Mounting universal radiator to tubed front clip

[rocknhorse76]

Need some pics of how you guys have mounted your universal radiators and shrouds to your tubed front clips. I’d prefer to use the Griffin I have, but may consider going to a Bronco specific unit with reversed inlet/outlet for the sake of simplicity.

 

[Yeller]

several of us have done it, I use a universal griffin and am happy with it. @nvrstuk mounted his similar to mine but I for the life of me couldn't find the discussion in his 40+ page thread, I know it is there LOL

this evening I can snap a few pics of mine if you'd like.

 

[rcmbronc]

Here are some pics. I used a Bronco Rad.

 

[rocknhorse76]

several of us have done it, I use a universal griffin and am happy with it. @nvrstuk mounted his similar to mine but I for the life of me couldn't find the discussion in his 40+ page thread, I know it is there LOL

this evening I can snap a few pics of mine if you'd like.

Yeah I’ve seen Brian’s setup and my tubing is very similar to his. I have the exact same radiator he’s running as well. A few pics of your setup would be appreciated.

 

[nvrstuk]

Steve- 40 + pages??? LOL


Tim, when I ordered from Griffin and was asking them about the differences between Universal and custom/made to order they said the ONLY difference was the mounts are specific for each vehicle hence double the price.

So I told them how I thought was the best way in my application to mount it and they said "perfect, that's the best way to mount these universal radiators".

Think that's the only way to mount these unless you TIG a bracket on to the tanks where there's some meat.

Hope this helps.

 

[rocknhorse76]

several of us have done it, I use a universal griffin and am happy with it. @nvrstuk mounted his similar to mine but I for the life of me couldn't find the discussion in his 40+ page thread, I know it is there LOL

this evening I can snap a few pics of mine if you'd like.

Yeah I’ve seen Brian’s setup and my tubing is very similar to his. I have the exact same radiator he’s running as well. A few pics of your setup would be appreciated.

Steve- 40 + pages??? LOL


Tim, when I ordered from Griffin and was asking them about the differences between Universal and custom/made to order they said the ONLY difference was the mounts are specific for each vehicle hence double the price.

So I told them how I thought was the best way in my application to mount it and they said "perfect, that's the best way to mount these universal radiators".

Think that's the only way to mount these unless you TIG a bracket on to the tanks where there's some meat.

Hope this helps.

Steve- 40 + pages??? LOL


Tim, when I ordered from Griffin and was asking them about the differences between Universal and custom/made to order they said the ONLY difference was the mounts are specific for each vehicle hence double the price.

So I told them how I thought was the best way in my application to mount it and they said "perfect, that's the best way to mount these universal radiators".

Think that's the only way to mount these unless you TIG a bracket on to the tanks where there's some meat.

Hope this helps.

Steve- 40 + pages??? LOL


Tim, when I ordered from Griffin and was asking them about the differences between Universal and custom/made to order they said the ONLY difference was the mounts are specific for each vehicle hence double the price.

So I told them how I thought was the best way in my application to mount it and they said "perfect, that's the best way to mount these universal radiators".

Think that's the only way to mount these unless you TIG a bracket on to the tanks where there's some meat.

Hope this helps.

I’d really rather keep it to where I can order a universal replacement without mods ( like you and I have discussed before). Looks like I’m moving forward with plans.

 

[nvrstuk]

Sounds good Tim. It's such a simple mount. I would move the upper mounts relatively close together or recommend going with a single mount in the center (on the top) to prevent any damage in case you get any twisting in your front clip.

Mount your battery box right where you had it in the pic you sent. Perfect spot. Out of the way, down low to help with COG and NOT up front where the only advantage it has its it's proximity to the engine which you've cured with large guage cable 1/0 min. 2/0 is better for your winch. Also, run a grd cable because the steel frame doesn't allow current flow like a 2/0 cable does as I found out years ago.

You will be driving again soon! (Sooner than me for sure!)

 

[Yeller]

Here's a few pics of mine, can remember why I have an extra piece of rubber hanging in the bracket, but it is there.... I think I had it under the clamp and decided it was too thick. The lower mount is a 1/2" thick piece of urethane cut to fit in the hat channel on the radiator and countersunk bolted to a piece of unitsrut welded to the chassis, the bolts are way overkill but I'm sure something I had laying around. This has worked well, I only changed the mount when I was thinking I needed to raise it up to battle a heating issue, that I did not do, been like this for over a decade.

Also, you may notice the piece of square tube behind the lip of the grill. I found I needed to support the center of the grill, it was moving enough to begin to crack. I'm sure it was due to not having any of the original center support, I had to add brackets to pick up where the fenders and grill bolt together as well the grill pushed on the fenders enough on the highway they were flexing and making them crack. If you did yours similar to Brian's you'll probably be fine since he has not had these issues to date that I'm aware of.

Mine is also mounted very low, the top is flush with the top of the grill. It is well protected if I manage to flop the truck but does cause some highspeed cooling issues when ambient temps are over 85-90 degrees. It has a hard time getting air, the pressure bubble keeps it from getting forced air through the radiator and the fan struggles to overcome that pressure wave. So I don't need to drive 80.... 60-65 is fine


This thing needs a bath....LOL

 

[nvrstuk]

I ended up attaching my lower grill to my vertical tube coming up off the frame rails (alongside my radiator) because you had said your grill was starting to tear. I checked mine out at the time and the bottom of it could move fwd and back a LOT so I thought before it started tearing I better fab up a little "ounce of protection".

