well here i am at the school of hard knocks again. this time i'll ask the experts, you guys. i'm putting my radiator system (81 malibu) back the way the factory had it. got a new clutch and 18 inch 7 blade fan and started to install the shroud. as you can see in the pics the shroud is a little short on fitment. looks like the shroud should fit a smaller radiator. i did not notice the fitment before the change. po just bolted it down with the rubber not fitting very well on top of the radiator. been looking for a top part of the shroud that fits my larger radiator but i'm beginning to think there was not a bigger shroud. looks like this one would fit a 26 1/2 core and not my 28 1/2 core. i have used the clutch fan system before and had very good luck with it. had a dual electric system on the last three years and had" i hope it does not over heat" luck in the past. want to solve the "in town in stop and go" because it looked like it could heat up so i got out of town fast. can't enjoy it that way. i have had to make a few changes in the past to a few shrouds on some of my hotrods but would like to avoid that. btw its a crate 350 and was an original small block (the smallest one) from factory thanks, Denny
radiator shrouds
- Thread starter denny
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26 1/4 core width is what a stock g body v8 radiator is, your radiator would have come from something else. No stock shroud will fit your 28 1/2" core.
This ^^^ is correct. If you want the shroud to fit you might try getting the right width radiator but more rows.
I don’t have any pictures of mine but I’ll try to describe what I did to my shroud.PO had installed a bigger 4 core rad and the fan blades had cut a hole through the top of the shroud .I cut a broom handle in half and made it the length of the top of the rad.This holds the shroud up a bit.Then I made 2 blocks of wood to use as spacers between the top and bottom halves of the shrouds and drilled a hole through each spacer with long bolts to connect them.This gives me enough room so that the fan doesn’t hit the top of the shroud.I know that it might sound Redneck but it’s been working for me for 18 + years !
Guy
Guy
thanks for the reply Guy. i also was looking at that very problem. bunch of room at the bottom but not as much at the top. i'll probably go with the spacers at the split. could use about 3/4 inch at the top. broom handle is very good info, i'll probably use it. the shroud length is still a minor problem. might be a good time to do what mickester suggested. thanks.
good reply. thats my second option. probably should go that way. would be less labor with the correct rad.
thanks for the reply Turna. it looks like my problem is the wrong radiator (too wide) and not the shroud. i'll have to modify it to fit the too wide radiator (pita) or get a modern aluminum radiator of the right size. another option is to find a 281/2 core for the upper and hope it lines up pretty close (another pita). 81 regal says the 26 1/4 core is the right one for my malibu and thats the shroud i have now. i really never noticed the shroud on the bigger radiator until i changed to electric fans. po had a homemade cover over the tops of everything. thank you for the offer. Denny
My very first Regal I added a wider radiator and used a chrome top plate like Spectre makes and made some small brackets to mount a Cutlass V8 shroud to it.
I believe it was for an A-body.
I believe it was for an A-body.
very
very good info. thanks for the reply. po had installed a top plate but was just flat and not nice as a factory one. i'm gonna make some rubber mounts today and see how that goes. Denny
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