AutoRad Radiator, Core Support, and Close-out Panels: Follow-up notes
So the AutoRad radiator support and close-out panels are fully installed now. Maybe I’m unlucky or something, but my original hood latch assembly didn’t fit worth a sh_t thanks to the mount for it on the new AutoRad Radiator support. I had all original equipment that fit perfectly so I’m a bit puzzled why I had such trouble. The rear of the latch assembly actually fits up into a slot in the crossbar of the rad support and 2 lengthy bolts run through the entire bar and through the holes in the latch. Well, the 2 holes on the crossbar were about 5/8” too low which caused havoc with the center brace that comes in from underneath the latch and bolts to the bottom of it. The latch had to come back up in the rear to its original location somehow. So I drilled new holes in the rear of the latch assembly and took about 5/8” worth of material off of it along with some other minor grinding. That fixed that. Then, the front mount points on the latch would not reach my upper valance. About 1/4” short. That’s shifting the hole latch assembly 1/4” to rear of the car, which screws with both the close-out panel and the latch piece that attaches to the hood, so you can’t just place 1/4” shims in there to make up the difference. Instead, I had to take a cutting wheel and open up the slot under the AutoRad support upper crossbar to allow the latch to move forward by 1/4". That solved that. Everything else on the AutoRad stuff fit great with only minor massaging of holes or a few shims necessary in a few other spots, but this latch thing was way off and was aggravating. It’s still puzzling to me that nobody else has documented it yet. Maybe it was just particular to the one I received. Moving that slot forward 1/4” in the crossbar and raising the holes 5/8” would have made it perfect for me out of the box. Regardless, I still recommend AutoRad to everyone. Great stuff.
So with the exception of the fan controller, the front of the car is wired and ready to go. I’ll put the RS grill and bumper on later when I know for sure I don’t need to do anything else up front. Those I’ve already test fit so they’re ready to just bolt back on.
Moved the horns down so they’re not blocking air flow to the radiator:
According to a few folks that have used it in AutoX’s, this Lee finned remote reservoir supposedly did a good enough job cooling that they didn’t need an additional cooler, so the small cooler I previously had in front of the radiator should no longer be needed and I’ll leave it off.
RideTech Tiger Cage Install
Hey, this may send some of you into cardiac arrest, but something I just bought that was ‘bolt-on’ actually just bolted on. No sh_t. It took a little 'persuasion' in a few places, but overall RideTech did a great job with this kit. Quality stuff. A number of the holes are little tricky to drill because of the angles or tight spaces to work in, and one of their templates was not printed at the correct DPI so I had to resize it on my copier to 94.5% and that made it exact, but other than that it was a pleasure putting this in. The installation time will vary greatly depending upon how much of your car is already put together and what's in the way. For example, having leaf springs, the fuel line, and tail pipes makes dealing with the rear mount points under the car much more time consuming, along with removing sound deadener at the mount points, and also finalizing the interior around the new mounts points can take time. It took me about a day to get my interior prepped, the main hoop installed, and the hoop to package tray bars installed. Then about 2 hours to remove that and spray the necessary parts in satin black. Then a few days of drying time, and then another full day to re-install those pieces, the harness bar, rear trunk bars, and cleanup. Then maybe another day to re-install the interior and modify the package tray and make covers for the mount points. You might be asking why I painted it? Well, honestly, the finish on it from the factory is a bit ‘patchy’, and it has some scratches/marks on it from shipping. It’s not like the stainless you see on kitchen appliances. You could probably go over it fairly easily with something to get the finish the way you want it though, so don’t let that stop you. Secondly, and more importantly for me, I just didn’t want bright silver bars running through my interior and prefer to have the cage less ‘noticeable’. Having the bars and clamps in satin black and pairing that with the shiny mounting bolts and Ridetech identification plate went nicely together so overall I’m happy with my decision to spray them. I left the bars in the trunk unpainted because you won’t be able to see those anyway and they ain’t gonna rust.
Just in case you’re wondering, the weight of the bars, harness bar, and all mounting hardware, fasterners, and brackets is about 75lbs.
The main hoop and mounts for the hoop go in fairly easily:
Either I have the worst tape measure ever, or someone at RideTech needs a lesson on image size/DPI when printing their templates:
Be prepared to drill a lot of holes, some in some tight places:
2 more close-ups of the other mount points. Yes, I did remove the sound deadener from underneath any of the mount points to eliminate any possible flex. I just trim the deadener edges with aluminum tape:
I forgot to take pictures of the various brackets that bolt in underneath the car under the trunk and for the main hoop mounts. With the addition of these brackets underneath and the fact the all 6 mount points bolt in on 2 different axis, the mount points and the system are quite rigid.
Sprayed and final fitment:
The harness bar is ready to go in also, but I still need to finalize the rear package tray and a few trim pieces so I'll wait to install that later:
Hey RideTech, thanks for making this kit. Quality stuff.
Short-term ‘Up next’:
1. Install, wire, and test the fan controller.
2. Install some additional gauges in the interior.
3. New Aeromotive stealth gas tank
4. New rear AFCO shocks and thicker lowering blocks, maybe GW Del-a-lum rear leaf spring bushings also to decrease deflection
5. Check rear axle bearings and rear brakes
6. Move axle tube vent that Moser placed right under where the tail pipe loops over and they clang together on full suspension travel. Thanks Moser for the great friggin location on that.
7. Bleed the brakes
Then wheels/tires, then transmission, then the engine. Saving the best for last.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
We're a dwindling breed. Doesn't 'rare' sometimes equal 'valuable' though? Maybe, maybe not, but let's hear it for those fat valve covers.
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