[riverboatman]

I'm having a problem with my repop radiator core support. I bought a re-pop and there is a major alignment problem with it. If you will take a look at the photos you'll see that the bottom brace that goes across at the bottom and is bolted on to the very front of the frame will not line up. It appears there is a major QC issue in that area. I drilled out the holes for the bolts on the RH side (Pass.) side, but when I did manage to get the core support to bolt up, the whole front clip was twisted. Has anyone had this problem and if so, what did you do to fix it?

 

[FrankyM]

Repop rad support

Same here. I opened up all the holes until I could get the bolts in without stressing either it or the frame. Also, I have an aftermarket M II subframe. I don't think it would twist as much as the oem setup.
I also noticed another problem with the repop support. The support is not at the same angle to the bottom brace as the original.

 

[riverboatman]

My first thought was to grind down the lip shown in the last photo where it touches the frame but if I do that the whole core support will lean to the RH (Pass.) side. I even put some thought into cutting out the spot welds along the whole bottom cross member and repositioning the bottom so it will be even all the way across like it should have been done in the first place. Mine doesn't appear to be leaning as when I had the core support mounted as best as it could be, like in the photos, the holes for the bolts that connect the support to the frame skirt were all sitting flush with no trouble mounting the bolts in that area. The only problem was on that lower connection to the frame rail.

 

[Twinshadows]

Hi Sam ..... hope all is well at your side .

just FYI ..... your pictures look Good .

(nothing fits better than stock , ( sorry )

can I ask -- what brand ?

jim

 

[riverboatman]

Goodmark - GMK401032065

All is OK for an old man that lives in the woods.

My original was in fair shape but because of some rust in the area where the mud bucket is bolted on the LH (Pass.) side top, I decided to go ahead and buy the new metal. If I can't fix this problem I just might get out the sand blaster and recondition my original. This re-pop can probably be fixed but I'd have to remove all the lower spot welds and re-position the bottom brace. Just was wondering if anyone else had this problem and if there was an easier fix.

 

[FrankyM]

I just looked at mine in the area of your last pic. It is the same. After tightening the bolt on top of the brace several times, that edge of the brace is bent down to meet the rail.
My original is the same as yours. Only bad rot is where the oem wheelhouses bolt to the top outer lip of the support. My new plan is to resurrect the oem by grafting that section from the repop on to the oem.

 

[riverboatman]

Well, it's starting to look like GoodMark has a problem with their core supports. When I first started to put the front clip back together I sit both the left and right rails up with the part that would mount to the firewall on the floor and laid the core support on top. I first tried to push the bottom of the core support bottom rail over the ends of frame. The one on the drivers side slipped on with no problem but the RH (Pass.) side would not slip on and was being held off by the mis-alignment.

I did manage to put the top bolt in but the hole was so mis-aligned it was hard to get it started. There was no way for the bottom hole to line up with the weld nut so I pulled it back off and drilled the hole larger. This did allow me to get that bolt in but both the top and bottom bolts were binding and hard to screw down. When I got the bottom bolt screwed all the way in, it was very evident the bottom of the core support was not going to slip over the front of the frame on that side. Looking across the bottom of the core support at that point showed it was twisted which was causing the rear part of the frames to mis-align which meant that it was not going to align with the frame bolt holes on the firewall. I hope I'm explaining this good enough for you guys to visualize what was happening.

This isn't going to work so I'm going to have to do a serious mod to get this mounted.

 

[Nova Thug]

Bolt your front clip to your car first, with the shims and then instal the core support. It will conform to the inner fenders as you start to bolt it together. Don’t torque anything down until you have most if not all the fasteners in place. Don’t get to worried about the fitment of the core support we’re not building Swiss watches here.. The exterior sheet metal will be shimmed, tweaked, and adjusted to get the body line right..

 

[riverboatman]

OK, I ended up grinding off the lip so the front would slip down over the front of the frame. Check out the photo of what I cut off. It was still a tight fit but with the help of a block of wood and a small sledge hammer I managed to beat it on. Got the large bolts screwed in without much trouble, especially since I had enlarged the holes for them. Thought to myself, that wasn't to bad until I looked at the four bolt holes that run diagonally from the top of the core support to the bottom to the frame. They were off by half of the hole.

Got the bottom fitted but because of the mis-alignment at the bottom, when I got it bolted up it was causing that problem. I said "To Heck With It" and just drilled out those holes and bolted it together. At least now, the whole front clip sits level on the floor with no twisting.

Since the body of the Nova is in the body shop, I'll have to wait until I can get the front clip there and bolt it up. They'll be needing the front clip soon to get the fenders and hood to aligned. Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[Twinshadows]

Sam ....... I'm thinking (sometimes i do)

when you mount your core support ------------- or, when I mounted mine (3rd gen, I know... ) , I had too use 'shims under the c/s anyway.
That would raise that section up, as not too hit on your frame support ?

or ... am I wrong .... you may not need to -- until you mount your front sheet metal , again ?

wouldn't you have some 'core support bushings in there anyway ....... then, add shims (or not) too level the fenders & hood.




remember --- I'm old ............

 

[riverboatman]

When I took the OEM support off there were not shims or bushings that I remember. The bottom of the support was bolted directly to the front of the frame and there were eight bolts/washers/nuts that secured the support to the side panels in front of the skirt. One of those panels was where the battery tray is located. the other side was the panel where the washer jar is located.

Lowering the RH side of the support was the only way the support was going to bolt up to the frame. When I cut the piece which was hitting the frame, the bolts that bolted to the core support/frame lined up great. But, by doing that, the whole core support where it attaches to the RH panel where the battery tray is, got out of whack. BUT, it did take the twist out of the whole front clip. If that bottom brace had been spot welded on level with the radiator opening, instead of at an angle, the whole thing would have been fine but their QC let that get by.

It's on now. NOT right but it's on. I'm going to use some large washers on the bolts that secured the support to the panels so as to hide the larger holes I had to drill to get that side to line up. I'm going back with as much original as I can but it's not gonna be a show queen as I'm going to drive it as much as I can. At 71, the days are numbered. Thanks a lot guys.

I'm in need of some help with my mud buckets but I'll start another thread about that.

 

[Twinshadows]

I hear ya ...... glad you can make it fit ( and, sad that it didn't fit correctly)

..... make you wonder sometimes --- NEW PARTS are suspose to fit right !


oh man, I'm

only right behind you - @ 70 - but, I follow your build, as I just drive my car ...............

and, should bite-th-bullit and just jump in on my rebuild ........
It's just easier reading you guys projects , than doing my own .. lol

 

[fltinstructor]

The front clip goes together as a unit before being put on the car I have found to be the best. Everything lines up and fits good before tightening the bolts. If the core support is remove with engine weight on the mount things can shift enough the core support won't go back in the way it came out. The weight of the engine pulls the shock towers in toward each other.

I don't have any knowledege of those repop core supports.

 

[riverboatman]

It was a real bummer when I finally realized what was happening. With the core support being out front on the frame I'm not sure how much of an effect it's going to have when I install the grille, fenders and hood. I am lightly snugging bolts down for now but when the clip is installed back on the body we'll do our measurements and tighten as we go. I really want you all to know how much I appreciate the help I'm getting. I'd be in a real mess without you guys.

Jim, at our age things are really tough sometimes. Old age is a bummer but with this project it is my own fault that I didn't start earlier before all the aches and pains had set in. I keep my chin up and keep moving forward.

I started installing the CBR control arm parts yesterday afternoon. So far so good.