![]() Figure 1 | ![]() Figure 2 | ![]() Figure 3 |
| 1. Drain the coolant. | |
| 2. On TPI Camaros, you will need to remove the stock airbox including the MAF and the rubber boot. (Figure 3) | ![]() Figure1 |
| 3. Remove radiator fan, and all coolant hoses attached to the radiator. | |
| 4. Remove the radiator. (Figure 4) | ![]() Figure5 |
| 5. If you have air conditioning, Cut the rubber radiator mounts out of the lower radiator tray. Do this without screwing up the part of the mount that the condenser sits in. Cut in front of the vertical part or there won't be anything preventing the bottom of the condenser from moving toward the radiator. If you don't have air, just pull out the lower mounts. Figure 6 [driver side] and Figure 7 [passenger side] show the portions of the lower tray that need to be modified. | ![]() Figure6 ![]() Figure7 |
| 6. Try test fitting the radiator. Adjust the power steering lines as necessary (You'll probably have to push them back, and toward the center of the car in order to provide enough room for the radiator tank. | |
| 7. Once the radiator is sitting in the bottom of the tray, as far toward the firewall as possible, mark the lip on the lower radiator tray where the tanks & the welds touch. | |
| 8. Use the die grinder to grind the lip on the lower radiator mount approximately 1/4" inboard from your markings. Once you cut the lip, use the channel lock pliers and the hammer to bend the lip down. (Figure 8 [driver side] and Figure 9 [passenger side]) Figure 10 [driver side] and Figure 11[passenger side] shows the same cuts from different angles. | ![]() Figure 8 ![]() Figure9 ![]() Figure 10 ![]() Figure 11
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| 9. Use the rubber pads to make the lower radiator mounts. cut slots into them to fit over the ridges on the radiator core, and cut 1/2 the thickness of the pad out to fit over the weld and the tank. Figure 12 shows the radiator upside down with the driver side pad installed. Monkey shit was used to hold the pad to the bottom of the radiator. | ![]() Figure 12 |
| 10. Expect to test fit the radiator a bunch of times. You need to notch the lower pad to fit around the lip on the radiator support. This will prevent the radiator from sliding left and right. Figure 13 shows the completed pad. | ![]() Figure 13 |
| 11. Expect to keep test fitting. You need to make sure that no part of the radiator touches any part of the car. | |
| 12. Check for clearance between the tanks and the side of the car. You'll notice that the tin that travels
vertically to the top of the radiator support has a lip that comes very close to the tanks. Use the hammer
to provide extra clearance if necessary. | |
| 13. Position the radiator in a spot that allows proper clearances around all tight spots. Use a sharpie pen to mark the radiator and the radiator support on both sides so that you can reposition the radiator in the same place every time. | |
| 14. In order to properly position the upper radiator mount, some modifications are necessary. Remove the plastic/rubber inserts that held the stock radiator. | |
| 15. Cut some more rubber pads. I used the 3/8" pads along with another 1/8" pad in order to raise the rubber above the 2 ridges on the core. Figure 14 shows the pads installed. | ![]() Figure 14 |
| 16. Try positioning the stock upper radiator mounting brace into position to see what needs to be cut. Most likely, you'll need to cut the brace to make room for the tanks & welds. Figure 15 [driver] and Figure 16 [passenger] show the modified brace. | ![]() Figure 15 ![]() Figure 16 |
| 17. If you have a condenser installed (if you have air conditioning, you have a condenser), you'll already have rubber pads to keep the radiator from hitting the upper radiator support beam. If not, you will need to use some of your rubber to make some. You don't want the radiator to hit the radiator support beam! | |
| 18. Check the 4 screw holes in the front. Chances are, you'll have to slot them approximately 1/4" to 3/8". | |
| 19. If your cutting, hammering and rubber-pad making all wound up being around the same height as mine, that top piece should fit pretty well. Keep in mind that variations may cause yours to fit a little (or a lot) differently than mine did. Figure 17 [passenger] and Figure 18 [driver] show the modified radiator mounting brace installed. | ![]() Figure 17 ![]() Figure 18 |
| 20. Installing the fan is your next hurdle. You can mount the lower fan mounting bracket in the stock location, but shorten the stock bolts as necessary. Figure 19 is not terribly clear, but it shows that the stock bolt is dangerously close to the radiator. Figure 20 shows 3 bolts. The one on the right is the stock bolt. The bolt on the left is cut too short. The bolt in the center is the correct length for my application. Figure 21 shows the shortened bolt installed. | ![]() Figure 19 ![]() Figure 20 ![]() Figure 21 |
| 21. When you slide the fan into place, place it BEHIND the lip on the radiator support, not in front of it like you would do with a stock radiator. If you slide it in front, it will contact the radiator. Figure 22 shows the relative position of the fan once installed. You will need bolts that are approximately 1/2" longer than stock. I used 2 spare bolts that originally held my TPI runners to the intake manifold. Figure 23 shows the stock fan bolt on the right, and the new one with a new washer on the left. If everything does not line up 100% in your application, you can remove the nuts from the upper and lower fan mounts and slot the holes to gain a little extra slack. You can also slot the bolt holes in the fan. In my case, this was not necessary. | ![]() Figure 22 ![]() Figure 23 |
| 22. Finish putting everything back together, fill up your coolant and go for a ride! |