it.

it appears that I have bought the top support bracket for a BBC, I will find the correct top mounts and start there.

The main thing that troubled me when I test fitted the new radiator is that it didnt fill up the front radiator support hole behind the grill. It does appear that I have the correct radiator though.

does anyone with a 76 C10 have a picture of their radiator supports? LMC is useless sometimes...Im sure we all know that.

[albertgen]

What do you think about the Crate motor? Is it a pretty good engine? Thanks, Al

[bmtsheets]

can anyone point me in the right direction with the radiator brackets I need?(upper and lower) I can't find them anywhere to purchase.

I have a 350 in the truck, its a 76 c10.

This radiator is really holding me back from getting the truck on the road. thank you!

[mcmlxix]

What ever happened with this? I need to figure out my mounting. I need 4 mounting pads but do the two lower pads need a bracket? How do they stay in place? Are there individual brackets? Is it just the top plate that holds the radiator in place with two rubber mounts?

[bmchevy1979]

The bottom doesn't change any just place the mount in the holes that line up with radiator the top bracket bolts to the back of the core support and angles down to match up with radiator the mounting pads go by radiator so measure at widest part of tank the crimped area and order the pad you need I will look through my archives and see if I can find a pic for you of the top bracket my 76 c10 had the type you need

[tucsonjwt]

All 3 of my squares(73,76,83) just had 4 rubber mounting pads. The two lower pads have a piece of metal molded into them, the two upper pads have no metal. When you secure the bolts on the top cover the rubber pads compress slightly and the pressure holds the radiator in place.

The shroud bolts to the top cover and the core support on the bottom. The lower rubber pads have small nibs which line up with holes in the core support. My current lower pads have the nibs worn away, but if you are careful with your line up they will stay in position until the top cover is secured.

[weider1717]

If you're "restoring" it and have the original radiator I suggest to re-core the original probably harrison radiator to maintain the factory harrison side tanks it will be same as new then.

[mcmlxix]

I'm not doing a resto. I do prefer the brass tanks over the plastic ones. I don't have any metal brackets on the bottom of the core support. I have a two piece shroud that was stapled together... but its been pulled apart. One of the holes in the plastic that mounts to the top plate is broken too. I guess I'll hit the junk yard and find some lower brackets. I'll measure my radiator and the top plate first.

[bmchevy1979]

There is no lower brackets just the mounting pads the bracket is a part of the core support on the bottom

[mcmlxix]

I measured my radiator core, its 28.5 wide by 19 tall....
Does anyone have any GM part numbers for the rubber bushings?

[tucsonjwt]

I think the GM part numbers for the rubber pads are listed in another radiator post that appeared here recently. So, you might scroll down for the key word radiator and I think you will find them.

If you see my recent radiator replacement post, you will find that my replacement Spectra radiator was just a little taller and wider than the stock radiator, which made for a tight fit. Without my squashed down original rubber bumpers I don't think the radiator would have fit.

[mcmlxix]

I took a picture of my lower core support.
It looks like the driver side has one mounting point where the passenger side has two.
I also looked at a picture of a rubber mount and there is a nipple that locates the mount on the core support...
I forgot to write down the width of the tank but I believe they are 2 5/8 inches
My radiator CORE measures 28.5 x 19 - Its a 350 with AC but I cantt be certain if it's the original radiator.

[tucsonjwt]

I think the two mounting holes on one side are for the two different width radiators for the V6 or V8 engines. You only use two rubber pads - one on the right and one on the left. And, of course, two mounting pads on the top of the radiator. See my "radiator replacement" post for pics of these rubber pads.

[mcmlxix]

I ended up ordering some Prothane 7-1711 radiator isolator mounts. I hope they fit well...