Another Mopar Off My Bucket List - Barracuda Fastback
I've been hesitant to make any drastic mods on the Charger until we get the brackets for the alternator and power steering pump. I'm still not positive the radiator location will work where I've got it or if it might have to move forward farther.
If that 'BILLET CONNECTION' company comes through as promised, we should be OK but I'd hate to have a bunch of welded in supports that I'd have to cut back out if they don't.
I realize that the Charger is unlikely to ever go back to it's original restored state but Spence really wants to try to keep from destroying the portion of the radiator support that has the correct factory R/T stamping. He doesn't want to have his car called a clone. But, with all the other modifications the car has he's been OK with some cutting of that support.
I think I'm going to do more cutting after I confirm we've got clearance for all the engine accessories. In preparation today, I picked up some steel angle to finish off the opening in the radiator wall and a section of aluminum pipe to extend the radiator cap upwards a few more inches. We've got clearance problems we needed to solve.
The piece of aluminum pipe I bought is longer than what we'll need but I'll cut it down after I get the new bung that will be welded to the top.
In this photo you can see how the core support overhangs the radiator. Even the smallest diameter caps are tight against the wall.
This is the number stamp we're trying to preserve. It's within a few inches of where I want to make a notch.
The aluminum pipe wasn't a perfect fit. The hole in the filler neck has a slight taper to it so I had to grind and sand and polish until I could get it to slide in.
I used a red marker to indicate approximately where I want to make the notch in the support.
I had to move the radiator forward about 3/4" in order to have room to slide the pipe inside the filler neck. Once the support is notched I'm hoping things fit like a glove. Like I stated earlier, I'm still going to wait to make the cut until the engine accessories are fitted and I'm certain of the radiator location.
I've been hesitant to make any drastic mods on the Charger until we get the brackets for the alternator and power steering pump. I'm still not positive the radiator location will work where I've got it or if it might have to move forward farther.
If that 'BILLET CONNECTION' company comes through as promised, we should be OK but I'd hate to have a bunch of welded in supports that I'd have to cut back out if they don't.
I realize that the Charger is unlikely to ever go back to it's original restored state but Spence really wants to try to keep from destroying the portion of the radiator support that has the correct factory R/T stamping. He doesn't want to have his car called a clone. But, with all the other modifications the car has he's been OK with some cutting of that support.
I think I'm going to do more cutting after I confirm we've got clearance for all the engine accessories. In preparation today, I picked up some steel angle to finish off the opening in the radiator wall and a section of aluminum pipe to extend the radiator cap upwards a few more inches. We've got clearance problems we needed to solve.
The piece of aluminum pipe I bought is longer than what we'll need but I'll cut it down after I get the new bung that will be welded to the top.
In this photo you can see how the core support overhangs the radiator. Even the smallest diameter caps are tight against the wall.
This is the number stamp we're trying to preserve. It's within a few inches of where I want to make a notch.
The aluminum pipe wasn't a perfect fit. The hole in the filler neck has a slight taper to it so I had to grind and sand and polish until I could get it to slide in.
I used a red marker to indicate approximately where I want to make the notch in the support.
I had to move the radiator forward about 3/4" in order to have room to slide the pipe inside the filler neck. Once the support is notched I'm hoping things fit like a glove. Like I stated earlier, I'm still going to wait to make the cut until the engine accessories are fitted and I'm certain of the radiator location.