However the top rear corner of my fender is tearing at the top where it bolts to the door post (the 3 bolts that hold it to the post). I must be getting more twisiting there than I thought. I am thinking maybe a brace or two. I do twist this thing up a lot and I know for fact that before I tubed the frt end I could barely open my hood (when severely twisted up) as the front of it was binding and I could never close it again unitl the Bronco wasn't as twisted up. So it's nothing new.

 

[rocknhorse76]

Sounds good Tim. It's such a simple mount. I would move the upper mounts relatively close together or recommend going with a single mount in the center (on the top) to prevent any damage in case you get any twisting in your front clip.

Mount your battery box right where you had it in the pic you sent. Perfect spot. Out of the way, down low to help with COG and NOT up front where the only advantage it has its it's proximity to the engine which you've cured with large guage cable 1/0 min. 2/0 is better for your winch. Also, run a grd cable because the steel frame doesn't allow current flow like a 2/0 cable does as I found out years ago.

You will be driving again soon! (Sooner than me for sure!)

Thanks Brian!

 

[rocknhorse76]

I ended up attaching my lower grill to my vertical tube coming up off the frame rails (alongside my radiator) because you had said your grill was starting to tear. I checked mine out at the time and the bottom of it could move fwd and back a LOT so I thought before it started tearing I better fab up a little "ounce of protection".

However the top rear corner of my fender is tearing at the top where it bolts to the door post (the 3 bolts that hold it to the post). I must be getting more twisiting there than I thought. I am thinking maybe a brace or two. I do twist this thing up a lot and I know for fact that before I tubed the frt end I could barely open my hood (when severely twisted up) as the front of it was binding and I could never close it again unitl the Bronco wasn't as twisted up. So it's nothing new.

I am going to do some triangulated braces between the shock hoops and side tubes to hopefully alleviate some of that twisting. I’m also going to incorporate some tubing to mount the grill and fenders where they used to tie into the original core support.

 

[rocknhorse76]

Here's a few pics of mine, can remember why I have an extra piece of rubber hanging in the bracket, but it is there.... I think I had it under the clamp and decided it was too thick. The lower mount is a 1/2" thick piece of urethane cut to fit in the hat channel on the radiator and countersunk bolted to a piece of unitsrut welded to the chassis, the bolts are way overkill but I'm sure something I had laying around. This has worked well, I only changed the mount when I was thinking I needed to raise it up to battle a heating issue, that I did not do, been like this for over a decade.

Also, you may notice the piece of square tube behind the lip of the grill. I found I needed to support the center of the grill, it was moving enough to begin to crack. I'm sure it was due to not having any of the original center support, I had to add brackets to pick up where the fenders and grill bolt together as well the grill pushed on the fenders enough on the highway they were flexing and making them crack. If you did yours similar to Brian's you'll probably be fine since he has not had these issues to date that I'm aware of.

Mine is also mounted very low, the top is flush with the top of the grill. It is well protected if I manage to flop the truck but does cause some highspeed cooling issues when ambient temps are over 85-90 degrees. It has a hard time getting air, the pressure bubble keeps it from getting forced air through the radiator and the fan struggles to overcome that pressure wave. So I don't need to drive 80.... 60-65 is fine


This thing needs a bath....LOL

View attachment 892505 View attachment 892506

Thanks for the info. I put in an additional crossmember that will support the lower radiator mounting channel that I am building out of some aluminum angle and flat stock. I’ll put some urethane or foam in between the channel and radiator tank. The upper mount will be similar to what Brian has.

 

[Yeller]

The cracks that Brian is describing at the tops of the fenders is caused by the frame acting like a hinge in front of the cab mounts. The only fix is to bridge the frame with the cage tied to the front tubing. That’s why I have a door bar in mine, ties everything together from bumper to bumper in a truss, very rigid.

Word of caution for those of you that go hard enough that you’re cracking the body and/or fenders. Be closely examining your frames, I know a few guys that have broken them at the firewall. I’ve done it, just not on a bronco, killed a few k5 cheby frames lol.

 

[rocknhorse76]

The cracks that Brian is describing at the tops of the fenders is caused by the frame acting like a hinge in front of the cab mounts. The only fix is to bridge the frame with the cage tied to the front tubing. That’s why I have a door bar in mine, ties everything together from bumper to bumper in a truss, very rigid.

Word of caution for those of you that go hard enough that you’re cracking the body and/or fenders. Be closely examining your frames, I know a few guys that have broken them at the firewall. I’ve done it, just not on a bronco, killed a few k5 cheby frames lol.

I’ll definitely keep an eye out for that!

 

[Yeller]

Here’s a few pics, since we all like pics

Pointing in the engine bay where it connects at the firewall. Then under the dash and on to the door bar. There are no rubber cab mounts, the body is sandwiched together like a modular race car. There are no chassis/body squeaks and creaks, after tens of thousands of miles there are no sheet metal cracks that weren’t from the front clip flappin in the wind. And the chassis is as solid as the day it was born in 2011

 

[rocknhorse76]

Looks solid!

 

[rocknhorse76]

Here’s a half-a$$ mock-up of how the 27.5” x19” Griffin will look. It’s sitting about 3/4” higher than it will when I actually have the lower mount in. It’s sitting on 2” body lift pucks on the crossmember I added lol. It’s quite a bit off-center in the grille opening, but I can add a piece of sheetmetal on the driver side to fill the gap. The engine sits about 1 1/2” to the passenger side in these rigs and that actually makes the fan sit closer to the center of the radiator with this setup. I also have a 24” wide radiator that would sit a little closer to center, but the shroud for it would actually require quite a bit more work to build.