Removal 1936 radiator

[G.M.]

Yesterday morning I removed 2 36 radiators. It took 1.5 hours
each.
1 remove front hood bracket and gray hound, remove hood
2 remove bottom front grill pan and start to drain water
3 completely remove stay rods to firewall and air cleaner
4 remove lower hoses, May have to cut off
5 remove screws at top of grill to radiator support
6 remove 2 bolts holding right horn, lay horn back on frame
7 remove headlight wire from bottom radiator clips
8 remove front plug wire tube bolts so they can lift up in front
9 loosen distributor cap bails, pull caps out, bail toward engine
10 remove coil wire and vacuum line from distr. distr. bolts drop
distr. and coil out the bottom.
11 remove temp sender from left pump, remove both pump bolts
12 remove top hose clamps at radiator end, twist pump and hose
to release hose from radiator. Old hoses are stiff and don't bend
13 remove generator
14 remove cotter pins, nuts bolts and springs that hold radiator
15 Lift radiator, twist to left and lay it way back to the top of
carb as it comes out.
This question comes up and I thought doing 2 with the procedure
fresh in my mind I would post it. The radiator won't come out with
the grill in and the pumps on. G.M.

[J Witt]

I mostly follow your procedure, but don't remove the bottom grill pan, but do remove both horns so they are out of the way. Also haven't found it necessary to remove the plug wire tubes or the headlight wires on the cross member.

Don't forget the fan belt when the genny comes off and disconnect battery first to avoid sparks from that generator hot wire.

I also put a pad over that generator mount stud to avoid dinging the radiator fins and tubes.

Co-opting my brother for help, the two of us hoist the rad straight up with a little twist and out it comes. As you say, about an hour's work. My hoses are all new so still flexible, plus a shot of wd-04 on the lower ones helps them slide around enough to not cut them and make them easy to put back.

When going together, it's always good to replace those radiator rubber pads if they are old and hardened.

Removal of the front end sheet metal (grill and horn panels, lower baffle grill) is nearly impossible with the radiator in place. Also pop the horn grills off to help get at the bolts.

Nice list, thanks for putting it up. We could use some more of these step by step instructions, particularly if any special tools are needed.

John

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by J Witt

I mostly follow your procedure, but don't remove the bottom grill pan, but do remove both horns so they are out of the way. Also haven't found it necessary to remove the plug wire tubes or the headlight wires on the cross member.

Don't forget the fan belt when the genny comes off and disconnect battery first to avoid sparks from that generator hot wire.

I also put a pad over that generator mount stud to avoid dinging the radiator fins and tubes.

Co-opting my brother for help, the two of us hoist the rad straight up with a little twist and out it comes. As you say, about an hour's work. My hoses are all new so still flexible, plus a shot of wd-04 on the lower ones helps them slide around enough to not cut them and make them easy to put back.

When going together, it's always good to replace those radiator rubber pads if they are old and hardened.

Removal of the front end sheet metal (grill and horn panels, lower baffle grill) is nearly impossible with the radiator in place. Also pop the horn grills off to help get at the bolts.

Nice list, thanks for putting it up. We could use some more of these step by step instructions, particularly if any special tools are needed.

John

The headlight wires to the right or passenger headlight are attached to
the bottom tank of the radiator with little metal tabs originally. The pan
bellow the grill has only 3 or 4 small bolts and lets you at the 2 drain
valves on the bottom of the radiator and lets the distributor drop out
the bottom with the coil attached. I didn't completely remove the plug
wire tubes, just the 2 front bolts. There's always more than one way to
skin a cat. G.M.

[VeryTangled]

Hi Everyone. GM thanks very much for the helpful information. I'm absolutely certain this will come in very handy to a lot of people in the future!

[Brendan]

i put a motor in a 36 cabriolet, some years back. i did not take it out. the hard part was was getting the grill back in. i had to take the radiator out to get all the bolts in.then put it back in. if i remember right, you had to lift it out at a angle. i think the mounting tabs got in the way

[Randy in ca]

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Good writeup and good thread title also. So many times a good writeup will never be found by anyone doing a search because the title bears so little connection to the job at hand. Thanks for posting.