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Re: [GMCnet] New Ownership, New member, Long road ahead. [message #357593 is a reply to message #357571] Sat, 08 August 2020 21:17 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
powwerjon is currently offline  powwerjon   United States
Messages: 849
Registered: March 2013
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Senior Member
Alex,
Here are some pictures on how I modified the radiator cage simular to how Ken explained. One of the first mods I did on the first coach that we got 1998, in fact the first week since we needed to record the radiator.

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g3850-radiator-support-bracket-modification.html

Be sure to look for captions under the pictures.

JR Wright
Michigan
> On Aug 8, 2020, at 7:54 AM, Ken Henderson via Gmclist wrote:
>
> Alex,
>
> Congratulations on getting your coach back into your possession -- even if
> it is a "little the worse for wear".
>
> Just want to make a suggestion about the radiator damage: The radiator
> support you're probably talking about is a 3" wide channel shaped into a
> rectangular "U". Across the top is a straight, bolted-on section to
> completely surround the radiator. After removing the fan shrouds on the
> back side of the radiator, and disconnecting all the plumbing from it, it's
> fairly easy to remove the radiator (see the service manual for
> instructions).
>
> This note is to suggest a modification many of us have done for
> convenience: Make the bottom of the surround quickly removable. Use a
> pair of 3" door butts (hinges) with removable pins. The radiator
> surround extends "working space" below everything else under the coach. A
> couple of inches up the vertical sides of the frame from the 90* bends,
> position a butt on each side. Mark the mounting holes and drill 2-4 of
> them to accept 5/16" x 3/4" bolts. Be careful not to drill too deeply --
> into the side of the radiator -- I protect it with a steel plate. Mark the
> frame where the butts halves meet. Put a support under the center of the
> radiator frame, because the support is the only thing holding the radiator
> up.
>
> Cut the frame at the marks you made in line with the pins, preferably using
> a hand grinder with a cutting wheel. Since your frame is bent at the
> bottom, you should now be able to straighten it more easily. Bolt the butt
> halves in place using the holes you drilled earlier (those with welding
> skills tend to use those). After re-installing the radiator and the
> now-removeable support bottom, install bolts with self-locking nuts in
> place of the pins. The next time you need to R&R the radiator, you'll be
> really glad you did the mod -- just remove those pins and drop the radiator
> out the bottom.
>
> Regarding the radiator: If it's damaged, I personally wouldn't even
> consider repair -- I'd replace it with one of the now available aluminum
> replacements. While aluminum's not really as good a material as the brass,
> the current designs and cleanliness of new provide MUCH better cooling.
>
> JMHO,
>
> Ken "GMCWiperman" H.
> Americus, GA
> '76 X-Birchaven
> www.gmcwipersetc.com
>
>
>
> On Sat, Aug 8, 2020 at 2:06 AM Alex Gurr via Gmclist gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:
>
>> Well, if you haven't heard, it has been found. Looks like I only responded
>> to all of the facebook posts! We got it back on 6/17 after it was recovered
>> from being stolen. It was quite a fiasco to get it to a storage lot, but I
>> got it all figured out with the help of Dean Hanson. My partner and I also
>> decided to move right after that, so I haven't had much time to go work on
>> it. Tomorrow is the first day we're going back to start once again.
>>
>> If the certain individual just painted over the paint, it would have been
>> easy to remove that outer layer and possibly restore the beauty underneath.
>> Unfortunately, they did quite a hack job of scraping off the stripe on the
>> front. Sad days, not sure what our plans will be for that, but it's more of
>> an aesthetic and can be figured out down the road.
>>
>> Another unfortunate mishap is that it got a little damaged while coming
>> out of the impound yard after the recovery...Long story short the radiator
>> support got damaged a bit and may have crunched the radiator a little bit.
>> Not sure what's recommended for this. I'll probably drain the system, pull
>> it all out and see if it could be bent back to usable shape. Maybe the
>> radiator can be salvaged, maybe this is an upgrade opportunity.
>>
>> Those are more or less the new items added to the "Needed Now" and
>> "Waiting" list. We're still going to be doing all the other things mentioned
>> previously, I'll give another update tomorrow and beg for advice.
>>
>> Glad to be back!
>>
>> Also, I've been naughty. I haven't joined the registry yet! Mainly because
>> I haven't seen the model name yet. I'll figure that out tomorrow as well.
>>
>> Best,
>> Alex
>>
>>
>> --
>> 1973 GMC Motorhome. Obtained from the brink of destruction 05/15/2020 in
>> the middle of the night.
>>
>> Berkeley, CA
>>
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