Upgraded to a 3 core radiator from standard radiator on a 70 cutlass supreme. Problem is, the original brackets on the core support and top plate are not wide enough to accomodate the wider radiator. What to do? Can the original brackets be "rebent" to fit the wider radiator or is there another solution? Original radiator was the stock 2 core radiator, and the replacement was a all aluminum 3 core radiator because we added a/c to the car. Thanks much to all,

 

Hello:
Look into the aftermarket shops, many carry new saddles and rubbers, I saw in the OPG catalog, there were several versions for sale. Just drill out the spot welds or use a spotweld cutter without going all the way thru on the top plate (looks bad), weld in the new ones. You could also get a different top plate from a member and just change out the lower ones.
Thanks, Ron

 

Two row and three row radiators use the same width end tanks and thus the same width brackets. There should be no need to change anything. Only the FOUR row radiators use a different top plate and bottom brackets. If your three row radiator is really thicker than the two row, it is not a factory width.

USA Parts Supply (among others) sells repro top and bottom brackets for FOUR row radiators.

 

OPGI has a good assortment of brackets and rubbers. The GM (no A/C) radiator has different depth tanks to allow for a trans cooler, if equipped. Their bracket description does not fully explain that difference. The factory no A/C radiator tanks are different side-to-side also.

 

Don't forget, this is an aluminum replacement radiator, the only way to get a proper bottom bracket is to measure the width needed and go from there....

 

Not that I've seen. The stock radiator mounting cradles the solder seam where the end tanks join the core. There are only two thicknesses at that location, the thinner style used on two-row and three-row radiators and the wider style on the four-row. Trans cooler is irrelevant, in fact my 70 4 spd W-30 with the original Harrison radiator had factory screw-in plugs in the trans cooler ports in the radiator.

 

Back in the 80s I installed a 4 row radiator and bent the saddles to fit. Later, I re-installed the 3 row radiator and bent the saddles back.

So yes, the saddles can be bent to fit larger end tanks. It may not be as pretty as the "correct" top support plate, but it can be done.

 

Years ago, I replaced my 3-row with a 4-row radiator. I placed a bottle jack and a 4x4 under the core supprt and whacked the sh** out of the saddles to "open" them up enough to fit the 4-row tank width, then i did the same with the top plate (without the bottle jack). Although it worked well enough to accommodate the 4-row radiator, the top plate never sat right after my red-neck engineering and had a slight slant to the rear. If I had to do it over again, I would drill out the spot welds and replace with the larger saddles.
Rodney

 

I put a 3 core in my 68. The mounting brackets were wide enough but hit the radiator in the wrong places, so I drilled out the rivets that held them in the core support and repositioned them to center them correctly. That worked out well for me, but don't know if it would address your situation.