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Radiator removal is a big job on these cars. I decided to recore my radiator with a high efficiency core.
I thought others may be interested in the removal procedure .
1. Use an engine hoist with a chain and 2 hooks to attach to side of shell support inside where the opening is behind the bracket for the parking light/horn support. Tie a cord around the chain and radiator top to hold vertical as you lift. DISCONNECT BATTERY!
2. Remove the nut from the radiator stud at the bottom and under frame.(note the flat rubber spacer between rad. and frame) Remove bolt at top of shell from rod to firewall.
3.Remove the horns and parking lights. Disconnect the wires for horns at the junction block on side of frame , and wire from screw under parking lights. Mark wires for reassembly. Be sure wires are free from radiator and shell assembly before lifting. Remove the 2 bolts on each side that hold light bracket to fender.(light wire through the bracket will remain in fender)
4.The radiator/shell assembly can now be lifted out CAREFULLY as one unit.
5.After the unit is removed and still held by hoist the shell and radiator can be separated. Remove the screws under welting at sides and top of shell.Observe position of latch brackets for reassembly. Remove screw at bottom of louver assembly and shell. Lift up on shell.
6.Disconnect rod from shutter thermostat and shutter assembly. Remove bolts holding shutter assembly to sides of radiator, holding shutter assembly up as last bolt is removed. (Be SURE all louvers work freely and lube pivot points before reassembly)
7. Reverse steps above to reinstall the unit.
Gene Reeves, Chris Diekman, and Joe Mann gave me invaluable advice when I removed the radiator in my Pierce, and I think that it is great that Gene has put the general procedure in written form.
I’ll add a note of caution. During reinstallation, there is significant potential for assembling the parts in slightly different relative positions than they had originally. Unless there is some obvious problem in the original assembly, take care to keep the relative position of the parts as close to original as possible. To give just one example, I replaced the flat rubber spacer between the radiator and frame with one that was just slightly thicker than the one that had previously been in the car (after all, wouldn’t a thicker spacer better protect the radiator from those harsh bumps in the road?). Only trouble is that this raises the front of the hood without raising the back. So now the hood did not properly fit into its opening. So I had to go all the way back to where I could replace the spacer with one of the proper thickness, and then proceed with reinstallation again. Should I say that these old cars have a lot more “part position interdependence” than more modern ones? Don’t know if that is the proper way to say it, but I will say that you may end up with a lot of extra work if you don’t put parts back together the way they came apart!