I knew how you all wanted to start how to articles here, so I took the liberty of snapping dozens of pictures of my latest project on the Astre. This is my first technical write up, so ask any questions, or if there is something you want to see in greater detail, ask. As many of you know, I had a 4 core before, then I tried a larger aluminum radiator only to have it destroyed by my flex fan. After this, I decided that the stock setup was not gonna work. And I knew I didn't want to risk a $600 Griffin here in AZ with a 440 horse motor. So I thought I'd get rid of everything holding me back this time, which meant scrapping nearly everything off the old core support system.
I started by getting a new radiator. I decided to go with a Speedway Motors aluminum TruKool since it was very reasonable, and the same dimensionally as my last aluminum radiator (26"x19" and $180). I did not want another flex fan, so I decided I'd try a system I learned about from the V8 S10 guys who also have cooling problems... use an electric fan from a mid-90's 3.8 Taurus or Sable. The benefits are that they are easy to come by, they have a nice shroud built in, and they are dual speed with a low, and a high speed that really blows... err... sucks... I mean really moves a lot of air! Anyways, I found one at the local Ecology yard for $20, tested it, then cleaned it to like new. I put it on my new radiator only to find that it was EXACLTY the right width for the core. There is about 4" of radiator below the shroud, but that shouldn't affect anything.
Mounting was very easy. I did some minor trimming on the fan around the upper hose inlet to locate it properly. To mount it, on the left tank I modified two "elevator bolt" and JB welded them to the tank. Nothing super trick, but cheap and it should hold forever. On top, I used one bolt through the shroud and the upper "U" channel of the radiator (may add one more bolt later). And in the lower right hand corner, I just used a fan zip-tie to hold it in. This is VERY sturdy, and is not going anywhere as it easily supports even the weight of the whole radiator.
75 Pontiac Astre GT: 406SBC/TH350, roll bar, S10 goodies, down to 11.47 so far, more to come later.