76 radiator support

[76texvette]

The 'ray was running alittle hot, so I decided it was time for an aluminum radiator. After I removed the original brass, I noticed rust in the corners of the original radiator support. Removed the support and after looking at it much closer, I found it was not repairable. Soooooo, I order a new support from Eckler's. It came in today. I was not impressed. It had been painted, but had some deep scratches and looked to me like who ever made it had one too many the night before. The bolt holes on the sides did not line up correctly. I had to run a tap thru them to be able to use them. You would think that for $350.00 plus dollars you would get a good product. Is this the standard or is Eckler's the wrong choice ??? My guess is that Ecker's is the wrong choice. What are the rest of you finding ??? ad

 

[brusso]

I'm sure that you'll run into the same thing with any supplier, at one point or another. Before doing the drilling or tapping, I think that I would have contacted Ecklers (or whomever) to see if they would make good on the wrong/f'd up part.

 

[Robin7TFour]

tex is your 76 early or later production. that question should have been asked by eckler's since there is a difference in the core supports.
i am not surprised the threads had to be 'chased' with a tap. most companies mass produce and mass paint, thus, no time to clean the threads.

Robin

 

[photovette]

And GM was not always correct either--my '77 has the radiator and radiator support of an early '76 in it--from the factory.

 

[76texvette]

It's the late '76 model. The support was the correct version but you can tell it was mass produced. The bottom of it is fine but the top portion where the two pieces are brought together is very uneven and not very uniform. Where they welded the bolts onto the sides, the bolts were not centered on the holes, so you had the metal getting in the way of the bolts. That is why I had to tap them. The funny thing is the support had a GM sticker and a GM tag tied to it. I am wondering if it would be better to go the salvage/used parts if I have to do this again? I am sure most of you have gone thru this already....just my first time. Thanks for the replies.